Chapter 2

I kept my promise. For six years, I took care of everything, cooking, cleaning, and socializing. He never had to worry about anything outside of work.

A few years ago, when his company was struggling, I gave him hundreds of thousands of dollars from my stock earnings without a second thought.

Everyone said Nixon was lucky to have me. They said I spoiled him rotten.

Nixon's eyes softened when he looked at me. He took my hand and said, "Let's just focus on us from now on."

I thought I had finally won him over. But all it took was one smile from Rebecca, and he turned his back on me.

"Dinner's ready. Come eat," Nixon said. He served Rebecca himself and called her over gently.

My heart twisted with bitterness. Nixon never cooked for me.

Rebecca turned to walk over. But out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a vase on the side. Her eyes sharpened. She walked straight to it and knocked it over on purpose.

She broke the antique vase I gave Nixon.

I felt my fists clench, but the strength drained away just as fast.

Rebecca did it on purpose. But now that I was a ghost, I couldn't do anything about it.

Nixon once told me how much he loved that vase. So I went out of my way to find it for him.

Its worth wasn't just the price tag. It carried all the emotions and meaning I put into it.

I still remembered how Nixon grinned when he got it. He pulled me into a hug and thanked me. For a moment, I felt like the happiest person alive.

But now, Nixon just frowned a little. He went over and took Rebecca's hand. "Did you get scratched?"

"No, but wasn't that vase from Madalyn?" Rebecca basked in Nixon's gentle care, but she wore a guilty look on her face.

"It's nothing. Just a worthless vase," Nixon replied.

I looked at him. A cold sadness spread through me.

I knew Nixon cared about Rebecca, and I knew he never truly loved me.

But at that moment, I finally understood just how heartless he really was.

After dinner with Rebecca, Nixon stretched out on the bed. For some reason, he seemed restless.

He started calling me, but no one answered. Annoyed, he called my mom. "Where's Madalyn?"

"Nixon, I told you. Madalyn is sick..." my mom said. Her voice came through the phone, sounding worn out and raspy.

Before I could even feel sorry for her, Nixon snapped. His face turned ice cold. "Your daughter has no shame. She lies to me. Now you're just as bad? Like mother, like daughter. You're both rotten to the core!

"Tell Madalyn she has three days to come crawling back. Or I'll divorce her."

My mom was always gentle. Nixon's rant left her so stunned that she couldn't even talk back.

Nixon hung up. But even then, he was still angry. He threw his phone to the floor in frustration.

He was usually so calm. I had never defied him before. Now, with me "acting out" for so long, it was really getting under his skin.

Just then, someone knocked on the door. Rebecca walked in wearing pajamas.

"Nixon, can we talk?" She sat down on his bed, looking sad. "I dreamed about us again."

Nixon couldn't stand seeing her like that. He shook off his frustration fast and reached out to pat her hand, tying to soothe her.

"Nixon, I regret it so much. We were so in love. But I gave up on you because your parents pressured me." Rebecca moved closer. Her gentle fragrance drifted near his face. "I'm sorry. Truly, I'm sorry."

Nixon's expression turned dark.

Rebecca was his first love, the one who brought warmth and light to his youth.

But Nixon came from a wealthy family, and Rebecca was born in a remote town. His parents would never let them be together.

Nixon wanted to hold on to Rebecca. He even thought about running away with her.

But Rebecca left Nixon a letter and vanished from his life.

In the letter, she said Nixon's parents had threatened her. They said if she stayed with him, they'd make her life a living hell.

With a sick grandfather and a little brother to care for, she couldn't just abandon her family for him. She begged Nixon to forgive her.

Nixon had been weighed down by guilt ever since.

"I'm the one who should apologize! It's all my parents' fault," Nixon said. His eyes turned red as memories of the past came flooding back.

They stared into each other's eyes, the air thick with tenderness and regret. They looked like lovers in a sad story, the kind who never got their happy ending.

And me? After six years by Nixon's side, I felt like nothing but a fool. But that was not the real story.