7
Meanwhile, on the distant other side of the ocean, I began a new life. Owen and I had an
unspoken understanding, living together like roommates, peacefully. Finally, I couldn’t hold
back anymore.
Owen was cooking in the kitchen when I gathered my courage and stood beside him. “Owen… what I said that day about getting married, I was too hasty… I was overwhelmed by emotions and didn’t think it might inconvenience you. I thought, if you have time-”
Owen’s hand trembled, and the knife sliced deeply into his finger. I gasped in alarm. “What are you doing?! Put the knife down, where’s the first aid kit…”
But Owen didn’t seem to hear me. He stared intently, his eyes instantly turning red. “You
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23:24 Thu, 12 Jun B
regret it, don’t you? You regret marrying me?”
I fumbled for tissues to staunch his wound. “No, it’s not that, I just thought I was
inconveniencing you…”
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“You weren’t.” Owen stubbornly pulled at my sleeve with his uninjured hand. “I’m
incredibly happy. What I said that day, ‘you can marry me whenever you need, was never a
joke.”
“I know you’re not ready yet, and that’s okay. I can wait. We can be friends first, and if after a few years you still haven’t fallen for me,” Owen’s voice suddenly sounded pitifully
small, “then it won’t be too late to divorce me.”
Facing his wounded but earnestly pretending–not–to–care expression, I felt a mix of helplessness and tenderness, but I softened. “Alright… Let me bandage you up first.”
We were running low on antiseptic, so after treating Owen’s wound, I had to go to the pharmacy. The sunlight bathed my face, seemingly dispelling the recent gloom.
Just as my mood began to lift, I suddenly heard a voice behind me.
“Lily… is that you?”
My heart immediately tensed. Reluctantly, I turned around, and sure enough, it was the last person I wanted to see. Caleb stood there, his eyes radiating wild joy. He looked incredibly gaunt, his hair disheveled, his beard unshaved for at least two weeks. He just stared at me mournfully, his voice trembling uncontrollably.
“Lily, I’ve come to take you home.”
I turned to walk away without hesitation. Caleb panicked. He hadn’t expected this reaction from me and lunged forward, grabbing my sleeve tightly.
“Don’t go!! Please, I spent three months looking for you… I know I was wrong, I’m here to apologize!”
I couldn’t control the disgust rising within me. “Let go. We have nothing to talk about.”
He’d never heard such cold words from me before, and Caleb’s eyes instantly reddened.
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He bit his lip hard, stubbornly refusing to let go. “Impossible… I swore to myself that once I found you, I would never let you go, no matter what.”
“I know I made an unforgivable mistake. I don’t ask for your forgiveness, but can you
please give me a chance to make it up to you? For the rest of my life, I’ll compensate you
thoroughly!”
My smile was ironic. “Compensate? How do you plan to compensate for what you did?”
Caleb’s eyes immediately lit up. “Lily! I knew you’d forgive me! We’ll get married as soon as we’re back in the country. I’ve already had a lawyer draft a property agreement. If I do
anything to betray you, I’ll forfeit all my assets…”
“She doesn’t need that!”
A voice filled with suppressed rage cut through the air. It was Owen, who had come
looking for me when I didn’t return. He pulled Caleb away, firmly shielding me, his eyes
almost spitting fire. “After all the harm you inflicted on Lily, how do you have the nerve to ask her to forgive you?”
Caleb’s face instantly turned hostile. “Whether Lily forgives me is none of your damn
business! Who are you to interfere in our family matters?!”
Owen scoffed. “Lily, tell him who I am.”
Caleb wouldn’t be outdone. “Lily, come home with me.“”
Under their gazes, I smiled slightly and walked towards Caleb. Caleb’s eyes immediately brightened, while Owen’s face went ashen.
To their surprise, I merely bent down, picked up the shopping bag that had fallen during the struggle, and then stepped back, linking my arm through Owen’s.
“Let me introduce you. This is my husband.”
Owen instantly transformed into a triumphant peacock, while the color drained from Caleb’s face. He asked in a hoarse voice, “Lily, are you still angry with me? Just tell me, what can I do for you to forgive me?”
His demeanor was truly pathetic, but it didn’t stir a single ripple within me.
“Caleb, when I was lying in that hospital bed, utterly despairing, signing our child’s cremation papers alone, being insulted and bullied by your Seraphina–where were you?”
“When I needed you most, you abandoned me again and again. Now you tell me, what gives you the confidence to think I would ever forgive you?” I couldn’t help but let the revulsion in my heart surface. “Now, I can’t even look at you without wanting to throw up!”
Fresh blood welled from Caleb’s tightly bitten lips, but I only curled my mouth into a mocking smile. “But our child might just give you a chance. Maybe he’s waiting in hell for you to atone.”
With that, I didn’t wait for Caleb’s response. I pulled Owen’s hand and left without looking .back.
Behind us, in the setting sun, Caleb’s knees buckled, and he collapsed onto the ground. He remained there like a statue until deep into the night, yet no one paused for him.
Six months later, Owen and I officially began our romantic relationship.
When we returned to visit my parents, I passed by a familiar ruin. Two passersby were discussing it. “Did you hear? The owner of this villa dismembered his wife, then locked
himself in the bedroom and burned it all down.“‘
“Was it his wife? I heard it was his mistress?”
“Oh, it doesn’t matter, truly crazy… Good riddance…”
I turned my head, meeting Owen’s worried gaze. I smiled slightly, taking his hand in mine.
The shadows of the past had dispersed. Irrelevant people and events could no longer disturb me. My future was a clear, boundless sky.
