Chapter 2

One sentence was all it took to send the already noisy private room into an even bigger frenzy, and suddenly, dozens of eyes turned toward me. I said nothing and just glanced at Jim, who was standing a few steps away.

He did not look at me. Instead, he glanced at Harriet beside him, almost as if he were silently asking her permission. Something tightened painfully in my chest. My lashes trembled as I awkwardly looked away.

How could I have forgotten? The one who married Jim was Harriet, not me.

With everyone staring at me expectantly, I quickly brought the excitement to a screeching halt.

"Why are you all looking at me? I'm not the one who got married. You should be looking at Harriet."

The room fell silent. Everyone knew what kind of relationship Harriet and Jim had.

Jim's expression darkened. "Cecilia, why would you say something like that? I already told you, Harriet and I were just playing around. She's only my little sister. Are you seriously jealous of her too?"

His eyes were filled with irritation, as if I were the one making a scene for no reason.

However, after all these years, was I really the unreasonable one?

He said Harriet was only his little sister, so apparently, it was perfectly normal for him to wash the underwear of a 22-year-old woman with his own hands. It was perfectly normal for him to hold her hand whenever they went out, even when people mistook them for a couple, and he never once bothered to explain.

It was perfectly normal for him to give her his first wedding ring, her first wedding dress, and even his first marriage.

What would count as not normal, then? Was I not allowed to be petty? Was I not allowed to feel hurt and wronged? Now, apparently, I was not even allowed to tell the truth.

What a joke.

Feeling the heat gathering in my eyes, I quickly turned my head and blinked.

I was about to speak when Harriet cut me off, "Jim, did I do something wrong? Did I make Cecilia upset?" Her eyes widened, already red from crying. "I did not mean to. I just wanted to give you all my firsts. If Cecilia does not want me to, then we can go right now and…"

Before she could finish, Jim spoke with obvious concern. "No. You did nothing wrong. I promised you three days, and three days it is."

Then he sighed and looked at me. "Cecilia, you agreed to let Harriet experience this. Now, you're making sarcastic comments and making her feel bad. Just apologize to her, and we can put this behind us, okay?"

The way Jim said it made it sound as if allowing me to apologize was some enormous favor he was generously granting me.

I could not help laughing.

This was not the first time he had asked me to apologize to Harriet.

In the past, I would always get angry and argue with him for a long time, making sure he understood that Harriet was not the only one who could feel hurt.

Every time, we went around in circles, and he would eventually pull me into his arms, apologize, and promise that he would never take Harriet's side again. Then the next time, he would do exactly the same thing.

After eight years of arguing, I did not want to do it anymore.

I pressed my lips together, took a deep breath, and slowly stood up. Then, in a calm, steady voice, I said, "Fine. I was wrong."

I was wrong for not realizing sooner how much he favored Harriet. I was wrong for believing, again and again, that he would change.

Fortunately, I still had a chance to right things.

Yet Jim froze for several seconds when he heard those words. This was exactly what he had wanted, so why did he suddenly feel so uneasy?

While he stood there in a daze, I grabbed my bag and headed for the door. He immediately snapped back to reality and started after me, but Harriet caught his arm.

"Jim, everyone is still waiting to see us…"

I did not hear the rest. Something made me turn around, and that was when I saw Harriet rising onto her toes. Jim did not push her away. My hand froze halfway into my bag as a loud buzz suddenly filled my head, drowning out everything around me.

When I finally came back to my senses, it felt as if something had punched straight through my chest. Even breathing hurt.

Jim suddenly stepped backward. The confusion in his eyes vanished the moment he saw me. He hurried toward me. "Cecilia…"

I quietly stepped away from his outstretched hand. Just hearing his voice made me sick. When I put down the bank card he had given me, I did it with enough force to stop whatever else he was about to say.

"Take it."

It was the wedding fund Jim had given me. Now, I was returning every cent of it.

With that, I fled the venue. The moment I stepped outside, the tears I had been holding back finally spilled over.

Behind me came the sound of hurried footsteps. "Cecilia!"