Chapter 1
Five years after our divorce, I ran into Jasper Seth by the candle stand at Saint Gwen's Chapel on the outskirts of town.
Everyone said Saint Gwen's Chapel was magical. If lovers prayed together here, they would stay together for a lifetime.
But Jasper never bought into any of that. No matter how much I pleaded, he always refused to come with me.
Now, he walked hand in hand with a bombshell, her curves turning heads everywhere.
As for me, I was here to make good on my vow.
When our eyes met, he looked genuinely surprised.
"Honey, look at that woman over there. That scar on her face is just nasty," the woman beside him said.
She gave me a quick once-over, her disgust obvious.
"Go on in, baby. I'll have a smoke out here," Jasper said.
He lowered his head, pulled out a cigarette from the pack, and lit up, not even bothering to respond to her.
When it was just the two of us left there, neither of us said a word.
After his cigarette was done, he snuffed it out with his toe and said quietly, "Brianna, does your scar still hurt when it rains?"
I smiled and shook my head.
It stopped hurting ages ago.
Honestly, the pain disappeared after I left him five years ago.
*****
After his cigarette was out, Jasper lingered outside, making no move to go in.
I finished my prayer, turned, and walked away.
"Bri..."
He looked like he wanted to say something, but in the end, he said nothing.
I never expected Kinfield to be so small. We ended up running into each other again.
That evening, I was tidying up the gallery's front desk when Jasper walked in with the same woman from yesterday.
"Damn, is she a ghost or what? She is haunting us!"
The woman beside him shot me a look of pure disdain, and Jasper looked taken aback.
"Stop it!" Jasper cut in, his voice firm.
This time, he didn't stay silent. The woman, clearly annoyed, walked in first.
"Mr. Seth, back for another painting? How's your wife doing? I saw on her Instagram that she's six months pregnant now, congratulations!"
Nina Orion, one of the gallery staff, walked in with a cup of milkshake and greeted him.
Her words broke the awkward silence between us.
The woman with the hourglass figure beside him showed not the slightest sign of being pregnant. Clearly, she wasn't the Mrs. Seth Nina had mentioned.
So some things about Jasper never changed.
"Thanks. She's at home... I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell her I stopped by today," Jasper said.
He cleared his throat and looked up at me instinctively.
I lowered my head, jabbing the straw into my milkshake, when Jasper suddenly turned around and asked, "What time do you get off work, Brianna?"
"Our gallery closes at 10:30 PM, Mr. Seth," I said.
I kept up that practiced, polite smile, hiding any sign that we'd ever known each other.
"Can we talk after you finish your shift?"
He finally worked up the nerve to ask.
"Your pregnant wife is waiting for you at home, isn't she?" I replied.
And I maintained that practiced, polite smile.
A hint of embarrassment flashed across Jasper's face, and he didn't say another word.
I must've poked a hole in my milkshake cup without even noticing.
The milkshake started leaking out, making a mess all over the desk.
While I was reaching for some napkins, Nina came over to the front desk and started checking the membership list on the computer.
"Let me see who he brought today... Oh wow, he's got a brand new girl again," Nina whispered, grinning like she was ready for gossip.
"Hey, don't pry into the guests' business," I reminded her.
"Sorry," Nina said.
She stuck her tongue out, playful as ever.
"Brianna, do you know Mr. Seth from Crown Group? He seems pretty familiar with you," Nina asked, her curiosity obvious.
Familiar? Jasper and I spent five years sharing a bed.
I knew exactly what he liked in bed, what scents made him crazy, and he could probably map out every mole on my body with his eyes closed.
Did that count as being familiar with him?
The air conditioning at the reception desk was blasting cold. I hunched my shoulders and opened WhatsApp to send a message.
[When you come over, can you bring me a jacket? Just grab the gray one behind the first door on the left in the closet.]
I waved goodbye to Nina before heading out.
"Nina, I'm leaving."
Nina replied, "Brianna, thanks for covering my shift.
"And please, don't tell the boss I was late, okay? Pretty please?"
She clasped her hands together in front of her chest, giving me her best puppy-dog eyes.
"Just this once," I said, trying to sound stern.
As I stepped into the elevator and turned around, I saw Jasper come rushing out after me, looking like he was about to say something.
But before I could hear what he was trying to say, the elevator doors closed.
I stared at my reflection in the elevator.
A jagged scar slashed across my forehead, running diagonally down to the middle of my left eyebrow.
Back then, I was so hung up on it. I always kept my hair down, covering half my face to hide that scar.
But after five years away from Jasper, it didn't bother me anymore.
When the elevator reached the first floor, my phone buzzed.
[Brianna, there's a traffic jam on the way. Wait for me, okay?]
And I replied, [Okay, drive safe.]
I glanced outside. The wind was picking up, and my phone flashed a typhoon alert.
I ducked into the café on the first floor, ordered a coffee, and settled by the window.
"Brianna? Long time no see."
A woman in an apricot trench coat slid into the seat across from me. It was Diana Powell, and she used to be my dad's assistant.
She left the company and moved overseas not long after my dad stepped back from work due to his illness.
"Yeah, it's been a while," I said.
"Wow, you changed your hair. I barely recognized you!" Diana said.
I smiled. Nobody stays the same forever, after all.
Diana then asked, "Where have you been these past five years? How have you been?
"Does Jasper... know you're back?"
I thought back to our encounter earlier and nodded calmly.
"We've seen each other," I said.
"That's good. Honestly, when I came back from overseas and heard you two had split up, I was really surprised," Diana said, sounding genuinely regretful.
She looked at me with real pity, like she was honestly sorry about how things ended between Jasper and me.
I looked up at her, but my mind was already drifting back to five years ago.
When I first met Jasper, the Cooper family had just broken off the engagement with me.
At the engagement party, Isaac Cooper shamelessly pointed at the scar on my forehead for everyone to see.
He scoffed, "Who'd want to marry this ugly freak?
"I don't care how loaded the Hunt family is. She's still gross.
"No way I'm putting my lips anywhere near her!"
No matter how much his parents pleaded, Isaac refused to compromise. He just put his arm around a pretty girl and walked away, leaving me behind without a second glance.
I kept my head down, listening to my dad raging at the Cooper family, unable to say a single word in protest.
It was because what Isaac said was true. Tears started to blur my eyes.
Then I heard someone say, "Don't waste your tears on someone like that. He's not worth it."