Chapter 5

Camellia stood in a distant corner, watching through the gap in the dressing room curtains as Valentina and Andres’ entwined figures moved. Her heart twisted in unbearable pain.

Her stomach churned violently, and she could not suppress the urge to dry heave. Her entire body was now convulsing uncontrollably.

Tears streamed down her face, draining all her strength. She collapsed onto the floor, feeling utterly spent.

As she turned to leave, she did not get to see the satisfied smile on Valentina's face inside the dressing room.

Back home, the oppressive silence was suffocating.

Camellia turned on the television, flipping to a random channel. It was broadcasting a segment on Andres' latest art exhibition.

The painting featured a girl in a bright yellow dress running freely through a field. The commentators remarked on how drastically different this piece was from Andres' earlier works.

It no longer exuded a soft, reserved gentleness but instead brimmed with vitality and energy.

Though the girl's face was not visible, her back displayed the painter's tenderness and love for her.

One critic observed sharply, "Even the strands of her flying hair are perfect, like the wind itself favors her."

Online, viewers joked about Andres' newfound spark, saying his marriage with Camellia must have entered a second spring.

Only Camellia knew the truth. That was not her. It was Valentina, or perhaps it was Nelina Dawson, the woman from his dreams.

Taking a deep breath, she tried to suppress the ache in her chest and called her best friend, Penelope Hall.

While waiting for Penelope's arrival, Camellia began sorting through the gifts Andres had given her over the years.

In the first year of their marriage, he noticed her concerns and gave her a diamond bangle.

"I've locked you in for this lifetime. You belong to me now, so don't even think about leaving," he had said.

In their second year, he noticed how much she missed her mother and folded her a jar of wishing stars.

"When you miss your mom, open one. No matter where I am or what time it is, I'll come back to make your wish come true. This life might be long, but I'll always be here with you."

Camellia began unwrapping the stars one by one.

[Plant a little tree.]

[Adopt a corgi.]

[Grow old together.]

…

She picked up her phone, snapped a picture of one of the stars, and sent it to Andres. Her phone screen remained dark. There was no response from him.

Half an hour later, a package arrived. It was the painting Valentina had made for them that day.

However, instead of depicting the two of them sitting side by side, the image showed two entangled figures of Andres and Valentina in bed.

Something cold slid down Camellia's cheek. She raised her hand to wipe it away and realized her face was already soaked with tears.

In a daze, she placed the painting with all of Andres' other works in the studio.

Then, she gathered every gift he had ever given her into a box, carried it into the yard, and set it ablaze.

Later, Penelope would recall the moment she saw Camellia that day. She felt as if Camellia was on the verge of breaking into pieces.

Penelope walked over and held her close without saying a word, letting Camellia lean on her silently.

After a long while, once Camellia calmed down, she made another request.

"Help me arrange a funeral. But Andres must not attend it. Only then, reveal the truth about my 'death' to him."

Camellia handed Penelope an envelope containing evidence of Valentina's relentless provocations over the past few months.

Penelope glanced through it and nodded firmly while suppressing her anger.

Once everything was set, it was already late at night.

That day, Andres quietly slipped into the house at 2 a.m.

Seeing Camellia still awake did not surprise him. He approached her like a child with a prize, his eyes brimming with excitement.

"I knew you'd still be up. I was too busy earlier to check my messages, but look—I'm here to make your wish come true!"

He moved the small tea table by the window to the bed, fetched two bowls, and divided the seafood boil he had brought home into portions.

The wish on the paper star Camellia had sent to Andres earlier in the day was to eat her favorite food with him.

For some reason, Camellia's mind wandered back to the first time they went to that seafood restaurant together.

It might have been Andres' first time eating at a small roadside restaurant.

Before eating, he had wiped the oily table repeatedly with napkins and was clearly uncomfortable. However, he smiled at her with mock innocence when she looked his way, almost playfully.

"Cam, feed me," he had said. "I'll try anything if it makes you happy."

"Andres." Camellia fixed her gaze on his face. "If you could do it all over again, would you still choose this?"

Andres did not think much of her question and assumed she was feeling insecure again. He gently stroked her dark hair and answered with certainty.

"I would. I'd make the same choices every time.

"I'd love you, spoil you, and stay devoted to you for the rest of my life."