He Said

I crouched in the corner, my heart in my throat as the sound of footsteps grew nearer.

"Congratulations, Mr. Willowstream. You have one wife at home and another abroad. It must be nice!" a subordinate teased.

My heart clenched painfully.

Then, I heard Arnold Willowstream chuckle. "Nonsense. Yasmine stood by me when I became a cripple back then. That's why I agreed to marry her. She truly loves me and would give up everything for me.

"But Juniper will always be the one I love. No one is to mention this to her—ever."

His voice was gentle, firm, and sharp as a blade carving straight through my heart.

He used to bring me my favorite coffee every morning. On my birthday, he filled the sky with drones and prepared a sea of flowers just to tell me how much he loved me.

Then came the accident. That terrible crash hurt his legs and made him a different man altogether.

As the boss of a mafia family, he couldn't accept becoming a cripple. His personality changed overnight. He started pushing me away and forcing me to divorce him.

"Juniper, I'm a broken man now. If you stay, I'll only drag you down. Someone like me should just die alone."

He threw a signed divorce agreement at me. His eyes were bloodshot, his voice hoarse and hopeless.

"Sign it. Let's end this marriage. Go find the life you deserve."

However, how could I leave him when he needed me the most?

I held his hand tightly and told him unhesitatingly, "I'm not going anywhere, Arnold. Never. Stop saying those things. I'm staying with you."

But it was like he couldn't hear me. He spiraled deeper into despair. Some days, he'd lash out in anger.

"Juniper! What are you waiting for? Just sign the damn papers! What's the point of clinging to a cripple like me? Leave me. Please. Once you're gone, I won't have any reason left to live…"

I never signed the papers. I stayed by his side, no matter how hard things got.

To help him walk again, I left the country. I spent endless nights buried in the lab, trying to develop a treatment that would restore his legs.

I wore the ruby necklace he gave me every day, never once taking it off. Arnold had hidden a tiny camera inside so he could always see me.

That connection, even across the ocean, kept me going. Thank goodness, he finally recovered.

But now, I stood there watching him marry Yasmine Cooper. I heard him speak about his feelings toward her.

So, this is what happened during the two years I was away.

Yasmine took her chance when I was gone.

Despite knowing Arnold was my husband, she still threw herself at him without a care.

And Arnold… Even though he loved me, he went through with the wedding. He even ordered everyone to keep it a secret from me.

The thought put my heart in unbearable pain.

I clamped a hand over my mouth to stifle the sob that threatened to escape.

I don't even remember how I got out of the venue. All I knew was that when I got home, tears were streaming down my face.

I sat at my desk, staring at the divorce papers Arnold had signed back then.

I'd wanted to tear them to shreds so many times before to remind myself I'd never leave him.

But now, I picked up a pen and signed my name without a second thought.

The divorce was finalized.

A single tear fell onto the page, smudging the ink and blurring my vision.

I knew, in that moment, I had lost Arnold for good. The love we once shared was gone forever.