Chapter 2

"Kaelen? Kaelen, are you listening to me?"

Elara's voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

My eyes focused on her face, and I instinctively asked her what was wrong.

"Is something on your mind?" she asked, her voice tight with worry. "I've been telling you we need to go to the hospital."

I glanced at the cut. "It's nothing," I said dismissively. "When I was an apprentice, I got hurt all the time."

Elara looked annoyed. Just as she was about to say something, her phone rang.

She looked at the screen and walked a few feet away to answer it.

I watched the smile spread across her face.

I couldn't understand how she could be so gentle with two different men at the same time.

After she hung up, she looked at me apologetically.

"Something urgent came up at work. I have to go back."

Normally, I would have told her to go immediately.

But this time, as she was changed and ready to leave, I grabbed her hand. "I made a reservation at a restaurant. Can't you take the night off?"

A flash of surprise crossed her face, but she pulled her hand from my grasp.

"Tomorrow," she promised. "I'll spend all day with you tomorrow."

Before I could answer, she rushed out the door.

She was in such a hurry she didn't even notice her phone was still on the coffee table. I picked it up and expertly typed in the passcode.

It was still our anniversary date.

I saw that besides me, there was another contact pinned to the top of her chat list: "Julian."

The profile picture was of two hands tightly clasped together.

I didn't need to zoom in. I recognized one of those hands as Elara's.

There was a small burn scar on the back of it, from the first time she tried to cook.

I opened their chat. The only thing there was a location pin for a restaurant.

Just as I was about to check her social media, I heard the click of high heels outside.

I put the phone back where I found it. As I was getting the first-aid kit from a cabinet, the front door opened.

"Kaelen, have you seen my phone?" Elara asked frantically.

"No, I haven't," I said, trying to act casual. "Let me try calling it..."

Before I could finish, she spotted it on the coffee table, grabbed it, and hurried back toward the door.

"Never mind, I found it."

The door slammed shut behind her.

After I bandaged my hand, I took a taxi to the restaurant from her chat.

I found a corner table with a view of the entire place. I waited for half an hour, but there was no sign of Elara.

Just as I was about to leave, I saw her walk in. She was wearing a stunning white evening gown, holding affectionately onto the arm of a man in a sharp suit.

The Elara in front of me was like a different person. The dress was a sexy, backless number, and her makeup was flawless.

Watching this woman who was both so familiar and so strange, I couldn't help but remember my boss's wedding last year.

It was the first time Elara had agreed to meet my friends.

She spent a long time getting ready. I was about to tease her about not needing to dress up so much when she finally came out of the bedroom.

She was wearing shorts and flip-flops.

I thought she just hadn't changed yet, so I told her it was time to go.

She just walked toward the door.

"Aren't you going to change?" I asked, confused.

She looked at me with genuine surprise. "Why would I need to change? We're just going for dinner, right?"

Remembering that, a bitter feeling filled my chest.

So, there were people in the world worth dressing up for.

I pushed down the sadness in my heart and stood up to leave, but I accidentally bumped right into someone.

"I'm sorry..."

"Kaelen? Kaelen Thorne, is that really you!"