Chapter 1

The moment I said that, the tension in the ward finally eased.

Grandma's eyes turned red as she murmured, "That's good."

After I drove Mom and Dad home, Mom asked me to come into the study alone. "Clary, there's something I've been holding back for a while, but I think you should know."

She hesitated, reluctance flickering in her gaze as it lingered on me.

"Last month, on your birthday, Rob stopped by to drop off a gift. He didn't even stay five minutes before saying he needed to leave because of work.

"But half an hour later, a friend of mine saw him at a veterinary clinic on the south side of the city. He was there with a woman in loungewear, taking her dog in. It looked like that secretary of his… Ms. Glenn."

Mom pushed a photo toward me.

In the picture, Mikayla Glenn held a dog wrapped in bandages, looking up as she said something with a smile.

Standing beside her, Robert Fuller was leaning in, listening intently. His gaze was so focused and indulgent that it practically radiated off the glossy paper.

Even without any physical contact, the two of them seemed bound together by an invisible tether, as if they were in their own private world.

I stared at Robert and was briefly dazed.

There was a time when he looked at me the same way—attentive and warm, his emotions mirroring mine.

It was a stark contrast to that day, when I hadn't even finished wiping my tears, and he was already speaking in a low voice, urging me to see the bigger picture, be reasonable, and not make things harder for him.

"Clary, you and Rob have been together for many years. If he really wanted to propose, he's had more than enough chances to do it. Instead, you ended up having to force his hand. I'm just terrified that you'll get hurt. Maybe it's better if—"

"Mom," I cut her off before she could finish speaking. "I'm getting married, but who said it was going to be to Robert?"

By the time I got home from my parents' place, it was already late.

When I pushed the door open, I didn't expect to see Robert still awake. He was sitting on the couch in loungewear, monitoring the stock market.

He closed his laptop when he heard me, took off his glasses, and looked over inquisitively.

"Why are you back so late?"

The corners of my lips curled into a smirk. I almost wanted to say that he had plenty of nights when he came home even later than I did, but it felt pointless to bring it up.

Instead, I settled for a half-hearted excuse.

"It's nothing. I just stayed late to talk with my mom."

He nodded, then picked up a necklace from the jewelry box on the table. The stones caught the light as he stood and walked toward me.