Chapter 1

After we got back together.

I shed all the bad habits Julian Sterling hated.

No more tracking his every move, no more getting jealous over nothing, no more sweating the small stuff.

I even found a lipstick in the passenger seat that wasn't mine.

I carefully put it away for him.

But Julian's face darkened, and he slammed on the brakes.

Julian had sharp, angular features and an intensity that instantly commanded attention, making him effortlessly intimidating.

Yet at this moment, he pinched the bridge of his nose, looking utterly exhausted.

"That lipstick belongs to Cassie Davies."

"Last night, the business dinner ran late. She covered for me with drinks, couldn't drive, so I dropped her off."

He looked at me, giving an explanation he usually disdained:

"I've told you countless times, it's only because she's the daughter of a close family friend and business partner that I have to look out for her."

"Whether in the past, now, or in the future, there's absolutely nothing between us."

Seeing my silence.

His usually composed expression showed a rare crack.

A hint of helplessness, something I'd never seen on his face, peeked through:

"What will it take for you to believe me?"

I calmly said, "Nothing, I believe you. I'm not angry."

Like a punch landing on a pillow, Julian's expression went blank for a rare moment:

"...Then why haven't you said a word this whole time?"

I glanced at my watch, calculating the time to the airport, and brushed him off:

"You used to say you didn't like hearing useless information."

"I'm going to be late for work. Why don't you just drop me off at this intersection?"

My focus was entirely on the road ahead, completely missing Julian's face as it instantly turned grim.

"You always get off at the next traffic light."

"It's still two miles from our office here."

I hadn't thought of that, forced to meet Julian's scrutinizing gaze:

"It's early morning. If not to the office, where are you going?"

Just as Julian's hesitation deepened...

"Ding—!"

The exclusive ringtone, Cassie Davies.

Julian's sharp gaze retracted, his eyes darting around, a guilty attempt to appear innocent:

"It's a work call. I need to take it."

He immediately threw his suspicion of me out the window, unlocking the car: "Then you can get out here."

I nodded, quickly unbuckled my seatbelt, and he called out to me.

"Don't be so clumsy. Watch where you're walking."

His voice softened behind me, a hint of coaxing.

"That restaurant you always wanted to try? I booked it."

"I promised you before, I'll never miss another anniversary."

"Happy seventh anniversary."

"Aurora, see you tonight."

My hand, on the car door, paused.

The last anniversary, he'd left me for Cassie Davies.

It hurt so much then, but now, recalling it, my heart felt strangely calm.

"Go on, answer the phone," I said softly, opening my mouth. "Don't keep them waiting."

After all, Cassie Davies couldn't wait.

And neither could my plane.

As for anniversaries.

This year, next year, every year after that, I'd be absent.