Chapter 2

2

Watching them walk away, the stinging pain from the hot wax on my hand didn't seem to hurt that much anymore.

My friend, who had come with me, patted my shoulder with a sigh.

In his eyes, I saw how pathetic and miserable I looked.

"Nate, look, if you can't live without her, why push it this far?" he asked.

"Maybe you should just endure it. It's been ten years, after all."

I knew that in my friends' eyes, I was just Sophie's loyal dog―someone who wouldn't leave no matter how much he was kicked.

I looked at the ruined medallion in the fire and forced a smile of relief.

"Maybe. Or maybe I should have let go a long time ago."

My friend didn't know how to comfort me, so he insisted on driving me home, fearing I'd crash the car in my state.

The house was as silent as a tomb, just like every other night.

I couldn't even remember the last time Sophie had actually stayed the night here.

I grabbed the first-aid kit and treated the burns on my hand.

Despite the physical pain, I started packing my things, only to find that everything I owned fit into a single small suitcase.

It was almost funny.

Before our marriage, I was a well-known heir in Chicago, but after the wedding, I chose to be a house husband.

I did it because Sophie once told me something that broke my heart.

"Nate, I'm only marrying you to save my family's firm. I don't want people saying I slept my way to the top using your family's name."

Back then, I foolishly thought that if I didn't grab this chance to be with her, I'd lose her forever.

I had loved her for a full decade.

Since we were teenagers, she was the only girl who had ever occupied my heart.

In those days, I thought we were childhood sweethearts.

Our relationship started off so well, and I genuinely believed we would grow old together.

But after all these years, I still couldn't compete with the ghost of her dead ex or his living replacements.

I stood on the second floor of the villa, looking at this cold, expensive cage.

Sophie probably forgot that she was the one who designed this house when she was eight years old.

She told me back then that one day, it would be just the two of us living here.

I believed her, but she was the one who forgot the dream.