Chapter 1

Five years of dating, and the apartment we'd move into after the wedding had been Adrian Cole's project from the start.

I went to check on the renovation progress today. The moment I stepped into the kitchen, I realized every countertop on the custom cabinetry was absurdly low.

I'm five foot eight. Using them meant hunching over the entire time.

I snapped a photo and sent it to Adrian.

【The countertops—were they done wrong?】

His reply came fast.

【No, they're fine.】

【That's standard height. Just deal with it. It's not like you cook much anyway.】

The contractor behind me overheard and couldn't help himself.

"There's no way we got it wrong. Mr. Cole came by three times in person for that height. Stood right here and watched us adjust it."

"He said his sister back home is on the shorter side. She bakes now and then, and he didn't want the counters too high for her."

The empty apartment fell silent.

So Adrian hadn't been ignorant of what the right height was.

He'd simply never designed this home around me.

I looked down at the red knot hanging from my bag.

We'd bought it our first year together, at a stall in Chinatown—a lover's knot. The vendor said it symbolized two people who would love each other forever.

Adrian had always treasured it.

He said as long as the knot held, we'd never fall apart.

Now it seemed obvious: a knot only one person was holding could never last.

I untied it from my bag and dropped it into a garbage bag stuffed with construction debris.

Then I pulled out my phone and called my real estate agent.

"List the apartment for sale."

"As fast as you can."

…

I was just hanging up when I heard familiar footsteps behind me.

Before I could turn around, Adrian wrapped his arms around me from behind, resting his chin on the crown of my head.

"Who were you just on the phone with? You look upset."

He touched my hair, casual and intimate, as if nothing had happened.

I pulled free of his hands and stepped away.

"Do you honestly think I can use this kitchen?"

Adrian followed my gaze to the row of low countertops and let out a quiet sigh.

He reached into his coat pocket and produced a dark blue jewelry box.

He opened it. A diamond necklace caught the light in the unfinished apartment, sharp and blinding.

"I was going to give you this tonight."

He placed the box in my palm, his thumb tracing a slow circle on the back of my hand.

"Lily spent her childhood bouncing between other people's homes. She's never really had a place of her own."

"I told her she could come over sometimes. It makes her feel more secure."

"Claire, you're about to become my wife. Don't make this into a competition with a kid."

The necklace sat heavy in my hand.

That was when the sharp click of heels on bare subfloor echoed down the hallway.

Lily emerged from the corridor holding a baking sheet, her eyes rimmed with red.

"Adrian, did I make Claire upset?"

Her voice grew smaller and smaller.

"I should just go back to that basement I used to rent. This place is too nice. I don't belong here anyway."

Adrian immediately caught her wrist.

"Who told you to leave?"

He turned to look at me.

"Claire, she just wants to bake some cookies once in a while. The kitchen isn't your personal territory."

"Then who exactly is the woman of this house?"

A flicker of weary impatience crossed Adrian's brow.

"Does that question even matter?"

He took the jewelry box from my hand, reached up to gather my hair aside, and brought the cold diamonds toward my neck.

I caught his wrist.

"Change the dimensions back."

His fingers paused.

"Ripping everything out and redoing it would cost tens of thousands. You don't even cook. There's no point wasting the money."

"So that's a no?"

"I'll hire you a private chef."

He sidestepped my question entirely and offered me an expensive workaround.

I took the necklace from his hand, placed it back in the box, closed the lid, and pressed it against his chest.

"You two are clearly very close. The apartment's hers."

The composure on Adrian's face finally cracked.

"Claire, don't say things you don't mean."

"I mean every word."

I turned toward the door. Passing the woven bag full of construction waste, my steps faltered for half a second.

A length of red cord from the lover's knot trailed out of the top.

Adrian saw it.

He bent down and picked it up, brushing off the dust. His voice went low.

"You threw this away too?"

"When something's broken, what's the point in keeping it?"

Adrian's lips pressed into a thin line. He closed the knot tight in his fist—but his other hand instinctively moved to shield Lily, who stood behind him.

I walked straight out of the apartment.

As the elevator doors began to close, his low voice chased after me.

"I'll come pick you up tonight. We'll talk this through."