Chapter 2

2.

First love?

I remembered clearly that after Gavin finished high school, he went abroad for a while. We had no contact during that period.

There were rumors he had a girlfriend overseas.

Gavin never shared the details, and I never asked. After all, we were nothing to each other then.

Bitterness is always sharpest when you have no right to taste it.

When he returned, we went back to our old ways. No one ever mentioned that mystery girl again.

Gavin is a man of heavy secrets. Even after seven years of marriage, I never felt like I truly knew him.

He rarely expressed his true feelings.

For seven years, I felt like I was wading through a dark river, trying to learn his preferences one by one. I tried to be the perfect, quiet wife so he wouldn't grow to resent me.

Yet now, someone had managed to make him break his own principles. He was ready to throw away a wife who had been with him through everything.

I gripped my phone, lacking even the courage to call him. Instead, I called a lawyer and asked him to draft divorce papers.

I began calmly packing everything that belonged to me.

Gavin had bought this apartment with his first major bonus and put it in my name. We had lived here for all seven years.

Every corner of the place triggered a memory. It reminded me of how much I loved him, how careful I had been, and...

It reminded me of how he treated me. To outsiders, he was a devoted husband, but I knew the truth.

There was always something missing. His affection felt like a series of chores he was checking off a list.

After listing the apartment for sale, I walked away.

Gavin didn't come home that night, and there was no word from him.

It made sense. His first love was back, so he would naturally want to be with her.

Strangely, the lack of news didn't make me spiral. Perhaps seven years was enough time to accept the reality that he didn't love me.

While at my studio, I got a sudden notice to meet a client in the next city. I realized I had left my ID back at the apartment.

When I returned, everything was exactly as I had left it. There was no sign that anyone had been there.

The clean, empty space made my bitter smile feel hollow.

The divorce papers were still sitting quietly on the coffee table. I stared at those pages for a long time.

It had been a week. What kind of magic did that woman have to keep him so captivated?

I shook it off. I was getting a divorce anyway. Who he spent his time with was no longer my concern.

As I grabbed my ID to leave, I heard the door open. My eyes met Gavin's.

He looked as if nothing had happened, his expression as cold as ever.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

It was a casual question. I knew he wasn't actually worried about me.

I remembered a time I went on a business trip and texted him, worried he wouldn't adjust to me being gone. He just replied with a dry "Okay."

During those two weeks, he never once asked where I was or if I was eating well.

I was just an optional part of his life. We were tied together by a debt and a legal document, nothing more.

"A business trip," I replied just as coldly.

Gavin blinked, looking surprised. Usually, the moment he came home, I would rush to him for a hug or a kiss.

Even if he seemed reluctant, I would always tease him until I got the affection I craved.

My coldness caught him off guard, but his hesitation lasted only a second. My heart still tightened painfully, despite my best efforts.

"Here are the rings you wanted."

Gavin pulled out a jewelry box and set it on the hallway table before bending down to change his shoes.

I thought about the rings I had designed. Someone else had worn them before I even had the chance.

The thought made me feel physically ill. I looked at his hands and noticed he wasn't wearing his old wedding band. His finger was bare.

"Why aren't you wearing the new ring?" I asked.