Chapter 2

2. When I opened my eyes again, I saw Silas.

He was kneeling in a sea of blood-red roses, holding out a diamond ring.

His gaze was tender and deeply devoted as he looked up at me.

"Quinn, will you marry me?"

I was dazed. I looked around and saw all our friends watching with bated breath.

This was... the day of our graduation. This was the moment Silas proposed to me.

I remembered how shocked I had been back then. I had almost thought it was a prank.

After all, I had spent four years chasing Silas.

Even after we started dating, I always felt like I was walking on eggshells.

He had introduced me to his friends and even his parents knew about me.

But he never shared his inner life with me. He remembered major holidays, but never our actual anniversary.

He would ask if I was cold or hungry, but the food he brought was never what I actually liked.

His friends had a strange, unspoken understanding whenever I was around, but I never knew what it was.

This proposal had come out of nowhere.

Before this, I didn't think he loved me enough to actually want a lifetime commitment.

I had actually expected us to break up after graduation.

So, when he asked the question, my first reaction wasn't joy. It was pure confusion.

But Silas had made the venue so beautiful. He had invited everyone we knew.

In front of all those witnesses, he was asking me to be his wife.

In that moment in my past life, I decided nothing else mattered. I said yes.

After we got married, I replayed this day in my head a thousand times.

If I had said no then, would everything have been different?

I looked up at the sky and felt the soft breeze against my skin.

I had been reborn.

Silas was still kneeling, his arm beginning to shake as he held the ring out further.

"Quinn? Say yes!" he urged, his voice filled with a confident impatience.

He sounded so certain. He couldn't even imagine a world where I would reject him.

I reached out my hand. His eyes lit up, and he moved to slide the ring onto my finger.

Click.

I reached out and snapped the ring box shut.

Silas's smile froze. Confusion and disbelief washed over his face.

The crowd went dead silent.

Everyone knew how much I loved Silas.

I had followed him like a lost puppy since high school. I even chose a college in Chicago, far from home, just to be near him.

In our sophomore year, I finally found the courage to confess my feelings while he was drunk.

To my shock, he had said yes.

I remembered the look in his eyes back then―love mixed with something I couldn't identify.

I was too happy to care. I thought a single "yes" was enough to bridge any gap.

Now I realize that look was guilt.

He was feeling guilty about Riley Goodwin.

It wasn't until Riley came back from abroad that I realized they had a history that couldn't be erased.

He only accepted my confession because he heard Riley had found a boyfriend overseas.

She was the pure, untouchable first love in his heart. I was just the budget replacement.

He had been moved by my persistence and decided to settle for a new start.

I just happened to confess at the right moment.

It was all so convenient.

We even got married. Life was quiet, but I thought it was stable.

Right up until Riley showed up again.