Chapter 2

"I clicked the wrong thing when I was booking the tickets! I was supposed to be the one going to Northgate! How could I be so stupid? How could I mess things up like this?"

Lily was bawling her eyes out, shaking like she'd just been hit with a truckload of guilt. "It's all my fault. I ruined your honeymoon, Claire. Go ahead and yell at me, hit me if you want, just blame me"

She kept crying as she reached out, like she wanted to grab my hand, but right before she touched me, her fingers curled back, so subtle one would miss it if one blinked.

And for a split second, I caught that sly, nasty little smirk in her eyes, the same look I'd seen before, full of smug satisfaction.

Michael instantly stepped in front of her, shielding Lily like she was some fragile treasure, totally oblivious to that sneaky look she'd just flashed.

He shot me a tight frown, his voice full of impatience and blame. "Claire, why the long face? Lily didn't do it on purpose; she just clicked the wrong thing.

"She's already crying her eyes out. Can't you just let it go and be a little more forgiving?"

Then he turned to Lily, gently patting her back, his voice so gentle it almost didn't sound like him. "Don't cry, Lily. It's not your fault, it's just a glitch in the system. We'll figure out how to fix the tickets, okay?"

A glitch in the system?

He was really blaming it on a glitch?

Come on, that was not just some random mistake. The destinations and passenger info got completely swapped. How was that a "glitch"?

I just stood there, watching the two of them.

Michael was all patience and tenderness as he comforted Lily, who was crying like her world had ended. He even took out a handkerchief to dab away her tears.

And me? His brand-new wife? He just left me off to the side, like I was nothing more than a total stranger, completely irrelevant.

People around us were already shooting us weird looks, whispering to each other.

My eyes fell on Michael's arm around Lily, the way he looked down at her, so gentle, so concerned, and on Lily, trembling as she leaned into him.

So this was how it was.

They were the real couple here.

Maybe I was the only one fighting for this marriage from the very beginning.

It felt like some invisible hand was squeezing her heart, crushing it bit by bit, the cold, piercing pain spreading through every inch of her body.

All those memories of him leaving me behind for Lily came flooding back.

He left my birthday party early to bring medicine to a sick Lily and arrived late to our wedding rehearsal because he was drinking with her.

Even on our wedding night, he spent half an hour on the balcony comforting Lily over the phone because she was "scared from a nightmare."

All those times I'd brushed off my hurt, telling myself, 'He's just soft-hearted,' or 'She's just his little sister,' came crashing back at me.

Mixed with this ridiculous, ironic scene playing out right in front of me, it all turned into a bone-deep chill and utter despair.

Suddenly, I was just so tired, too tired to argue, too tired to question, too tired to even look at them anymore.

I lifted my hand, staring at the wedding ring I'd picked out with so much care, now sitting on my ring finger.

The diamond glinted coldly under the airport lights, almost like it was mocking me for being so foolish and so hopelessly in love.

Without a second thought, I yanked it off my finger.

The metal scraped against my knuckle, sending a faint sting through my hand.

Just as Michael finally noticed my silence and turned to look at me, his eyes full of confusion and leftover annoyance, I tossed the ring in a perfect arc.

With a soft "clink," it landed perfectly in the trash can a few steps away.