Chapter 2

2

That night, Silas didn't come home.

He sent a text saying he'd be staying at the studio for the next few days.

I didn't receive another word from him for a long time.

But it didn't matter.

Nora Nightingale sent me regular updates on his whereabouts.

They went hiking together and kissed at sunrise.

他们 watched the ocean together and whispered sweet nothings at sunset.

Silas even took her to Azure Bay, the place I had always wanted to visit.

They spent their nights tangled together in each other's arms.

Two days before the wedding, they finally finished a whole box of protection.

Only then did Silas bother to return.

He brought back a pair of wedding rings he had designed himself.

He pulled me into his arms with practiced tenderness.

"I'm sorry, Shay. I've been so busy with the firm that I haven't been here for you."

"I designed these rings myself. After the wedding, I'll take you to Azure Bay for our honeymoon."

I didn't expose his lies.

I just looked at him with numb eyes.

"I don't want to go to Azure Bay anymore," I said.

Silas blinked, then laughed it off, pulling me closer.

"That's fine. We'll go wherever you want. I'll follow your lead."

His voice dropped to a soft, romantic whisper.

"I can't believe I'm finally marrying you in two days. I'm so happy I can't sleep."

"The promise I made when I was eighteen is finally coming true at twenty-five."

His eyes sparkled just like they did when he was a teenager.

But my heart no longer raced for him.

The faint scent of jasmine perfume clung to him, hiding beneath his heavy cologne.

It made my head spin and my eyes sting.

Memories of our past floated through my mind.

At eighteen, I lost my parents. My life turned pitch black overnight.

Silas was the one who crashed into my world.

He forced his way into my darkness and pulled me out.

He told me, "Shayna Sterling, don't be afraid. I'll always be by your side."

"If your world is dark, I will be your light."

Since then, my entire life revolved around him.

To keep that light, I had risked everything for him.

Back then, the Sinclair family patriarch was a notorious womanizer with multiple illegitimate sons.

Silas's path to inheritance was paved with thorns.

The day before he was set to take over, his half-brothers sent men to kidnap him.

To save him, I threw myself in front of a blade.

It left a terrifying, four-inch scar across my chest.

From that day on, the people who used to look down on me changed their tune.

They started calling me the future Mrs. Sinclair with genuine respect.

They finally accepted me.

Every time Silas and I were intimate, he would look at that scar and cry.

He looked so heartbroken that I felt a surge of sweetness.

I thought the scar was the ultimate proof of my love for him.

The happier I smiled, the harder he cried.

But now...

I reached up and touched the skin over my heart.

I didn't want this scar anymore.

And I didn't want Silas Sinclair either.