Never Meet Withered Snow Lotus of Yore

After the surgery, I quietly slipped my watch into Owen Diaz's coat pocket.

That night, I sat at the dining table, silently staring at the table full of dishes.

The room was nearly filled to the brim with the gifts Tasha Snyder's secretary, Leah Kirby, had delivered.

"Mr. Miller, Ms. Snyder said she has an important business deal tonight, so she won't be able to spend your anniversary with you. These are all gifts she personally picked out for you."

Looking at the table of cold food, I opened my iPad and saw that my watch's location was in an upscale villa complex.

The diamond watch was a gift from Tasha. It had the most advanced GPS tracking and listening device installed.

Years ago, I was abducted, and that near-death experience kept Tasha awake at night for half a year. So, ever since then, she had been especially concerned about my safety.

"Tasha, today is your and Keegan's seventh wedding anniversary. Are you really not going back?"

A chorus of teasing voices erupted from the other end of the line.

After a long moment, a cold, mocking laugh sounded. "What, and spend time with that nauseating sourpuss?"

Her tone was dismissive and sarcastic.

Through the screen, I seemed to see that familiar look of disgust on Tasha's face.

Laughter sounded from the other end, followed by the clinking of glasses.

"I heard you've refused to engage in any physical intimacy with Keegan for seven years. How on earth do you manage to keep your hands off a hottie like him?"

"Are you crazy? Everyone in our circle knows that Tasha has severe germaphobia. No matter how good looking Keegan is, it doesn't change the fact that he'd been played with by other men. He probably can't even get it up anymore, so how could he compare to Owen?"

Owen wrapped his arm around Tasha and let out a snort of laughter.

I went cold all over, my hands balled into fists so tight that they trembled. It felt as though I had been dragged back to the darkest moment of my life—the one I least wanted to remember.

The day before marrying Tasha, I was taken by her enemies.

To humiliate the Snyder family, they used every means to torture me for 72 hours straight.

When Tasha found me, she was so out of control that she looked like a madwoman.

From then on, I developed a severe mental disorder and would vomit at the touch of others.

Tasha would always get choked up and tell me repeatedly, "Keegan, this isn't your fault. To me, you are the most wonderful person in the world."

The group burst into laughter again, and someone else asked, "Then why did you marry Keegan in the first place? Seven years is a long time. Even if you were just playing house, you'd have developed some feelings by now, right?"

The atmosphere gradually quieted down, as if everyone was curious about Tasha's answer.

The room fell so silent that I could only hear the sound of my heartbeat.

Tasha took a sip of her drink and unhurriedly said, "Oh, grow up. I refused to do it with him because I find him disgusting. But if I hadn't married him, what would people think of my family? Besides, who's going to be responsible if he dies? You?"

The other person laughed and said, "Silly me. I almost forgot that without you, Keegan really might die."

"Forget it. He's an orphan anyway. He should've been on his knees thanking the heavens he got to marry you in the first place. A broke guy like him is only good for keeping around as a plaything. All you have to do is buy him a sports car and a designer watch to keep him happy."

The party ended.

It was only after everyone had left that Owen finally spoke.

"Tasha, I've got a surprise for you. Want to guess what it is?"

Tasha let out a coy sound and rasped, "I'll find out once I try it."

An endless stream of sounds that made one's face burn kept coming through.

A stabbing pain shot through my palm before I suddenly realized that the hand I had clenched into a fist was already dripping with blood. Tears seeped into the gaps between my fingers, soaking the wedding ring on my ring finger.

I shifted my stiff body and swept all the carefully prepared food off the table in one motion, then began violently vomiting.

The sounds from the other end of the screen didn't gradually die down until the sky began to lighten at dawn.

Tasha's voice had gone hoarse from crying. "Owen, you dog."

Looking at my bloodstained wedding ring, I suddenly remembered the vows from our wedding.

"Tasha, once I set my heart on someone, I'll stay committed to the very end. I won't let go even in death. But if there's even a whiff of unfaithfulness in this relationship, I will disappear from your life forever."

Tasha, who had been 20 and bright-eyed then, laughed as she teased, "Don't be silly. Do you think we're in some rom-com? Too bad I'll never give you that opportunity for as long as I live."

Gazing at the wretched reflection of myself in the floor-to-ceiling window, I smiled bitterly. Then, I picked up my phone and called Tasha's mother, Janelle Benton.

"Mom, I've thought it through, and I accept your terms."