Chapter 2

I froze, my heart clenching.

Scarlett.

So, she was Daniel's legendary first love.

His friends used to joke around when they were drunk.

They said back in college, he'd get into fights for her.

He even deliberately messed up a section on his college entrance exams just to get into the same school as her.

He even broke ties with his family for her.

Just as he was about to propose, she left him, complaining that life was too tough.

I, too, had once asked him jealously.

"If she hadn't left, would you have accepted my confession?"

He gently wiped away my tears.

"Chloe, I'm sorry. I haven't given you enough security."

And now, staring at the staggering 54 missed calls on my phone screen.

My eyes suddenly stung and swelled.

I stared numbly at the ceiling.

Past scenes played uncontrollably in my mind.

The year I met Daniel, I jumped into the ocean because of school bullying.

As the freezing water filled my nose and mouth, he jumped in and pulled me out.

"Do you know how painful it is to drown, with seawater filling your lungs?"

Moonlight spilled onto his face, his eyes shining brightly.

"Things will get better as long as you're alive. I'll protect you. No one will ever hurt you again."

That hug, I remembered for years.

Later, he helped me report and deal with the bullies, teaching me how to protect myself.

I used the money I earned from my part-time job to treat him to dinner, and emboldened by the alcohol, I took his hand:

"I knew one day you'd become the most incredible lawyer."

He froze, his eyes slightly red, and he downed another drink.

I followed him for four years, but I never dared to confess.

After college, my parents kept pressuring me to move back home and settle down.

At the train station, on the day I was leaving, he suddenly hugged me.

"Chloe, stay and be with me, okay?"

At that moment.

The sound of the train boarding announcement, along with my racing heartbeat.

From then on, I gave up the comfortable life my family had planned for me and squeezed into a tiny studio apartment with him.

When we were at our poorest, we'd only eat cheap, discounted pasta.

Every time, he'd give me the egg from his bowl.

"Chloe, you're too thin. Eat more."

To earn more money, he worked three jobs at once, even collapsing from exhaustion.

I rushed to the hospital, crying and scolding him.

"You idiot! Daniel, you're such a fool!"

"I don't need a big house, I just need you to be safe and sound."

"If you'd just propose, I'd say yes in a heartbeat, even if we had to live in a rental forever, I'd be happy!"

But he said, "Chloe, I can't let you suffer. I can't let you endure hardships with me. Once I'm stronger, I'll marry you in style, the way you deserve."

Daniel kept his word.

By our third year in the city, he had become a partner at a top-tier law firm, and his career soared.

We also moved from a ten-square-meter basement apartment to a spacious penthouse.

On the opening day of his firm, he proposed to me in front of everyone.

"Chloe, will you marry me?"

But now, the man who once promised to always put me first.

His heart seemed to belong to someone else.