Chapter 2

2

"Hey miss, are we still going?" the driver's voice broke through my messy thoughts.

I pulled myself together. "Not yet. Let us wait a bit longer."

"Look, if you are spying on someone, this spot is not great. We need to be a bit more hidden..."

Before the driver could even finish, Caleb's car drove out of the gate again.

"Follow that car, please."

The car eventually stopped at the local maternity hospital.

Caleb ran to the passenger side to open the door, and a young woman with a slight baby bump stepped out.

I gasped. She was Yvonne Davis, one of my college students.

I did not even remember how I made it back home. The cold early winter wind whipped against my tear-stained face, stinging like needles.

At eleven that night, Caleb sent me a message.

"Reporting to my beautiful wife! Work is crazy tonight. Please go to bed early. I might have to pull an all-nighter."

Yvonne must have thrown a tantrum to keep him there.

Young girls certainly knew how to be needy.

I stared at my reflection in the vanity mirror. I was thirty-one, and the fine lines around my eyes were starting to show.

Of course, men always preferred young and pretty girls.

Who would care about an older, divorced woman?

I let out a bitter, self-deprecating laugh and did not reply.

I opened Yvonne's Instagram page.

Her last post from six months ago read: "Even in the darkest valley, I still reach for the sun."

It fit her carefully built persona perfectly―quiet, resilient, and innocent.

Caleb returned the next morning.

Maybe he was feeling guilty, or maybe I was just hypersensitive, but his eyes kept dodging mine.

"Breakfast is ready, sweetheart!"

I sat down at the table like a robot. Caleb looked at me with concern. "What is wrong? Did you not sleep well? You look pale."

Right then, my phone rang.

I stood up to take the call in the other room.

When I came back, a slice of Nutella toast was already waiting on my plate.

I pushed the plate away and took a sip of water.

"Who was that?" Caleb asked as he chewed on his toast. "You look like you have a lot on your mind."

"Yvonne Davis."

Caleb choked slightly, his eyes widening. "Yvonne?"

"Yes. The student I told you about before."

Caleb tried to act natural. "Oh, the girl from a single-parent home who gets straight A's?"

"Yes, her. I am surprised you remember."

Panic flashed in his eyes. "I do not care about random people, but I remember everything you tell me, Meredith."

I stayed quiet and took another sip of water.

Caleb cleared his throat. "What about her?"

"She is not feeling well. She wants to take a long leave of absence."

I watched Caleb swallow hard. He immediately changed the subject.

"Meredith, when are we going to pick out our wedding rings? Should we hire a designer to make something unique for us?"

"Sure. Let us do it today."

Caleb clearly did not expect me to agree so easily.

I had always been indifferent about these things. Whenever he brought up rings or dresses, I had turned him down.

I felt a second marriage did not need to be so loud, and I never cared much for ceremonies anyway.

But Caleb would always tell me sincerely, "I will not let you say that. You deserve the absolute best in this world."

"Actually, today might not work," he stammered. "I still have some urgent work to finish at the office."

I let out a cold laugh. "Is that so? Some other time, then."

I knew exactly what his urgent work was. He was going to spend Saturday with Yvonne.

Caleb hated working overtime. He never dragged his work into the weekend.

But today, Yvonne did not have classes.

He quickly swallowed his food, grabbed his coat, and rushed out the door.

Looking at his hurried back, I found the whole thing hilarious.

Two years ago, I divorced my ex-husband, Chad, because he cheated on me.

When Caleb found out, he was furious.

He beat Chad so badly that Chad ended up in the hospital.

"What a piece of trash," Caleb had snarled back then. "How could he do something so disgusting? He is an embarrassment to men. Any guy would kill to marry you, Meredith. He did not know how to cherish you."

He had sounded so sincere.

His fists had been so heavy.

Caleb had paid Chad ten thousand dollars to settle the lawsuit.

But Caleb had only shrugged. "A little money to make you feel better is worth every penny."

Then he hired the best lawyer to make sure I got everything in the divorce.

I never thought that in just two years, Caleb would become the exact same piece of trash he once despised.

I dialed the dean's number. "Dean, about the study abroad program in New Zealand... I will take it."

The dean was thrilled. "You finally made up your mind! I will submit your name right away." He paused. "But you are leaving soon. Will it affect your wedding?"

A lump formed in my throat. "There is no wedding."