Chapter 1

On our honeymoon, Leopold Davidson's secretary, Violet Jordan, insisted on tagging along.

At the airport, she said she wanted to go hiking on this trip, while I wanted to see snow.

Leopold hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he went along with Violet's plan.

He didn't even bother to ask me before changing our plans.

So, that day, while they boarded the plane together, I chose to go off on my own and headed north, straight to Horan.

Leopold spent an entire week with Violet, completely ignoring me, before he finally bothered to call.

"Danielle, why were you throwing a fit on our first day of marriage? I'm not going to keep catering to your moods," Leopold said.

But clearly, he had already forgotten how, on the day we were supposed to get married, Violet caught a fever and he dropped everything to take care of her.

We never even got married.

*****

I begged Leopold for ages before he finally agreed to go on our honeymoon with me.

I excitedly picked out the perfect place for us to go.

But on the day we were supposed to leave, Leopold showed up with Violet.

My hand loosened and the suitcase nearly slipped from my fingers. I didn't know how to describe my feelings at that moment.

Just before we were about to board, Violet piped up that she didn't want to check out the snow after all, saying she forgot to bring any warm clothes.

She smiled at me, but was basically staring at Leopold the whole time.

She said, "Danielle, why don't we go hiking instead?

"Leopold and I went hiking a few days ago, but the mountain was pretty small, so he wasn't really satisfied."

She tipped her head back for a quick, secret look at Leopold, her eyes soft with affection he probably didn't even notice.

Leopold paused, uncertain for a moment, then answered in a low voice, "Alright. Horan's just too cold—you're too delicate to handle it."

The whole time, Leopold never once asked for my opinion.

I just stood there silently, watching him ditch our original plans and start booking new flights.

I glanced at Violet again. There was no missing the way she looked at him, her feelings spilling out plain as day.

Out of nowhere, I just felt totally drained.

After loving Leopold for a whole decade, today was the first time I ever thought about letting him go.

Instead of heading to the gate, I stopped Leopold with a call from behind.

He turned around, noticing the distance I'd put between us, and his eyebrows knit together.

"Danielle, you were the one who wanted this honeymoon. What's your problem now?" he asked.

I thought, 'So he did remember this was supposed to be our special honeymoon, just for the two of us?

'All this time, I honestly thought he'd already forgotten.'

I said coldly, "I'm not going with you. You two can go by yourselves."

Leopold's scowl deepened as he fixed his eyes on me, silent and heavy with pressure.

Violet pinched Leopold's fingertips and gave him a small shake of her head, trying to cool him down.

With the crowd swirling all around, it was clear the airport wasn't the place for this kind of drama.

Violet dabbed at her eyes, letting a single tear fall as she slipped effortlessly into her damsel-in-distress act.

She said, "Mr. Davidson, if Danielle really wants to go up north to Horan, I don't mind if it's freezing. Please, don't let me be the reason you two argue.

"Danielle, Mr. Davidson pulled several all-nighters just so he could spend a week with you. Come on, show him a little understanding, won't you?"

Leopold stared at me for a moment, and when he realized I wasn't going to change my mind, he just said, "You'd better not regret this."

Then he turned and walked straight through the boarding gate.

Violet dabbed at the last tear, forced a weak smile in my direction, then quickly rushed off after him.

After Leopold left, I stood there frozen, completely numb—like all my strength and hope had been sucked out of me.

I didn't even know how long I lingered before finally dragging myself onto a flight, heading north to Horan by myself.

Maybe the biting chill of Horan put all my feelings for Leopold on ice. His name barely crossed my mind that whole week

I was having so much fun there. I even queued up with the locals for free cotton candy.

I was just starting to really enjoy myself and was even thinking about staying a few more days when Leopold finally decided to check in.

Leopold called, "Danielle, why were you throwing a fit on our first day of marriage? I'm not going to keep catering to your moods."

I stared at the crooked snowman I'd just finished, and suddenly, I found myself laughing.

I said, "I don't need it."

I swallowed the last bite of my cotton candy, and for the first time ever, I was the one to hang up on him.

Leopold forgot that on the day we were supposed to get married, Violet came down with a fever and he dropped everything just to rush to her side.

We never even got married.