Chapter 1

At that moment, each word hit me like a slap.

Beside me, someone scoffed softly, "When Victor ran out of money and hit rock bottom, didn't she just get up and bail?"

"She claimed she couldn't pass up the overseas assignment. Wasn't it just because she didn't want to go down with Victor's startup? Had Cindy not scraped together the money to bail him out, he wouldn't be here today..."

They only saw it as me going abroad to build up my resume. They had no idea I had applied for the most dangerous project in Africa, simply because it paid the most.

During those first few years overseas, I kept only the bare minimum for my living expenses. I sent back the rest of my salary to Victor for his startup.

Worried he would not accept my money, I had no choice but to funnel it through Cynthia.

It hit me so hard emotionally that my chest tightened. I instinctively curled in on myself.

The next second, Cynthia frowned and cut them off.

"That's enough. I know Clem better than any of you do. Drop it."

Victor stepped forward and tucked my jacket around me.

"Let it go. We keep her in the dark for now and figure out the rest later."

Cynthia, my best friend, defended me like she always had.

Victor, my boyfriend of seven years, was tender with me like he always had.

I squeezed my eyes shut, barely able to tell whether what I had just heard was real or not.

"It's getting late. We've got rehearsal at 9 a.m., so let's call it a night."

Everyone was just about to get up when I opened my eyes and acted like I was still drunk.

"Wait... who's getting married?"

The room went dead silent.

Victor froze for a moment, then quickly tried to smooth things over.

"You must've misheard. Nobody's getting married."

I didn't push it. I just used the excuse of being drunk to avoid his touch.

As I got up, I casually hooked a finger around that white ribbon.

A banner dropped right out in front of everyone.

[Victor Walter & Cynthia Haight—One-Year Anniversary.]

Victor's face changed instantly. He instinctively moved to block the banner.

"Clem, let me explain."

Cynthia glanced at him and shook her head.

"Don't bother. She already saw it."

She took a deep breath, looked me straight in the eye, and said, "Clementine, Victor and I already got married at the city hall. The wedding's the day after tomorrow—"

"Cynthia!" Victor cut her off.

I looked around at all the familiar faces in the room.

Some guiltily avoided my gaze.

Some muttered under their breath.

"You already left. Why'd you even come back? Cindy was nice enough to throw you a homecoming dinner. That's more grace than you deserve."

Others put on a fake facade of trying to smooth things over.

"Victor's in a tough spot too. You need to cut him some slack."

"They're already legally married. You're not about to go chasing after him and be the other woman, right?"

"That's enough! Everybody stop."

Victor's expression darkened.

He instinctively stepped in front of me.

"Don't you talk about her like that."

I stared at his back and just felt how absurd the whole thing was.

"And what about you? Do you think that I shouldn't have come back either?"

"It's not that—" he started to reply without hesitation.

However, when he saw Cynthia's eyes well up with tears, he could not bring himself to finish his sentence.

"Everyone, please get out."

She gave him a long, hard look without trying to argue.

But I noticed that as she walked past Victor, their hands quietly clasped together, as if they were reassuring each other.

Once everyone left, he crouched down in front of me.

"Mrs. Haight was diagnosed with a brain tumor a year ago. It has gotten worse recently.

"We're only getting married to put her mind at ease."

I froze.

After my parents died when I was seven, Cynthia's family, who lived across the street, raised me.

For the longest time, I had seen Cynthia's mother, Jessica Haight, as my mother figure.

Yet I was unaware that she had been sick for a year.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Victor wiped my tears as he said, "She didn't want to get in the way of your job.

"Once the surgery's over, I'll divorce Cynthia. You and I will go back to the way we were, Clem."

For a brief moment, I felt a small sense of relief.

"I'm tired. I want to go home."

Victor paused briefly before saying, "The house hasn't been cleaned in a while. Let's just stay at a hotel tonight. I'll stay with you."