Chapter 3
As soon as I got out of the car, I headed straight for the iris patch in the yard.
Charles had planted them himself, saying they represented undying love.
One time, I caught him sneaking around, hiding something in the dirt. I kept bugging him to let me see, but he grinned and pulled me into his arms.
"I'll give you a surprise when we get married," he teased.
So I kept waiting, imagining what it might be.
I clawed at the dirt beneath the irises, my nails cracked, blood and mud smeared together.
But I couldn't feel a thing, inside, all I cared about was finding the answer.
Finally, I dug up a small box.
My hands shook as I opened it.
Inside was a photo of Chloe and a plain Möbius ring.
In the photo, Chloe stood in front of a huge sunflower mural, her face smudged with paint, grinning brightly at the camera.
Charles had written a passionate message on the back of the photo.
[My one true love. May you shine bright, and may fate always keep us together.]
The date was July 5, 2016.
The day my mom passed away.
"So you found it after all," Charles spoke from behind me. "I did like Chloe once, but that's all in the past.
"That day, I wanted to confess to her, but she hugged everyone and said we were all like brothers.
"I never even got to give her that handmade ring."
"So," I choked out, cutting him off, "after your confession failed, you got wasted and fell off the balcony.
"And my mom broke your fall with her own body and died because of it."
I was shaking all over, sobbing uncontrollably, because of something so absurd and pathetic.
I lost my mom, and he kept lying to me for eight whole years.
I yelled, "It wasn't a coincidence, was it? You transferred schools out of guilt, showed up in my life on purpose, made sure I owed you 67,000 dollars, and forced me to chase after you for three years.
"Charles, did you get a kick out of stringing me along?"
"No, Sophie, that's not it," Charles stammered, panic flickering in his eyes. He reached out to wipe my tears, but when I flinched, his hand shook and he pulled it back.
He flicked his lighter and burned the photo.
He said, "There's nothing between me and Chloe. If it bothers you that much, I'll burn it right now.
"If you still can't let it go, I'll cut her out of my life for good, alright?"
He pulled out his phone, blocked Chloe on WhatsApp, and deleted her number right in front of me.
But the next second, Chloe's name popped up on the screen, she was calling.
Charles paused for a couple seconds, then answered.
"This is the last time. I'll end things with her," he said.
But after listening for a bit, his brows furrowed.
"Wait for me. I'll be there soon," he said.
He snatched up his coat, ready to bolt, but when he caught the sarcastic curl of my lips, his own tightened into a thin line.
He added, "You know Chloe's stepmom is trouble. If I'm not there on our wedding night, she'll give Chloe hell.
"But relax, nothing's going to happen between us."
I curled my lips into a sarcastic smile. "You two already had a wedding, didn't you? So it's only natural for you to do what married couples do. Charles, let's break up."
Charles's eyes widened in shock, then quickly filled with anger.
He snapped, "Sophie, is breaking up your way of threatening me now?"
"You really don't trust me? Don't trust what we have?"
I shook my head, keeping my voice steady.
"The moment you took the wrong turn and ended up at Chloe's place on our wedding day, and played along with it, that's when we were done," I said.
Charles let out a low laugh, a mischievous glint in his eyes as he looked at me.
He said, "Don't tell me you're going to claim you're marrying someone else for a business deal again. You may have fooled Alex and the others, but don't fool yourself.
"Enough. Stop this. Who else would marry you besides me?"