Chapter 2
During the first year of our marriage, Lucas was cold to me. But I didn't mind. There had never been another woman around him, not even a whisper of a scandal. He might not have loved me, but he didn't love anyone else either, and for me, that was enough. I told myself that since I was the one who'd fallen first, it was only right that I give more first. We were already husband and wife, after all. Sooner or later, I thought, I'd melt his heart.
So I started learning how to be a proper Mrs. Reed. I ironed every one of his shirts, picked out the tie he'd wear the next day, and always left a warm light on by the door when he worked late.
Knowing he had low blood sugar, I kept candy in his briefcase, his desk drawer, and even my own purse. Over time, even a man as cold as stone began to thaw. Lucas started telling me his schedule, remembered my birthday, and even carefully prepared gifts. He even offered to be the first reader of my novel. Little by little, we grew closer.
On his birthday, things finally happened naturally and we ended up in bed together. That became the sweetest stretch of my life. When I brought lunch to his office, he'd put his work aside and eat with me. When he had time, he'd take me to mystery movies and hold my hand until the credits rolled.
On weekends, he started turning down social events just to stay with me. I would write at my desk while he sat nearby reading in silence. Sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, stretching our shadows together, and I truly believed that kind of happiness would last a lifetime.
Then his first love got divorced and returned to Riverdale. It was the second year of our marriage, and I was a senior in college. I had just finished the first mystery novel of my life and excitedly went to share it with Lucas.
But his phone kept lighting up with calls from an unfamiliar number. He rejected them again and again, his face full of irritation. Yet when he turned to me, he forced a smile, took the manuscript, and absentmindedly brushed his fingers over the cover before getting up to leave after barely reading two pages.
"It's already past ten. You're still going out?" I asked. Lucas gently patted my head. "Something urgent came up. Go to sleep early. Don't wait for me."
The moment he said that, I knew he was brushing me off. People always pay more attention to the person they truly care about. Lucas had always been straightforward when he told me where he was going—overtime, social events, drinks with friends, never vague. Only when he didn't want to explain would he use "something came up" to dodge the question. The last time he'd said that was when his stomach acted up and he went alone to the hospital for an IV.
Worried, I reached out to stop him, but Lucas impatiently sidestepped me and walked out. I couldn't settle down, so I quietly took a cab and followed him. He ended up at a high-end club and headed straight into a private room like he knew the place well.
The room was brightly lit, and they were throwing a welcome-back party for Vivian Lane. I knew that name well—my brother had mentioned it before. She had gone to high school with him and Lucas.
Charles had once told me Vivian was Lucas's first love. Back in high school, the two of them took turns ranking first in their grade, and neither would admit defeat. They dated briefly in college, though even my brother didn't know exactly why they broke up. After graduation, Lucas entered the family company and married me, while Vivian married into a family in Northbridge and left Riverdale.
I usually wasn't the type to overthink things, so I told myself it was just a welcome-back party for an old classmate. But just as I reached for the door, a burst of teasing came from inside.
"Vivian, don't tell me you came back to Riverdale after your divorce because of Lucas. Back then, you two were the golden couple. Everyone said you were perfect together."
"Too bad the Warren family stepped in and Lucas's parents forced him into a business marriage. You poor lovebirds got torn apart just like that. Come on, tell us. Did you come back to get back together with him?"
My hand froze on the door. So Lucas had been forced into the marriage? I didn't hear his voice, so maybe his classmates were just talking nonsense. Still, I lost every bit of desire to go inside.
After I got home, I threw myself into bed and tried to force myself to sleep. But all I could hear in my head was the teasing from that private room. I lay awake until dawn, unable to stop wondering whether saying yes to that marriage had been a mistake from the start—whether I'd been the one who split up a pair who were meant to be together. Lucas never came home that night.