Chapter 3

3.

I had no idea how long I lay on that freezing floor.

The tearing pain in my abdomen and the suffocating pressure in my chest made me feel like I was dying.

Struggling, I propped myself up on my elbows and dragged myself out.

The dining room was brightly lit. Tessa was sitting there, head down, carefully peeling shrimp for Jared.

Jared opened his mouth smugly, relishing her pampering.

When his gaze drifted to me, it was brimming with naked triumph and disdain.

I remembered how she used to proudly declare that she would never peel shrimp for any man in her life.

Turns out it wasn't that she wouldn't―she just wouldn't do it for me.

Seeing me stumble in, she barely lifted her eyelids.

"You're up? Then sit down and eat. Jared is our guest, so you'd better show some manners."

"If you can't do that, you can get the hell out of this house."

Chewing on the shrimp, Jared scrunched his nose pickily.

"Tessa, this food tastes awful. It's way too salty."

Tessa immediately panicked, dropping her silverware and standing up to coax him.

"Really? Then let's not eat it. I'll take you out for something delicious. Whatever you want."

I leaned against the wall, every slight movement sending sharp pain through my torn midsection.

"Tessa, do you even remember what day it is today?"

Her brows furrowed in annoyance, looking at me as if I were a raving lunatic.

"What, another anniversary?"

"Come on, Devon, we're practically an old married couple. Making a fuss over stuff like this is embarrassing."

"Just stay home and wait. After I finish eating with Jared, I'll bring you back a present."

She turned around and headed upstairs to the bedroom.

She didn't see my bloodshot eyes, nor did she see the last spark of light die out in them.

Only Jared and I were left in the living room.

He walked up to me, his face wearing an undisguised look of victory.

"What are you still hoping for?"

"You old, useless loser, do you really think Tessa still loves you? The person she loves most now is me."

He pulled a striking red marriage certificate out of his back pocket and flipped it open.

"All I had to do was act cute and shed a few tears, and she gladly signed the marriage license with me."

"If you have any dignity left, pack your shit and get lost. Stop being an eyesore."

My eyes locked onto that marriage certificate. In the photo, Tessa smiled like a blooming flower, snuggling against him.

With a loud roar in my head, something shattered completely.

Right.

How could I have forgotten?

Tessa and I had never actually registered our marriage.

We didn't even have a proper wedding.

Back when we first started dating and she was just an extra, she would hold my hand with sparkling eyes and say:

"Devon, when I make it big, we'll get married. I want the whole world to know you are my man!"

Later, she did make it big and became a rising star.

When I brought up marriage, she hugged me apologetically.

"My career is taking off right now, and the paparazzi are watching every move. Let's wait a little longer, okay?"

"I promise I'll give you a wedding that stuns the world."

Later still, she was firmly crowned an award-winning superstar.

She never brought up marriage again.

And out of unspoken understanding, I never asked again either.

Turns out she hadn't forgotten―she had just given that promise, that official title that belonged to me, to someone else.

A dead, icy calm settled in my chest, numbing even the physical pain in my body.

Jared, satisfied after admiring my pale, devastated face, tucked the certificate back away.

Just then, Tessa came downstairs wearing an exquisite dress.

She walked straight up to Jared, naturally taking his hand to leave.

As she passed me, she didn't even spare me a single glance.

The two of them walked out, wrapped in their cozy, shameless intimacy.

After a long time, I slowly turned and walked into the guest room, picking up the packed suitcase I had prepared long ago.

I opened my phone and, without hesitation, booked a one-way ticket leaving for the remote northwestern desert research base in two hours.

One way. No return date.

Without looking back, I walked out of the place that had once held all my love and devotion.

Tessa felt a sudden pang of unease on the road.

After so many years together, she felt she might have truly crossed the line today.

She took out her phone, planning to tell her assistant to wire the money to the hospital for Devon's father first.

That way, Devon would surely be happy again.

The assistant on the other end paused before speaking hesitantly.

"Tessa... Devon's father passed away three days ago."

%%%