Chapter 2

It was during our college years, when Callum and I were mere acquaintances, just nodding to each other in class.

But he and Scarlett were the talk of the entire campus.

Callum came from a poor family and was a scholarship student sponsored by Scarlett's family. Their rags-to-riches romance became the focal point of the school for a while.

As a bystander, I witnessed their passionate affair unfold.

From the declaration of love on the football field to their graduation breakup, I was the silent backdrop to their story.

The day Callum and Scarlett broke up, it was pouring rain. I stood nearby with an umbrella, a spectator to the end of their love story.

"My parents have already arranged a marriage for me. They want me to go abroad and get married right after graduation. I... I can't disappoint them," Scarlett sobbed uncontrollably, her small face streaked with tears. "But I can't bear to leave you..."

Callum stood beside her, his face ashen. Knowing the situation couldn't be changed, he still stubbornly tried to hold on.

Even as members of the Shaw family came to forcibly take Scarlett away, Callum desperately clung to the car door, running alongside it.Running through the rain, he shouted with raw emotion, "Wait for me, Scarlett! I swear I'll work hard enough to reach you, to make you my wife!"

That deeply passionate yet tragic scene etched itself into my memory, impossible to forget.

Just as I was about to express my sympathy and head to the cafeteria with my roommate, she handed me her phone.

It displayed a message from Scarlett: "Finally got rid of that desperate loser. I can't believe he had the nerve to stay with me for so long when he's that broke."

"I was afraid his poverty might rub off on me..."

My roommate came from a well-off family and shared a private group chat with Scarlett and her circle.

As I watched the mocking messages pop up one after another, I glanced at Callum, still standing dejectedly in the rain.

Feeling he was even more pitiful now, I decided to offer him my umbrella.

Two years later, I encountered a creep while working my part-time job, and Callum stepped in to help.

We recognized each other instantly.

I thought that encounter would be the end of it, but I ran into Callum again at my job. He returned my umbrella to me.

The wheels of fate began turning once more.

What followed was a cliché story - he pursued me, and I fell for him.

We rented a rundown apartment together, vowing to carve out our own bright future in that humble space.Of course, their affair with Scarlett was also mentioned in jest at one point.

At that time, Callum simply lowered his gaze, his smile fading as he said to me, "That's all in the past. In my present and future, you're the only one who'll be by my side."

"Faye, you're the only one I love."

"Scarlett is history. Can we not mention her anymore?"

Callum even threw away and deleted everything related to their relationship right in front of me, all to give me peace of mind.

I didn't fully believe it, but I didn't dig deeper either.

Because I felt that everyone has secrets buried in their hearts, and I chose to respect Callum.

Until later, through our engagement, marriage, and life after, Callum walked through every hurdle with me.

I completely believed that we were each other's only one, and that Callum would only love me from then on.

Looking back now, I was blind to the truth, forgetting how deeply he had once loved Scarlett.

Before me, Callum had already sworn eternal love to Scarlett.

How could I, the latecomer, ever take precedence?

When Callum returned, dawn was already breaking.He treads lightly to my bedside, bending down to place a gentle kiss on my forehead.

He then nuzzles into the crook of my neck, his warm breath fanning across my skin.

After a long moment, he whispers against my earlobe, "Darling, good morning."

His voice is so tender that I can't tell if the Callum who betrayed me last night and the Callum of this morning are the same person.

If he betrayed me, how can he now pretend to love me so deeply?

It's truly ironic.

Callum is exhausted. He's barely laid down on the small couch before he's fallen into a deep sleep.

I get up and sit beside Callum.

Over these eight years together, Callum has transformed from the green boy he once was into a man of gravitas.

Or perhaps it's because he's truly achieved what he promised years ago - to earn lots and lots of money, to give us both a good life.

He's established his own publicly traded company, becoming a boss whose every word carries weight, his brow now etched with lines that command respect and even fear.

It's only when he's resting that Callum's face relaxes a bit.

I brush aside the stray hairs on Callum's forehead, damp with sweat, which are making his eyelids twitch incessantly.

Last night, probably finding the cot next door insufficient for their escapades, the two of them snuck out in the dead of night, tiptoeing away.Now refreshed from a shower, the unpleasant, pungent smell of perfume has finally left my body.

My phone screen lights up with a message from "Scarlett": [Safely home, don't worry~]

I stare at it for a while, even long after the screen goes dark. Unable to resist, I pick up Callum's phone, easily enter his passcode, and open their conversation.

I scroll to the top. June 18th, Scarlett: [Callum, I'm back. Can we meet?]

Callum: [Sure.]

That was the day I found out I was pregnant. Overjoyed, I prepared a table full of his favorite dishes and waited all night with the pregnancy test results.

...

July 19th, Scarlett: [Wanted to make cupcakes for you, but burned myself. It hurts.]

Callum: [I'm coming right away.]

That day, I was out drinking with clients until late. I started bleeding, signs of a miscarriage. I called Callum, but his phone was off.

...

August 20th, Scarlett: [Callum, I'm pregnant. I'm so scared. What should I do?]

Callum: [Don't be afraid. I'm coming right now.]That stormy day, when a multi-car pileup occurred on the overpass, I was scared out of my wits. I called Callum, but he only offered a brief word of comfort before hanging up. I ended up walking home alone in the pouring rain.

...

September 21st, Scarlett: [I just ran into you and Faye at the check-up. I'm so envious. She and the little one both have you by their side.]

Callum: [I'll be by your side from now on.]

That day, Callum inexplicably lost his temper with me, saying that the baby was already four months along and I could go to prenatal check-ups on my own. From then on, I always went to the hospital alone.

...

October 22nd, Scarlett: [Callum, I fell and I'm bleeding a lot. I'm scared!]

Callum: [Don't be afraid, I'm coming right away. Lie still, I've called 911. Cooperate with the doctors...]

From that day on, I didn't see Callum for two weeks. I had no idea where he was, and even filed a missing person's report.