Chapter 1
Today was their third wedding anniversary.
Vesper Vance had been looking forward to it all week.
She'd booked a restaurant, coordinated with Cassian Vance to clear his schedule, and planned a special evening together.
She'd chosen the restaurant carefully, picked out a beautiful dress, and did her makeup just right.
Now, she sat by the window, watching the street, waiting for the man she loved with all her heart.
Time dragged on. At 5:15 PM, her phone buzzed.
She picked it up.
It was a message from Cassian: [Running late]
No punctuation, no apology.
Vesper stared at the words for a few seconds, then replied: [Okay.]
At 5:40 PM, she texted again: [Where are you?]
Cassian didn't reply.
At 6:30 PM, he finally texted: [Something came up. Eat without me.]
Vesper held her phone, staring at the message for a long time.
She didn't ask what happened. She already knew.
There was only one person who could make him ignore her on a day like this—Liora Blackwood, the woman who'd been a wedge between her and Cassian from the very start.
*****
Back when Vesper and Cassian first started dating, Liora was out of the country.
They were glued to each other, and Cassian would bend over backwards for her.
But everything changed the moment Liora returned from abroad, right before their wedding.
Whenever Liora called, no matter what Cassian was doing, he'd drop it all and go to her if she so much as said she wasn't feeling well.
If she texted, [Hey, Cass, I want dessert from that shop on the south side], he'd drive across half the city just to bring it to her, still warm.
He never did any of that for Vesper.
Vesper had argued with him before, especially when Liora had just come back from abroad.
"Cassian, she's your sister, not someone you need to take care of for the rest of your life.
"You have your own life, your own family now. Can't you get your priorities straight?" Vesper said.
Cassian looked at her, his face indifferent.
"She's not in good health. She was hurt when she was a kid and needs someone to look after her," he said.
"You're her sister-in-law. Can't you stop being petty about her?" he added.
Vesper was stunned. "I'm the one who's petty?"
"Vesper," he said, frowning, "stop fussing."
Stop fussing.
After that, those words became his go-to response with her.
Whenever she tried to have a real conversation, those words were all she got.
If she showed even a hint of unhappiness, he'd just throw those words at her.
And if she ever tried to make him see what was wrong between them, it was always the same old line.
Eventually, she stopped arguing with him.
Because she realized it was pointless.
Arguing never changed anything, never made him pay attention to her.
It only made him think she was childish, and made him dote on Liora even more right in front of her.
So she learned to keep her mouth shut.
And now, Vesper just felt empty inside.
Vesper left the restaurant, not wanting to go back to that suffocating house.
She hopped in a cab and went straight to Zara Thorne's apartment.
After knocking, Vesper walked right in.
Zara took one look at her and instantly got it.
"He ditched you again? Let me guess, because of Liora?" she guessed.
Feeling suffocated, Vesper threw herself into Zara's arms. "Zara, I'm so tired."
Zara felt a pang of sympathy and helped Vesper over to the couch.
"I told you he was cold as ice; no matter how hard you tried, he never thawed.
"I never thought you two would work out.
Zara went on, "But every time you talked about Cassian with those shining eyes, I just couldn't say anything mean."
"And now, look where you ended up," Zara added.
"I really don't want to go back tonight," Vesper said, trying to put on a brave face as she looked at Zara.
"Stay as long as you want. Honestly, I'd love it if you just moved in forever," Zara replied.
At 10:15 PM, the doorbell rang.
Zara peered through the peephole and saw Cassian outside, looking all serious.
She felt a bit nervous, but for Vesper's sake, she called out, "Stop ringing! Why are you here at this hour?"
Cassian had gone to the restaurant and found Vesper already gone.
He thought she'd gone home, but when she wasn't there, he figured she'd come to Zara's place.
"Could you open the door? I'm here to pick up Vesper," he said.
Zara really didn't want to open up, but Cassian kept knocking, which was bound to annoy the neighbors.
"Can you stop already? Vesper's not going back tonight," she called out. But Cassian just wouldn't let up.
Vesper walked over. "I'll go with you, just stop knocking," she said.
Zara shot her a worried look, but Vesper reassured her, "It's fine. I still need to talk to him.
"If I don't go back, with the way he is, he'd probably tear your door off its hinges tonight."
Vesper opened the door and went back home with Cassian to their apartment, feeling a heavy emptiness settle in her chest.