Chapter 2 · His Two Lost Hours

Chapter 2

Even on the day we took our wedding photos, he only shaved off about ten minutes for me, just rounding it down as usual.

After I closed the app, James didn't send me anything else.

It felt like he was saying, "I've already given you what you wanted. What more do you want from me?"

So what else was I supposed to be upset about?

But this time, I really wasn't okay with it.

At ten o'clock that night, James was calling from downstairs.

I instinctively reached for my phone, only to realize it was dead.

James kept calling out.

Still in my pajamas, I grabbed a coat and headed downstairs.

James was standing there, head tilted back, about to shout my name again.

But as soon as he saw me coming down, he immediately went quiet, his expression going back to that calm, collected look.

James almost never lost his cool.

He'd never yelled like this before, totally ignoring how he looked.

"I came home and you weren't there," James called out.

I just shrugged, pulling my coat tighter. "Didn't feel like going back."

James fell silent, and I stayed quiet too. After a while, neither of us said a word.

Then, he finally broke the silence. "My mom told me you know about Joanna now, right?"

Finally, James asked the question he'd been holding back.

I looked up at him, meeting his emotionless gaze, just cold and calm, not even a flicker of guilt or regret anywhere in his eyes.

For three years, I kept asking him. For three years, he kept hiding it from me.

And here we were, on the verge of getting married.

Yet even now, he was still making me feel like I didn't matter, all because of Joanna Quinn.

How could he not feel even a hint of guilt?

It shouldn't be like this.

It hurt so much I could barely breathe, but James didn't even notice.

Or maybe he did notice.

But he didn't care at all.

He gestured toward the shut car door.

The next second, the door opened from the inside.

A woman with soft features stepped out of the passenger seat, her hair cascading down to her waist.

She wore a floor-length skirt and made her way over, limping with every step.

She barely took a few steps before James rushed over to steady her.

For the first time, that calm mask slipped from his face.

Just the way she almost stumbled had him totally flustered.

At that moment, all the years I'd spent giving and putting up with everything felt like a joke.

She stopped right in front of me, slowly letting go of James's hand; their fingers had been tightly intertwined.

"Miss Goodwin, let me explain my relationship with James myself," she said.

She lowered her head and gave her right leg a few self-mocking pats. "This limp is because of what happened with James.

"He's got a good heart; he bought me a house, a car, and gives me 30,000 dollars every month to live on. But that's the extent of it; there's nothing else between us."

Nothing else between them? Could that really be true?

If there was nothing between them, then why did James always get pulled away whenever we were together?

If there was nothing between them, then why did he disappear during our wedding photo shoot?

If there was nothing between them, then why, even after we set the wedding date, does he still got those calls that made him leave?

Why did he still get those calls that make him leave?

I stayed silent.

Her words went unanswered, and her eyes grew teary.

James suddenly spoke up from the side. "Claire, where are your manners? Jojo is talking to you."

Joanna quietly slipped her hand into his, pleading on my behalf.

"James, don't yell at her. Miss Goodwin just needs some time to take it in. I'm fine," she said.

Watching their fingers locked together, I was the only one here who felt out of place.

They didn't think there was anything wrong with it at all.

Clearly, this kind of casual intimacy had happened between them countless times when no one was watching.

Two alarms went off at the same time.

James and Joanna both took out their phones and silenced the alarms.

When she caught me watching, Joanna blushed and explained, "Every fifteenth of the month, James takes me to the hot springs; it helps with my leg.

"He's always so busy, so he set a reminder just for me so he wouldn't forget.

"And for me, James worries he might not hear the alarm sometimes, so he always asks me to remind him before we leave."

Hot springs?

I suddenly remembered those times when my cramps were really bad.

Chapter 2

Even on the day we took our wedding photos, he only shaved off about ten minutes for me, just rounding it down as usual.

After I closed the app, James didn't send me anything else.

It felt like he was saying, "I've already given you what you wanted. What more do you want from me?"

So what else was I supposed to be upset about?

But this time, I really wasn't okay with it.

At ten o'clock that night, James was calling from downstairs.

I instinctively reached for my phone, only to realize it was dead.

James kept calling out.

Still in my pajamas, I grabbed a coat and headed downstairs.

James was standing there, head tilted back, about to shout my name again.

But as soon as he saw me coming down, he immediately went quiet, his expression going back to that calm, collected look.

James almost never lost his cool.

He'd never yelled like this before, totally ignoring how he looked.

"I came home and you weren't there," James called out.

I just shrugged, pulling my coat tighter. "Didn't feel like going back."

James fell silent, and I stayed quiet too. After a while, neither of us said a word.

Then, he finally broke the silence. "My mom told me you know about Joanna now, right?"

Finally, James asked the question he'd been holding back.

I looked up at him, meeting his emotionless gaze, just cold and calm, not even a flicker of guilt or regret anywhere in his eyes.

For three years, I kept asking him. For three years, he kept hiding it from me.

And here we were, on the verge of getting married.

Yet even now, he was still making me feel like I didn't matter, all because of Joanna Quinn.

How could he not feel even a hint of guilt?

It shouldn't be like this.

It hurt so much I could barely breathe, but James didn't even notice.

Or maybe he did notice.

But he didn't care at all.

He gestured toward the shut car door.

The next second, the door opened from the inside.

A woman with soft features stepped out of the passenger seat, her hair cascading down to her waist.

She wore a floor-length skirt and made her way over, limping with every step.

She barely took a few steps before James rushed over to steady her.

For the first time, that calm mask slipped from his face.

Just the way she almost stumbled had him totally flustered.

At that moment, all the years I'd spent giving and putting up with everything felt like a joke.

She stopped right in front of me, slowly letting go of James's hand; their fingers had been tightly intertwined.

"Miss Goodwin, let me explain my relationship with James myself," she said.

She lowered her head and gave her right leg a few self-mocking pats. "This limp is because of what happened with James.

"He's got a good heart; he bought me a house, a car, and gives me 30,000 dollars every month to live on. But that's the extent of it; there's nothing else between us."

Nothing else between them? Could that really be true?

If there was nothing between them, then why did James always get pulled away whenever we were together?

If there was nothing between them, then why did he disappear during our wedding photo shoot?

If there was nothing between them, then why, even after we set the wedding date, does he still got those calls that made him leave?

Why did he still get those calls that make him leave?

I stayed silent.

Her words went unanswered, and her eyes grew teary.

James suddenly spoke up from the side. "Claire, where are your manners? Jojo is talking to you."

Joanna quietly slipped her hand into his, pleading on my behalf.

"James, don't yell at her. Miss Goodwin just needs some time to take it in. I'm fine," she said.

Watching their fingers locked together, I was the only one here who felt out of place.

They didn't think there was anything wrong with it at all.

Clearly, this kind of casual intimacy had happened between them countless times when no one was watching.

Two alarms went off at the same time.

James and Joanna both took out their phones and silenced the alarms.

When she caught me watching, Joanna blushed and explained, "Every fifteenth of the month, James takes me to the hot springs; it helps with my leg.

"He's always so busy, so he set a reminder just for me so he wouldn't forget.

"And for me, James worries he might not hear the alarm sometimes, so he always asks me to remind him before we leave."

Hot springs?

I suddenly remembered those times when my cramps were really bad.