Chapter 2

"I have to commit to the act, don’t I? I forgot to take it off. Rose, don't tell me my jealous girl is upset again?"

The truth was, I was not angry at all.

I had simply remembered the day he proposed to me at the dinner table. He had reached across the table and asked if I would marry him, yet he had not even brought an engagement ring.

He told me he had forgotten and that he did not like the feeling of being tied down by a ring. He promised he would make it up to me on our wedding day by buying me a custom ring from De Beers.

In the end, he slipped a custom ring perfectly onto Lucia Newton's finger.

The man who supposedly hated feeling tied down had happily worn his ‘fake’ wedding band ever since, as if he could not bear to take it off.

Was I angry?

I was not capable of being angry anymore.

For the past month, I had watched the news reports about Jim and Lucia honeymooning around the world. After seeing enough of them, I felt absolutely nothing.

I looked away without answering. I simply took the sweater back from him and said quietly, "My mom knitted that for me herself."

Jim's hands suddenly hung empty.

He was getting annoyed. His lips pressed together, but he still forced himself to keep his voice gentle.

"Right. How's your mom doing? After a month of rest, she should be feeling better by now, right?"

His eyes curved into a smile.

"I always thought our wedding venue was too small and that you deserved better. Why don't we pick a new date and have a big, beautiful wedding this time? Your mom would be happy, too."

I knew Jim was in a good mood. He thought he had given me more than enough chances to let this go. If I refused to play along, he would only lose his temper again.

What he had forgotten was that on the day we were supposed to register our marriage, he had shown up at the County Clerk's Office and claimed that bringing his identification had slipped his mind.

Then, he had turned around and gone with Lucia, whose fiancé had abandoned her, to try on wedding dresses.

We had never even gotten married. We did not need another wedding.

I came back to myself and gave him a faint, bitter smile.

"There's no need."

After being brushed off by me again and again, Jim's expression darkened. He was about to say something when his phone rang.

The moment he saw Lucia's name on the screen, his expression softened. His voice became unbelievably gentle.

"I just got home. Why are you calling?"

I had no idea what Lucia said on the other end.

Jim tucked the phone into the crook of his neck, picked up the black coat hanging by the door, and laughed.

"Lucia, you're getting greedy. I'm still trying to make it up to my girlfriend! This is the last time, okay?"

I watched as he casually slipped the ring back onto his finger.

He stood in front of the full-length mirror, straightened his collar, fixed his hair, grabbed his car keys, and headed for the door.

His hand was already on the doorknob when he finally seemed to remember that I was still standing there.

He hurried back, ruffled my hair with his big hand, and said indulgently, "Okay, Rose. Stop being difficult. I bought you a little gift. I'll give it to you tonight."

I watched him leave. Then I walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window.

Down below, a bright pink sports car was parked by the curb, its low chassis almost scraping the ground. Lucia was leaning against the door, happily sipping a milk tea.

Jim had always been a germophobe, but he casually bent his head and took a sip through the same straw Lucia had just used. Then, he got into the driver's seat.

I looked away and pulled the curtains shut.

Turning around, I picked up the overseas assignment application from my desk. I had already filled out every detail.

...

I ran my fingers along the sharp edge of the application.

Then, without a moment's hesitation, I left the apartment and took a cab to the office.

By the time I finished packing up everything, it was already evening.

Two days earlier, I had submitted my application for an overseas assignment through the company system. It had already been approved. All I needed to do now was submit the paperwork for the company's records.

As I walked through the office, people kept glancing at me and whispering among themselves.