Chapter 3

Tessa and I met in college.

Back then, I was waking up at dawn every day to prepare for an interview.

I'd show up at the track before sunrise and practice my interview lines out loud.

One day, I heard a chuckle. Tessa stepped out from behind the bleachers with a playful, teasing look.

"I've heard you introduce yourself a few times over the past few days. Why don't you treat me as the interviewer and practice with me? It'll feel more real that way."

Her eyes were incredibly clear. There wasn't a hint of ridicule in sight, only genuine kindness.

Blushing, I stammered in agreement.

From then on, the track became an unspoken meeting place for us in the morning.

We got closer over time, and after graduation, we naturally got together.

On our second anniversary, I proposed to her.

She tearfully said yes, hugging me like she never wanted to let go.

We agreed to register our marriage on Valentine's Day that year, and after waiting for her at City Hall for the entire day, she never showed up.

That night, she hugged me apologetically.

"Honey, I'm so sorry. Something urgent came up at work. Let's go next time, okay?"

And I believed her.

Each time after that, she missed our appointment because of a sudden incident.

I never complained, choosing to continue to love and trust her completely.

I never thought that instead of becoming her husband, I'd end up being the "other man" instead.

As I looked at their marriage certificate photo on my phone, it felt like my heart was being ripped open.

I had genuinely loved her for five years. I needed an explanation, no matter what.

When I got home, Tessa wasn't back yet.

I called her, but she rejected my call almost instantly.

A second later, she texted, "Honey, I'm in a meeting."

I stared at those words in silence.

If I hadn't happened to see Kevin's video, I might have fallen for it again.

Honestly, I did have doubts the first few times she bailed on me.

However, nothing about her reliance on me or the love she showed over the past five years ever felt fake, so any suspicion I had just faded before it could grow.

It was said that once trust was broken, there was no fixing it. Now, I couldn't stop wondering what else she had lied about if she had deceived me all 18 times I waited for her at City Hall.

Was all her love and care just an act too?

When she told me she loved me, was that just a lie?

And when she called me her "honey", was she actually calling me that, or was she thinking about Kevin?

I shuddered, too scared to think past that point. All I felt was a tight, choking pressure around my throat. It was hard to breathe.

After I texted Tessa and told her to come home immediately, she replied within seconds, "I'll be back right away, honey."

The steady ticking of the wall clock went on, and it wasn't until two hours later that Tessa came rushing through the door.

"Something urgent at the company kept me. What's wrong, honey? Was there some kind of emergency?"

As soon as she came in, she tried to throw herself in my arms like she always did.

She'd been this gentle and sweet for five years.

I didn't ask why she was two hours late, even though she had said she'd be back right away.

That was because I already knew that she and Kevin had gone for a walk by a river from reading the comments under that video.

I seamlessly avoided her touch, staring at her calmly. "Tessa, today was the 18th time we scheduled to register our marriage."

Tessa's expression went stiff for a second before a frustrated look replaced it.

"This is all my manager's fault for dumping last-minute work on me. I swear he's out to get me.

"Every time we try to register our marriage, he makes sure I'm busy. Once I get promoted, I'll totally get back at him."

I stared into Tessa's eyes, trying to find even a flicker of guilt in her.

Yet, there was nothing. Her gaze was just as clear as it had been five years ago, with only annoyance toward her so-called manager.

Only I knew that the woman I met on the track was long gone.

Seeing that I did not react, Tessa tugged my arm gently.

"Honey, we've been together so long that we're basically an old married couple now. There's no rush to get married, right? You'll always be my husband anyway."

She said the same sweet lines every time she missed an appointment.

I once thought she had a point. We acted no differently from real married couples. The marriage certificate was just a thin piece of paper to us.

However, today it dawned on me that what separated us wasn't the absence of that piece of paper, but an unbridgeable divide.

After all, her lawful husband wasn't me.

I looked at her expressionlessly and asked, "When you call me 'honey,' are you really calling me that, or are you thinking about Kevin the whole time, the man who's actually on your marriage certificate?"