Chapter 2

That night, my best friend, Janice Randall, dragged me out for drinks.

"It's your first day being married. We've got to celebrate, no matter what."

The bar was dimly lit. I had barely finished half a drink when a familiar burst of laughter drifted over from the booth next to ours.

Derek was seated in the center of the room with the sleeves of his white shirt rolled up to his elbows. He looked completely relaxed.

Lessie sat next to him in a pale pink slip dress. Her body was pressed close against his arm.

Someone raised a glass and shouted with a grin, "To a toast, Mrs. Hubbard!"

Lessie blushed and waved them off. "Stop it. Celine will be upset if she hears that."

The guy laughed even harder. "When isn't she upset?

"Derek ditched her at the city hall 18 times, and she still waits around for him every single time, doesn't she?"

The entire table erupted into laughter.

My hand holding the wine glass froze for a second, just as I heard someone toss the conversation back to Derek.

"But seriously, Derek. You've dated Celine for seven years, right? I heard you left her stranded at the city hall again today. That's 18 times now. When will you finally marry her?"

Derek swirled his glass, looking utterly unapologetic. "What's the rush? Marriage just makes a lot of things a hassle."

Someone teased, "What kind of hassle? Are you saying it'll be harder to take care of Lessie?"

Derek didn't deny it. Instead, he tilted his head to glance at Lessie, who kept her head down with the tip of her ears flushed red.

He chuckled and indifferently replied, "Lessie is a scaredy cat, and she's in poor health. I don't feel at ease leaving her out there alone."

I suddenly remembered how earlier that afternoon, Lessie had clutched her stomach outside the city hall and called Derek's name, her eyes welling up with tears.

He had reacted the same way then. His expression instantly shifted, and he immediately helped her up before they walked out.

It was the same story when Grandma was dying. A single phone call from Lessie, whining about being scared, was all it took for him to pry my fingers off his sleeve.

Someone clicked their tongue.

"What about Celine, then? Aren't you worried she'll actually leave you?"

Derek scoffed, as if he had just heard a ridiculous joke.

"Celine would never leave. We've been together for so many years that she couldn't bear to walk away just like that."

The absolute certainty in his voice was nearly cruel to my ears as he continued, "We've dated since college, and she's had two miscarriages. Who else would even want her other than me?

"Besides, how many times have we broken up in the last seven years? She always comes crawling back anyway."

In that moment, I could almost taste a hint of bitterness rushing into my throat. It struck me that he knew why I had been waiting for him all this time.

He understood it all too perfectly and knew that I had bet seven years of my life on him. And that was why he had the audacity to ditch me in the same spot, time after time.

Lessie tugged at his sleeve lightly.

"Don't say that, Derek. Celine really loves you."

He looked down at her, and his gaze immediately softened. "And that's exactly why I can't rush into marrying her.

"She's too clingy. If we actually sign the papers, she's guaranteed to throw a big fit every time something happens to you."

Listening to his words, I suddenly laughed.

Janice looked at me with red-rimmed eyes, and I shook my head. "I'm fine."

My chest still hurt as though it had been pierced by a thousand dense needles. But once that wave of pain passed, quietness settled in.

The adjacent booth had moved on to a different topic. A liquor bottle spun across the table a few times and ultimately slowed down until it pointed at Derek.

Someone immediately slammed the table.

"Come on. Let's do it. Derek lost!"

"Truth or dare?"

Derek leaned back lazily against the couch. "Dare."

The group erupted in a burst of uproar.

"In that case, kiss Lessie!"

Lessie's face turned bright red. "Don't go too far, guys."

Someone laughed and quickly changed the challenge.

"Fine. She's easily shy, so let's go easy on her. What about a quick kiss on her feet? That's not too out of line, right?"

The group doubled over with laughter.

Lessie lowered her head, biting her lip as she pulled her foot back lightly.

Her soft movements looked nothing like rejection. If anything, it seemed more like she was playing hard to get.

Derek chuckled. "You people are ridiculous."

Still, he didn't refuse. Instead, he set his glass down and leaned forward until he was right beside her feet.

Janice stood up. She grabbed a wine glass off the table and hurled it across the divide, splashing the alcohol all over Derek's face.

The entire booth instantly fell silent.

Derek lifted his head with alcohol dripping from his jaw. His gaze swept across the crowd until he finally saw me.

In that instant, the nonchalance on his face finally cracked. He stood up, and his voice dropped low.

"Celine. Are you stalking me?"

Before I could even respond, Janice let out a cold laugh.

"Do you really think you're that special, Derek? Who the hell would waste their time stalking you? We're here to celebrate. We're celebrating the fact that Celine got married today."