Chapter 2
I stared into Edward's eyes and asked, "Edward, do you love me?"
He leaned in and kissed me.
"Claire, haven't I always made you feel safe?" he asked.
"I love you," he said.
After we got married, I never doubted those words for a second.
But now, hearing them didn't move me the way it used to.
Seeing me silent, Edward reached out and pinched my cheek.
"Babe, I messed up our anniversary. Let me make it up to you tomorrow, okay? I'll cook for you," he said.
I have to admit, my heart softened.
I started making excuses for him.
He was always swamped with work. It was not a big deal if he mixed up the date.
Maybe it was noisy in the club, and he didn't even catch what they were saying.
Maybe he was just too drunk to even think about speaking up for me.
So the next day, I took out the pregnancy report again.
I planned to tell Edward.
I waited until midnight.
Edward didn't text back, and his phone kept going to voicemail.
Even his assistant had no idea where he was.
I started to worry about his safety.
Then I saw him all over social media, trending everywhere.
In the photos, rain poured under the streetlights.
He held his suit jacket over his head, and Vivian was huddled right next to him, both of them sheltering from the downpour.
It was pure romance, like a scene straight out of a movie.
Everyone was reposting those pics.
"Mr. CEO came to the rescue, saving the rising star actress he adored from a car accident."
The story blew up online in no time.
Even my stepsister, Janice Flair, who never missed a chance to throw shade at me, sent mocking messages.
[Looks like someone's about to get tossed aside.]
[What good ever comes to a hopeless simp? You can't compete with Vivian. Edward's never gotten over her.]
I didn't even have the energy to block her.
Everything I'd believed in for the past two years shattered in a heartbeat.
I started cursing how unfair life was.
I couldn't help but hate Edward.
I just couldn't accept it.
Why?
I'd had my eyes on Edward since high school.
I'd been keeping an eye on him all this time, so of course I could tell whenever he was secretly watching Vivian.
All through high school, college, and even after graduation, I'd always been chasing someone just out of reach.
That bittersweet ache of wanting someone I could never have was just part of my life.
Everything changed after Edward's car accident, when Vivian went abroad to pursue her dreams.
That was when I slipped into the space she left behind.
I never once left his side, sticking with him through every single day of rehab.
For a whole year, I was right there with him, every step of the way.
Whenever he was ready to give up, I kept pulling him back, refusing to let him sink.
The day he finally stood on his own, he dropped to one knee and proposed.
He told me he loved me, and for a moment, I believed him with all my heart.
He said I was the light that broke through his darkest nights.
When my wish finally came true, I couldn't help but cry tears of joy.
Nothing in my life ever felt as perfect as that moment.
I was scared to even blink, worried it would all vanish like a dream.
He was my light, just as much as I was his.
He was the one I couldn't let go of.
After all those years chasing his light, it finally paused just for me.
For once, it was just me in his world.
But now, that light had pulled away, leaving me in the dark again.