Faded Snow, Vanished Love

Synopsis

The night before my wedding, I scrolled through posts on an app and stumbled across a note. [After my husband passed away, his best friend took me into his house to wait for my baby. Love never truly fades—it only lingers in another form.] In the attached photo, she sat on the sofa with one hand resting over her pregnant belly. The background was blurred, yet I instantly recognized the wedding photo of Simon Reed and me hanging on the wall behind her. The comment section was full of people saying how lucky she was. [Her late husband's friend takes such good care of her and the baby.] [This is genuine friendship , far more touching than romance.] I took my phone to find Simon and confronted him. He stayed silent for a long while before speaking. "Claire, she is carrying Brian Carter's child. I cannot leave her stuck in a rental apartment." "We brought the house together, you know?" I asked. His eyes darted away awkwardly. "We will have a home of our own someday, but right now that baby is all she has." On the day of our wedding, Maya Young posted another picture of her pregnancy test. [The baby has been kicking constantly today; it must miss its father.] Simon's friend showed him the picture. Simon's fingers tightened around the wedding ring, and his face paled instantly. All the guests waited for him to say I do. Instead, he turned around and rushed down from the stage. I stood facing the whole crowd and called out to his retreating back. "Simon, if you walk away right now, you might as well become the father of her child!" His footsteps paused for a second. In the end, he left without looking back.