Chapter 2

That night, Harper didn't come home. She only sent me a message saying she'd be staying at the studio for the next few days. Once work settled down, she'd come home and make it up to me.

For the next several days, I didn't hear from her again.

Even so, it didn't matter. Dylan kept me updated on her whereabouts.

They went hiking together and shared a passionate kiss as the sun rose. They went to the beach and confessed their love to each other as the sun set. They even went to Bayhaven, the place I'd always wanted to visit, and Harper spent a passionate night there with him.

…

With only two days left until the wedding, Dylan finally sent me a photo.

The trash can was overflowing with used condoms and the other things they'd used.

Only then did Harper finally decide to come home.

She brought me a pair of wedding rings she'd designed herself, then gently wrapped her arms around me. "Adrian, I'm sorry. I've been so busy with work lately that I haven't had time to be with you.

"I designed a wedding ring just for you. After the wedding, we'll go to Bayhaven for the honeymoon you've always wanted."

I didn't expose her lie. I simply looked at her with dull, numb eyes. "I don't want to go to Bayhaven anymore."

Harper froze for a moment, then smiled and threw her arms around me. "That's okay. You'll call the shots. Wherever you want to go, that's where we'll go."

Her voice softened. "Just thinking that in two days, I'll finally be your wife makes me so happy I can't sleep.

"I never thought the promise I made when I was 18 would finally come true at 25. I'll finally get to see your name and mine on the same family record."

Her eyes sparkled just as brightly as they had when she was 18, but my heart no longer raced for her the way it had back then.

Beneath her usual fragrance, I caught the faint scent of an expensive perfume. The smell made me dizzy.

My eyes burned. Scenes from the past flashed through my mind.

When I was 18, I lost both my parents, and all the light suddenly vanished from my life.

That was when Harper appeared. She burst into my world with all the light I thought I'd lost and pulled me out of the darkness.

She told me, "Adrian, don't be afraid. I'll always be by your side. If your world ever becomes completely dark, I'll be your light."

From that moment on, Harper became part of my life.

To protect the last bit of light she'd brought into it, I'd once been willing to risk everything for her.

Back then, the Turner family was going through a period of instability and turmoil. Harper's father was desperate to protect the family fortune, so he planned to marry her off to a wealthy older man with a reputation for chasing young women.

The moment I found out, I rushed to his house and got Harper out.

When the man lashed out in humiliation and rage, I took the knife meant for me.

The attack left a horrifying four-inch scar across my back.

Because of that incident, the Turners finally abandoned the idea of marrying Harper off. Instead, they fought to rebuild the family business and eventually restored it to its former heights.

After that, everyone in our circle who had once looked down on me changed their tune. They began respectfully calling me the Turners' future son-in-law and finally accepted me as one of their own.

Whenever Harper and I were intimate and she accidentally brushed against the scar on my back, she would burst into tears.

Back then, the sight filled me with happiness. I thought her tears proved just how deeply she loved me. The more I smiled, the harder she cried.

But now...

I slowly raised a hand to touch the scar on my back. I didn't want this scar anymore, and I didn't want Harper anymore either.