I Won't Grow Old with You

"Ms. Harper, why are you requesting a replacement marriage certificate when you've never been married? Don't you even know whether you're married?"

Zoe dug her nails into herself and forced a smile. "Are you sure you're looking at the right record? My husband's name is Sebastian Lawson. I shouldn't be listed as single."

"Mr. Lawson's legal wife is Yvonne Whitmore, not Zoe Harper. They registered their marriage five years ago."

Five years ago, Zoe had been in her third year of serving his prison sentence. His mother, Margaret Lawson, had told her the truth: Sebastian had given up on her long ago and married his business partner's daughter instead, bringing two powerful business interests together. The dream he'd given Zoe was nothing more than his way of making up for what he owed her.

She left City Hall in a daze. How had it come to this when he'd once loved her so fiercely, so sincerely?

During her freshman year of college, her parents' sudden deaths in an accident had left her with depression. She'd attempted suicide several times. Sebastian had first come into her life when he pulled her out of traffic as she wandered through it in a daze. His entire right leg had been a bloody mess afterward, and he'd spent eighteen hours in emergency surgery.

Later, on a hike, she'd deliberately slipped away from the group to find somewhere quiet to die. Not even search and rescue had come looking for her, but Sebastian had found her. His hands were scraped down to the bone, yet he hadn't said a word about the pain. He'd simply held out a hand, his eyes red.

"Let's go back."

Then an explosion in the chemistry lab had left her unconscious in a fire, with burns across much of her body. Without hesitation, Sebastian had gone into surgery to donate skin for her grafts.

After that, a saying had spread across campus: if Zoe Harper asked for it, Sebastian Lawson would willingly give her his own heart.

Zoe had never considered suicide again. Sebastian had become her reason to live, and when his drunk driving caused a fatal crash, she hadn't hesitated to switch seats with him before losing consciousness. She'd taken all the blame and been sentenced to five years in prison. To compensate the victim's family, she'd even sold the old house her parents had left her, the only one she owned, for far less than it was worth.

Prison had meant five years of bullying, beatings, and solitary confinement, but she'd never regretted her choice. For Sebastian, she would have done anything.

When Zoe was finally released after five years in prison, Sebastian was already a business titan. Impeccably dressed and exuding wealth, he nonetheless hurried her into City Hall like an overeager boy.

He'd built her a greenhouse garden spanning nearly 124,000 acres so she could see her favorite balloon flowers in bloom all year. Because she loved the ocean, he'd bought her dozens of islands around the world. Even when she had nothing worse than a cold and a fever, he'd climbed the steps of a shrine said to work the greatest miracles on his knees, bowing his head in prayer at every step, just to get her a blessed medal to keep her safe.

With Sebastian giving her everything he possibly could, she'd been happy even if protecting his company meant keeping their relationship a secret. She'd never imagined it was all a lie, that their marriage had been an illusion from the very beginning.

Walking unsteadily along the roadside, Zoe spotted a familiar Maybach. When its door opened, she instinctively ducked out of sight and watched Sebastian carefully help a woman out. She recognized the face from the wedding photograph Margaret had shown her that morning. This had to be Yvonne, his actual wife.

They walked into a maternity hospital together. Zoe pressed a hand to her chest as the pain sharpened and gave a bitter, self-mocking smile. Ever since her release, she'd wanted a child with Sebastian, but he'd always insisted that prison had damaged her health and that it wasn't time yet.

Turns out, he hadn't been worried about her. He simply wanted his children with someone else.

She'd been a fool, sacrificing her entire life for him only to become a kept woman everyone despised.

Her ringtone interrupted her thoughts. Seeing "Husband" flash across the screen made her heart twist.

"Zo, I have to go abroad on business for a few days. Be good and wait for me at home."

The light dimmed in her eyes as her nails sank into her palm, sending thin threads of pain through it. Every month, Sebastian spent more than half his time on business trips overseas. He always came home with a faint trace of perfume on him, which he'd explained away as the fragrance the hotels used.

Now she knew it was probably Yvonne's perfume. What hotel would spend that much on perfume from Uradia?

Her silence stretched on until a note of nervousness crept into his voice.

"Could you stay home this time? I miss you..."

Zoe's voice trembled with tears, and she saw anxiety cross his face. Before he could answer, she faintly heard Yvonne's voice, bright with happiness.

"Sebastian, the baby's kicking. Look..."

"Zo, I'll bring you a present when I get back. I'm a little busy. I have to go."

The call ended. Across the way, the two of them embraced and kissed, sending a sharp pain through Zoe's heart. She closed her eyes briefly, murmured something under her breath, and turned away.

She reached the immigration office before it closed and submitted her application to immigrate to Sumanthova. The paperwork would be ready in a month.

Once outside, she called Margaret.

"Zoe Harper. Have you finally come to your senses?"

"Give me one more month. After that, I'll be out of Sebastian's life for good."

"Fine. You spent five years in prison for him. On the day you leave, I'll transfer ten million to you as compensation."

Zoe hung up without answering. Clutching her chest at the side of the busy street, she laughed through her sobs.

Five years of her youth, the bright future she should have had, and all of it was worth just ten million.

Still, she'd chosen this path herself. She had no one else to blame.

Sebastian, one month from now, we'll never see each other again.