Chapter 3

After Sebastian came clean, he stopped wearing fisherman's clothes.

He changed into a black trench coat.

Sebastian had always been good-looking.

High-bridged nose, beautiful eyes like a painting.

Many girls had pursued him.

In the past, for every love letter he received, he'd give me ten gifts.

He said: "I'll only ever love Jasmine in this lifetime. For every time someone else shows interest, I'll be ten times better to her."

The last time, he planted a gardenia tree for me.

I stared blankly for a while.

He straightened his collar, smiling at his lit phone screen.

On the wallpaper was their wedding photo.

The woman wore a diamond-studded wedding dress and the blue Heart of the Ocean necklace.

I remembered he'd told me before.

If we ended up together in the future, got married.

He'd take me around the world for wedding photos.

Personally put the veil on my head.

Hold my hand and kiss by the sea.

I'd blushed from imagining it.

I used to love watching Titanic.

Would cry over the beautiful love between the leads.

Back then Sebastian walked by, glanced at it, and frantically helped wipe my tears.

"Why do girls like these things?"

"Fine, for your eighteenth birthday, I'll get you an identical one."

He truly hadn't forgotten that vow.

Only the person standing beside him wasn't me.

I looked again at the woman's wedding dress.

Then looked down at the rough burlap I was wearing.

On the island, I only had two shapeless burlap shirts.

Life was very hard.

The so-called husband only showed a bit of warmth when pinning me down at night.

In seven years, when he said he was going fishing, he'd leave for two or three months.

But I didn't care.

Because I'd never considered him a husband.

To me he was just a human trafficker.

Until last month, when I finally saw a familiar figure by the sea.

But Sebastian hadn't come to take me away.

He even wanted me to stay here.

To be kept by him for life.

Pretending to be a fisherman for seven years---it must have been hard on him.

My heart throbbed with wave after wave of stabbing pain. I could barely breathe.

A child's excited shouts came through the phone.

"Daddy! The house you bought me, Mommy finished decorating it!"

"It's so pretty! Like a castle!"

"Mommy said you've prepared lots of houses like this for me all over the world!"

The woman laughed and pushed the child away. "Go on, go play. Your dad and I need to talk."

He looked at the phone with an indulgent smile on his face.

"Baby, I'm coming back soon."

"Mm, I know. You bought the lingerie already? Miss me that much?"

"Then don't sleep tonight. Begging won't help."

Looking back and seeing me, he froze for an instant.

He quickly hung up, glanced at the child sleeping on the bed.

Walked over and patted my head, his voice softening.

"I have to go. Take care of the baby. She's only two, she can't be without her mom."

He took my hand and put a ring on my finger.

"If you want a wedding ceremony, we'll have one next month."

I silently collected the hood ashes from the floor.

My voice was emotionless.

"Fine."

My heart grew cold.

Voices came from outside the window.

"Sienna she..."

The other person paused for a few seconds.

Sebastian immediately strode over, asking nervously:

"What happened to her? Is something wrong?!"

Before he finished speaking, an arrogant female voice rang out at the door.

"Honey, did you miss me?"