Chapter 1
The night before the wedding, my best friend suddenly asked me, "If you found out the day before your wedding that your fiancé had been having an affair for years, what would you do?"
I looked at her with confusion and laughed. "Come on. Even if every man had an affair, Christopher wouldn't.""
She was quiet for a moment. Then she sent me a video.
I clicked on the link. A cute girl was looking up at a man with teary eyes, begging him to take her to Magic Spire Kingdom.
I was about to give it a like out of habit when I suddenly saw the man's hand.
There was a red mole on his thumb and a custom watch on his wrist.
Every detail was telling me that he was Christopher Bennett.
Then my phone buzzed. I received a message from him.
It read, [Honey. I have to go to Stellara for work tomorrow. Just two days. I'll leave the wedding prep to you. I'll bring you a gift when I'm back.]
He forgot that his app was signed into my account.
The ticket confirmation of Magic Spire Kingdom lit up my phone screen.
I stared at the phone. And just like that, the years of love for him collapsed in an instant.
*****
I stared at the message on my phone for a long time.
I didn't even notice when Christopher came back.
He asked, "Babe, what are you looking at?
"You're so into it. You didn't even notice I was back. Are you checking out other guys behind my back?
"I will punish you."
With that, he wrapped his arms around me from behind. His messy hair kept rubbing against my neck.
I kept trying to convince myself it was all just a coincidence.
I tried to believe that Christopher still loved me.
But that cloying peach scent on him made me feel sick.
He never wore perfume. Even his body wash only had a faint woody scent.
Because I had always been sensitive to scents.
I put away my phone, pulled away from his embrace, and stepped back.
It took me several tries to suppress the nausea churning inside me.
My tone was flat. "Why are you back so early?"
His face was full of dissatisfaction at having his lust interrupted.
He complained, "Humph, you don't care about me anymore. You even forget I'm heading to Stellara for a two-day business trip."
Usually, as soon as I heard he was traveling, I would pack for him right away.
But the successive blows today had left me unable to pull myself together so far.
And it wouldn't just be today. There would be no more packing for him.
Christopher frowned at the empty suitcase.
He asked, "Babe, you seem really off today.
"You haven't packed a thing. And since I walked in, you've just been totally spaced out.
"Are you feeling sick or something?"
I looked at his worried face and thought back to eight years ago, when Christopher was just seventeen.
Back then, every little stress felt like the end of the world.
When my parents got divorced, I climbed up to the rooftop in the middle of the night, brooding alone.
Christopher, who couldn't sleep either, handed me a cup of milk and watched the stars with me all night.
When the first glimmer of dawn broke through for us, he took my hand and led me down from the rooftop.
He comforted me, saying, "Natalie. No matter how bad things get, there's always something worth looking forward to."
And that was how our eight-year romance began.
I shook my head, gently took Christopher's hand, and unconsciously traced his thumb with my fingers.
I said, "Is there any way you could not go on this trip? We're about to get married, and there's still so much left to sort out.
"Plus, you planned so many of the wedding details yourself.
"Christopher, I don't think I can manage everything on my own."
It was the first time I'd let my guard down and told him that I needed him.
There was a hint of tenderness in his surprise.
He hesitated for a few seconds and said, "Babe, I've been working on this project for a long time. It's just one last push.
"I hope you can understand. Just wait for me to come back."
Christopher always repeated the same mistakes and never realized it.
With that, he grabbed a few of his daily clothes and stuffed them into his suitcase.
His phone was buzzing like crazy.
Just as I was about to hand it over, he snatched it right out of my hand.
His nails left a few scratch marks across the back of my hand.
But he didn't even notice.
Back then, even if I got the slightest bump, he'd freak out.
Staring at Christopher, who was totally lost in his phone call, I felt a chill sweeping me.
By the time I came back to myself, he had already hung up.
"Babe, I gotta leave now. Plans have changed. I need to be in Stellara tonight," he said.
With that, he grabbed his suitcase and rushed out.
"Christopher!" I called out, stopping him in his tracks.
"Is there something you're not telling me?" I asked.
He froze, his hand still on the doorknob.
He turned around, walked back to me, and ruffled my hair with a grin.
"Babe, are you having a bit of pre-wedding jitters?
"Come on, you know I'd never hide anything from you—"
Before he could finish, his phone rang again.
He glanced at it and quickly silenced it.
"Babe, I have to go now. My colleague is blowing up my phone," he said.
He was speaking faster than usual with that sorry look on his face.
With a loud bang, the door swung open and then shut behind him.
I sat on the couch, completely out of it, not knowing how long it had been.
The video blogger my best friend shared with me before updated.
I clicked in.