Chapter 3

After repeatedly assuring Amelia that I was fine, she finally let me return to the hotel. Deep down, I knew that this marriage had been a mistake from the start.

Years ago, Kaison and Alexis had a heated argument, and Alexis stormed out of the country in anger. I was there for Kaison, helping him drink his troubles away, and in that foggy state, I confessed my feelings to him again. He responded with a passionate, heartfelt kiss. The next morning, without needing words, we both understood what this meant, and our relationship officially began.

On our wedding day, he held my hand tightly and promised, “Elaine, I'll spend my life protecting you.” I believed him wholeheartedly.

But everything changed on my first birthday after our marriage when Alexis suddenly reappeared in Kaison’s life. My phone chimed with a message from him: "Why did you cancel your birthday dinner? Didn't you like the gift?"

I was a bit surprised, not expecting that even while he was with Alexis, he'd remember his wife in name. Perhaps my delayed reply prompted him to send another message shortly after: "Didn't you always love emeralds?"

I stared at his words for a moment, finding them rather amusing. The first gift Kaison ever gave me was an emerald necklace. He had said, "Emeralds are bold and vibrant, just like you." Although I didn’t like the color green, I developed a special fondness for emeralds because it was from him, which eventually led to my love for jewelry design. However, I later discovered that Alexis had majored in jewelry design in college, and emeralds were her favorite.

Coming back to my senses, I instinctively typed a message on my phone’s keyboard: "You gave the gift to the wrong person; I hate green." Hesitating for a moment, I deleted the message, retyped, and sent a different one: "Enjoy your time with Alexis."

After sending the message, there was no response from him. I laughed at myself, feeling a mix of irony and resignation.