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All Chapters of Her Favorite Was Never Me: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1 The Birthday Gift

Dakota Voss called me soon after. "Why did you remove your comment?"I knew exactly which comment she meant. I said quietly, "I deleted it by accident."Instead of questioning me, she simply hummed."There's some whole-wheat bread left in the fridge from yesterday. Make sure you eat it. I have plans tonight, so I won't be home.""Dakota, it's my birthday today."There was a brief moment of silence on the other end."Didn't I already post about it?""Does that even count as a gift?""Callum, we agreed not to spend more than we need to. Posting a picture is a way to remember the day. Don't let all that stuff you see online get into your head."Her voice was gentle, like she was patiently correcting a child who didn't know any better."If you want cake, order one yourself. Use the household account. Just don't get anything too big. It'll be wasteful if you can't finish it."I looked at the six-tier cake on Harrison's private account.Dakota stood behind him, lighting the candl

Chapter 2 What She Remembered

"Who told you to go through my pockets?" Dakota took the receipt from my hand. Her movements were gentle, but her voice had turned cold."It fell out on its own.""You should've put it back." She folded the receipt and slipped it into her wallet.I asked, "Why was the watch everyone chipped in for charged to your card?""I paid for it upfront.""It's $680,000. Who's going to pay you back?""Friends don't need to keep such careful tabs on each other."I looked at the $11.80 container of oatmeal on the table. "But we do?"Dakota followed my gaze and frowned. "What exactly do you want?""A bouquet of flowers."She looked at me as if she hadn't heard correctly. "What?""It's been four years. I just want you to give me a bouquet of flowers."She was silent for a moment. Then, she pulled $500 from her wallet and set it on the table. "If you like flowers that much, buy them yourself."The bills landed beside the oatmeal. It looked like charity, like she was settling a debt."I w

Chapter 3 The Ring

Dakota caught up with me downstairs and grabbed my wrist. "The ring isn't what you think."I tried to pull free, but she held on."Harrison's birthday is next month. He wants to buy a men's ring, and I was just helping him pick one.""Doesn't he have any other friends?""Callum, he just got out of a bad relationship. He needs me now.""You've let him depend on you for four years?"Dakota's fingers tightened around my wrist. "We've known each other for years. Naturally, we're closer than ordinary friends.""I've known him for years too." I looked at her. "He's my buddy, and you're my wife. So, tell me, why are you two closer friends instead?"Dakota was silent for a moment."You're my husband. He's just a friend. It's different."She said it as though that settled everything. As though being my wife was enough to make up for every difference in the way she treated us.I glanced at her. "When we got married, I wanted to buy rings too."She remembered, and her expression dar

Chapter 4 The Exception

"Isn't a diamond ring a little too flashy?" Harrison sounded dismissive, but he couldn't hide his smile.Dakota said, "If you like it, it isn't a waste."Four years ago, I wanted a small wedding, but she said the hotel, flowers, and wedding dress were all just money traps.We invited only six close friends and relatives over for a meal at home. We didn't even exchange vows, but now, Harrison was going through the list, insisting on every detail. "Roses, a band, dinner by the ocean, and a handwritten letter from you. I want all of it.""Okay.""And you have to put the ring on my finger yourself.""Okay."Every "okay" felt like it had been carved out of the emptiness of our four years together.Harrison asked again, "Dakota, why did you marry him?"Dakota was silent for a moment. "He's someone I can build a life with.""What about me?""You're different.""How?""He doesn't need me to fuss over him."Harrison laughed.I pushed open the door.The suite was covered in roses

Chapter 5 The Evidence

The moment I finished speaking, the door behind me flew open.Dakota came after me and grabbed my phone. "Who are you suing?"Her eyes were fixed on the screen, her expression darkening.I pulled my phone back. "Harrison. Everything he got came from our marital assets."Harrison followed her out, the smile on his face completely gone. "Callum, Dakota gave those to me willingly.""Her consent doesn't give her the right to give away my half of the assets."Dakota stepped between us. "How much do you want? I'll transfer it to you. Just leave Harrison out of this."I looked at her. "Even now, you're still protecting him.""I'm trying to solve the problem.""By making me give in all over again? That's your idea of solving things?"Her voice was cold. "Do you really have to take this to court and make this ugly for everyone?""I'm not the one who'll look bad." I brushed her hand away from my phone. "Someone will contact you tomorrow."Dakota didn't come after me. She probably tho

Chapter 6 The Flowers Came Too Late

Dakota didn't linger in the hallway. She hurried off to deal with the seizure of Harrison's assets.Close to midnight, she came back and knocked on the door. "Callum, we need to talk."I didn't open it. "My lawyer will talk to you.""I won't agree to a divorce.""Then, we'll take it to court."Silence stretched on for a long time. Then, Dakota said quietly, "Harrison and I never slept together."My hand stopped around my glass for a moment. "So?""I admit I handled the gifts badly, but I never betrayed you.""So, you're saying that as long as you didn't sleep with him, four years of lying to me doesn't count as betrayal?""I owed him all of that.""Care to elaborate?"Dakota was silent for a moment. "When I was struggling the most after starting my business, he was there for me.""So was I."During our first year of marriage, she couldn't sleep and would stay up all night. I sat with her until dawn.The second year, she was hospitalized with a stomach hemorrhage. I stayed

Chapter 7 A Name for It

The day of the first mediation session, Harrison came too.He had taken off his expensive watch and was wearing an old t-shirt. The moment he saw me, his eyes reddened. "Callum, we've been buddies for years. Do you really have to leave me with nothing?"I placed the property list on the table. "None of this was yours to begin with.""But Dakota gave it all to me.""In that case, she can buy it all back for you with her own money."Dakota sat across from me, watching me the entire time.The mediator asked, "Ms. Voss, do you agree to the divorce?""No.""Is it true that you gave him these assets?"She paused for a few seconds. "Yes, but Callum knew about them."I looked up.Dakota continued, "He knew Harrison and I were close. He never objected all these years."I gave a small laugh. "I only found out the exact amounts yesterday.""You saw his posts.""Harrison blocked me."The mediator looked at Harrison, and his face went pale.My lawyer submitted the printed records.

Chapter 8 Too Late

After submitting the complete chat history, I saw that Harrison had deleted the post.Then, he called me. "Callum, let's settle this between ourselves.""How?""I'll return some of it. You drop the lawsuit.""I want all of it.""Some of it has already been sold.""Then, reimburse me for its value."His breathing grew heavier. "Do you really have to take everything from me?""Harrison, four years ago, when you convinced me to embrace this minimalist marriage, you were already accepting gifts from Dakota, weren't you?"He didn't answer.I continued, "Every time I got suspicious, you made excuses for her. You told me that a woman who didn't give gifts was the one who was truly sincere. Then, you'd use a private account to show off every single thing she gave you. It's not that you like the gifts. You just like taking things from me."Harrison suddenly laughed. "So what? You get to be her husband. Was I not allowed something in return? Dakota was in love with me from the beginni

Chapter 9 What I Wanted

When the court granted the divorce, Dakota said nothing.The official asked her to sign. The tip of her pen touched the paper, but she didn't write her name."Ms. Voss?"She looked up at me. "Can we really not talk this through one more time?""No.""You can have the house. The savings, too.""Just divide everything according to the judgment.""I can make it all up to you.""Dakota, I never wanted those things."Her eyes slowly reddened. "What do you want, then?"I looked at her."Four years ago, I wanted a wedding. Three years ago, I wanted flowers. Two years ago, I just wanted you to have dinner with me. Last year, all I wanted was for you to remember our anniversary. After that, I stopped wanting anything."Her hand began to tremble around the pen. "Why didn't you tell me one more time?""I told you so many times. You were the one who kept telling me real love didn't need to be proven."Dakota lowered her head and finally signed.…When we walked out of the courthous

Chapter 10 Just Right

For my first birthday after the divorce, I ordered a small cake.There was no party, no room full of roses.A few friends took me out to dinner. Some gave me expensive gifts, others inexpensive ones. One gave me a pair of sneakers, another gave me a book, and another brought a bouquet of white lisianthus.I accepted them all.Liking something didn't make me vain. Having expectations wasn't wrong, either. The real wrong was being told to hold back while that same passion was given to someone else.Dakota sent me a message that day. "Happy birthday."I read it and deleted it.Later, I heard from a mutual friend that she'd sold the house. When the buyer came to see it, the only thing left in the living room was our wedding photo.The agent asked if she wanted it cleared out too. She stood there for a long time before saying, "Leave it."But on the day the house was sold, the photo still ended up in the recycling bin. No one was willing to preserve some stranger's failed marriage.

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