Chapter 2
Emily intended to fly home immediately but decided to wait for Harold to settle things face–to–face. She hadn’t expected the wait to stretch two
hours.
Drenched clothes clung to her skin as she stood shivering. By the time Harold emerged, her face had turned ghostly pale with bloodless lips.
When Emily tried to speak, others exiting the conference room cut her
off.
“Who’s this?”
She glanced at Harold.
Getting no response, she stammered through chattering teeth, “I’m Harold’s wife.”
The crowd froze, stunned.
“Isn’t Harold single?”
“Aren’t you and Sophia a couple?”
“Right, you’ve been together since high school. How could…”
Harold calmly stated, “Sophia and I are past tense.”
He then briefly introduced Emily.
“This is Emily. We got married five years ago.”
The group collectively gasped, murmuring in astonishment. Just then,
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someone spoke up.
“Let’s grab dinner. These long meetings are starving us.”
Numbness in her legs kept Emily momentarily still. She could only watch Harold and Sophia walk past, leaving her stranded at the rear.
Emily wasn’t sure if it was intentional, but when she opened the Toyota Alphard’s door, only the passenger seat remained available.
Harold and Sophia sat in the back row, seemingly discussing the recent meeting. Emily glanced at them before taking the vacant spot.
During the drive to the restaurant, everyone in the car spontaneously conversed in Spanish.
“I thought Sophia and Harold were already married. After all, Harold’s confession–‘All my life, I will dedicate myself to medicine and to you!‘– remains a legend in med school.”
“Despite Harold’s usual coldness, he punched a professor harassing female students for Sophia during our third year, nearly getting his graduation delayed.”
“I still remember them signing body donation pledges together, vowing to stay united in life and death.”
Emily heard these words and finally realized that Sophia was Harold’s ex- girlfriend…
Since meeting Harold, she had always seen him as gentle and distant, like a glass of lukewarm water, forever bland.
Emily couldn’t imagine what he looked like when he confessed to Sophia, or when he fought for her.
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Chapter 2
Lost in thought, she didn’t even notice when they arrived at the restaurant. When Harold’s friend came to open the car door for her, he was somewhat surprised.
“Mrs. Anderson, why are your clothes all wet?”
Before Emily could answer, he said to Harold in the back, “Harold, why don’t you go to the mall next door and buy Mrs. Anderson a change of clothes? Change before eating, or she might catch a cold.”
It wasn’t until someone reminded him that Harold realized his wife Emily’s clothes had been wet for so long.
He said to Emily, “Wait in the car. I’ll get you some clothes.”
Everyone in the vehicle stepped out, heading toward the restaurant
reservation.
Emily waited alone in the car for fifteen minutes before Harold returned with a luxurious shopping bag. The clothes were expensive, the fabric soft, but they never fit Emily right.
Just like her marriage to Harold–never fit from start to finish.
When Emily changed and got out, the parking lot stood empty.
Her phone lit up with an unread message in Harold’s usually silent chat:
“It’s Sophia’s birthday. I went ahead. Private room A1701.”
After five years of marriage, this was the first time Harold had initiated contact with Emily, and the first time he’d sent such a lengthy message.
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