Chapter 2

The little girl's words threw me off.

Yvonne and I had been together for so many years, yet the only photo we had together was the one tucked inside my phone case. She had told me that she disliked pictures, so in all those years, we had only taken a single photo together on the day we registered our marriage.

The little girl's mother seemed to notice that something was off. She hurriedly stepped forward, pulled her daughter back, and flashed me an apologetic smile. "I'm so sorry; children just say whatever comes to mind. Please don't take it to heart."

I waved my hand and remained silent.

I picked up my phone from where I had set it aside and began mindlessly scrolling. The moment I opened my social media feed, I saw a post Michael had uploaded just a minute ago.

It was just a screenshot of Yvonne's post, captioned, "Loving you is the best decision I've ever made."

The instant I saw her post, I went rigid. When I finally came to my senses, I tapped on Yvonne's profile picture with trembling fingers. Her social media feed was completely empty.

As if something had just occurred to me, I logged into my alternate account and checked Yvonne's profile again. This time, I saw everything.

Yvonne's latest post had been uploaded just ten minutes ago. There were only two pictures—one was a selfie of Yvonne and Michael with their cheeks pressed together, and the other was a table full of dishes.

I stared at the feast in the photo. It was identical to the spread Yvonne had prepared for me earlier. The caption read, "Happy Birthday! For you, I'm willing to do anything."

To make matters worse, a three-year-old photo of Yvonne and Michael was pinned to the top of her social media feed. I stared at that photo before taking our photo out from behind my phone case.

The difference was night and day. Yvonne wore a gentle smile in her photo with Michael. However, in our photo, she wore a scowl.

We had even gotten into a minor argument that day.

With trembling fingers, I scrolled through Yvonne's posts. She'd posted almost every single day. Some days, she had even posted several times.

I casually tapped on one of the photos. It was an image of Yvonne and Michael sharing a kiss beneath a burst of fireworks.

I remembered that night. It was New Year's Eve, and I had waited for Yvonne in the square for a long time with a bouquet of flowers. In the end, all I had received was a single message from her.

"I'm working overtime. Don't wait up."

As it turned out, we were in the same square that night. While I stood shivering in the biting wind with a bouquet in my arms, the two of them were sharing a passionate kiss.

I tapped on another photo. Michael had pulled Yvonne into a heated kiss at the top of a Ferris wheel.

I remembered that day too. I had been running a high fever that wouldn't break and had asked Yvonne to bring me some medicine on her way home. I had called her again and again before she finally picked up. In the end, all she brought back was a box of chewable digestive tablets.

Now that I saw this post, realization dawned on me. Yvonne hadn't even bought those digestive tablets for me. She'd simply grabbed an extra box for me while purchasing medicine for Michael.

My eyes were misty as I tapped on another photo. Yvonne and Michael were taking Michael's dog to the vet to get dewormed.

I doubt I would ever forget that day for the rest of my life. Grandma had been on her deathbed. Right before she drew her last breath, she held my hand and told me she wanted to see Yvonne.

I repeatedly called Yvonne that day. When she ultimately picked up, her tone was full of impatience. "I got called in for work at the last minute. I'm out of town on a business trip. What do you want me to do? I can't make it back in time at all!"