Chapter 3

"Your ex-girlfriend?"

She emphasized the word ex on purpose.

I laughed softly and replied to Celeste in front of Cordelia.

"We've already broken up. Miss Quinn, please stop bothering me."

Cordelia tugged at my fingers, her voice bright and coy.

"Pick a date in a few days. We'll get the marriage certificate."

I nodded and said yes.

Although Cordelia and I hadn't registered our marriage yet, we held a grand wedding first.

The wedding lasted the entire day.

By evening, I helped Cordelia stumble into our wedding suite.

She'd clearly drunk too much. Her eyes were hazy, and her usually fair skin had a faint flush from the alcohol.

I swallowed and forced myself to look away.

I helped her take off her heels and was about to leave when Cordelia caught my hand.

"Where do you think you're going? Today's our wedding. Plenty of people are still watching outside."

Her palm was hot enough to make me flinch.

I said, "Then I'll sleep on the sofa."

As soon as I said it, Cordelia grabbed my tie and pulled me down over her.

"If we're acting, we act all the way. Do you understand?"

"But..."

"But what? I'm not some antique. It's just a first time. Consider yourself lucky."

Then she kissed me first.

My eyes widened. At first, I tried to resist, but as the kiss deepened, my body began to obey her honestly.

When I woke the next morning, everything still felt unreal.

Cordelia was still asleep in my arms. Under my hand was the smooth warmth of her skin. She'd buried her face against my chest, and the atmosphere was calmer than I'd ever known.

It was hard to imagine that such a ruthless woman could be so soft the night before.

She turned over and hugged me, her voice gentle and sleepy.

"Ryan..."

I made Cordelia breakfast. Watching her eat happily like a little squirrel warmed something inside me.

Celeste had never cared for anything I cooked.

"I know you married me for a reason, but why me?"

My sudden question caught Cordelia off guard. She froze for a moment before realizing I was asking why she'd chosen me.

Cordelia thought seriously.

"You look like my first love."

I was surprised. Even a powerful woman like her had once loved someone she couldn't have.

"My first love was in college. He already had a girlfriend at the time."

I nodded. As expected, love ruins people.

I'd secretly loved Celeste in high school. Back then, she and Lester had loved each other fiercely, while I quietly watched over her.

Later, Lester went abroad. Celeste and I both got into the same university in the city.

In our sophomore year, she and Lester broke up because of the distance. I finally managed to win Celeste over.

That night, Celeste drank herself senseless at a bar, and I brought her back to campus.

She clung to my arm and cried as if her heart had been torn apart. She said, "Ryan, you must never let me down."

My heart ached for her. I held her hand tightly, pulled her into my arms, and made a solemn promise.

Now, all of that had turned me into a joke.

I went back once to the place Celeste and I used to share.

Dust had settled on the cabinets and table. Celeste hadn't been back for a long time.

I packed my things and took all my personal belongings with me.

Looking at the nearly empty suitcase, I felt complicated.

I had very few things. Most of what filled the home belonged to Celeste. The rest were couple items I'd bought on my own.

Celeste had never been interested in any of them.

Then the exquisite ring box on the nightstand caught my eye.

Before the car crash, I'd ordered a custom pair of matching rings and placed them beside the bed, hoping to surprise Celeste when she came home.