Chapter 1
After I died, the memorial my best friend arranged for me was completely destroyed.
Haters stood outside the funeral, livestreaming the scene, grinning as they muttered, "Serves her right."
The comments flooded the screen all at once: [Is she really dead? Hope she's gone for good.]
Meanwhile, my ex-husband wrapped his arm around his mistress, raising his glass aboard a luxury cruise. They celebrated for seven days and seven nights.
It seemed that my death was something I deserved.
Until one day, my diary was made public, and the world finally learned that in my entire life, I had only ever been truly happy for a single fleeting moment.
*****
On a variety show, the host suddenly threw out a random question. "Logan, your ex-wife passed away from illness not long ago. How do you feel about it?"
Logan Taylor snorted, "Doesn't bother me at all. I heard her memorial got wrecked. Serves her right."
The host smiled, eyes lowered, "Mind talking about your ex-wife? She's been all over the news lately."
If anyone else tried to get clout off someone's death, they'd get dragged through the mud online.
But when it was about me, nobody on the internet cared at all.
Logan said, "Go ahead and ask whatever you want."
The host asked, "I'm really curious. Everyone online calls Ms. Clark the villain, so why did you marry her in the first place?"
Logan fell silent.
He probably didn't even know the answer himself.
The host gave a light laugh. "We just happen to have Ms. Clark's diary here. Mind if we show it to everyone?"
Logan sneered, "With just a high school diploma, you really think she kept a diary? Whatever, let's see it."
When the slightly worn diary was opened for everyone to see, everyone was stunned.
The handwriting was so neat and tidy. One would never think a lunatic wrote it.
The host smiled, "Let me read it for everyone."
On October 3, 2020, I was getting married.
Who was the groom?
Of course, it was Logan.
Who else would I ever marry?
And who else would he even dare to marry but me?
If he even thought about it, I would tear him to shreds.
We were six years side by side, through everything.
Today, I finally got to marry the guy I fell for when I was eighteen.
Dear Diary, you wouldn't believe how nervous Logan was when he was slipping the ring onto my finger.
His ears turned bright red, and his eyes got all watery in a flash.
They said a man's tears were the best kind of excitement for a woman.
Seriously, my grin was stuck on my face the whole time.
I was not even embarrassed to tell you this, Dear.
When Logan got drunk and just melted into my arms, honestly, I ended up crying even harder.
He leaned in close and whispered in my ear, "Aria, I love you. I love you so much. Thank you for being my wife."
Honestly, I was even more grateful to Logan.
Because of him, I finally felt like I truly belonged somewhere for the first time in my life.
At the wedding, his mother, Olivia Taylor, hugged me.
When she did, I got all choked up and nearly burst into tears.
It was the first time in my life that an elder had ever hugged me.
So this was what it felt like to be hugged by a mom.
Growing up in an orphanage, I never really knew what a real hug felt like.
No matter how good we were, nobody ever wanted to hold us close.
If we cried, we'd just curl up on the mats on the floor, all alone.
At school, teachers always sighed about how well-behaved we orphans were.
But honestly, it was just because we knew that crying wouldn't get us any comfort.
And being good never meant anyone would love us.
So we learned to hide how we really felt.
But after I met Logan, I finally realized I could just be myself.
And he'd still love me for who I was.
Now, Logan and I finally had our own little family.
We might be broke right now, but things were gonna get better.
I looked at Logan and said, "Logan, this is honestly the happiest I've ever been."
He pulled me into his arms, all gentle and caring. "Happiest? Babe, that's nothing. From now on, every single day is gonna be the happiest."
Getting married was honestly the best thing ever.
Now I had someone by my side, and I finally had a family of my own.
I was not alone anymore.
Oh, and here was a little wedding pic for you.
It was just a small 12-inch photo.
I was in a simple dress I snagged online for under 30 bucks, and Logan was rocking his one and only decent suit.
We might be dressed plain, but our smiles couldn't be sweeter.
Logan promised me that once he made it big, he would take me to Molatiea and we would get our wedding photos redone on the beach.
After the host finished reading aloud, she took a deep breath.
No one ever expected that someone like me, the so-called villain, could share memories like this with Logan.
Playfulness and sweetness just seeped through every line.
Anyone could tell just how happy I was back then.
Nostalgic sweetness hit the hardest.
Logan froze for a few seconds. Those memories have been buried deep in his mind for ages.
Back then, marrying me made him feel like he'd conquered the world.
Now, he'd forgotten all about it himself.
The netizens were just as confused. This was nothing like the Aria they always thought was a villain.
[Reading her diary, she totally comes off like a sweet, innocent girl.]
[No way, this has gotta be fake. Aria would never write something like this.]
[So Aria was an orphan? No wonder she's got no manners.]
The host turned to Logan. "Logan, when you got married, it looked like you guys were really happy."
Logan spaced out for a moment, then gave a self-deprecating chuckle. "She really was great back then. Guess you never really know what's going on inside someone's heart."
The host smiled, "Maybe so. Let's move on to the next page."
"Honestly, I'm just as curious. What exactly happened to turn Ms. Clark into the villain everyone hates?" she added.