Chapter 9
Ten hours later, Jeremy staggered up to the door of Aliana’s studio, clutching a stack of 520 love letters in his arms.
“Hello, can I help you?” A woman opened the door and looked him over.
Jeremy managed a smile. “I’m here to see Aliana. Is she in?”
“Oh, you’re looking for Aliana? She’s not here right now. She has a date today. If you want her to design something for you, you’ll have to come back tomorrow.”
That casual remark hit Jeremy like a punch to the chest.
“We were only just divorced, and she’s already seeing someone else?” he thought.
His mind flashed back to what his friend had said at the bar-that someone else had already made a move on Aliana.
The thought made Jeremy’s nails dig deep into his palms. He could almost picture her now, being treated with the ten- derness she’d always craved.
A fierce wave of possessiveness surged in his chest. All he wanted was to rush to her side and stake his claim-to re- mind her, and everyone else, that she had always belonged to him.
Fighting the urge to demand details about her date, Jeremy clenched his fists and left the studio.
He stood outside her apartment building in the pouring rain, stubborn as a stone statue.
If he could just wait for her to come home-if she could only see his bloodshot eyes and rain-soaked shirt-she’d un- derstand how much he regretted everything.
But from sunrise to sunset, her door never opened.
Days of drinking, sleepless nights, and now the relentless storm finally took its toll. His body gave out.
Just before he lost consciousness, he thought he saw a familiar figure rushing toward him. The next moment, every- thing went black.
When Jeremy woke again, he found himself in an unfamiliar room.
He blinked in confusion for a few seconds, then suddenly sat up as it all came back-he’d collapsed outside Aliana’s door. Did this mean she was the one who had taken care of him?
A surge of hope and excitement filled his heart. Jeremy carefully climbed out of bed, wanting to catch a glimpse of her. As he reached the living room, he saw a figure bustling in the kitchen.
It was Aliana.
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Chapter 9
Warmth flooded through him, that bittersweet rush of losing and then finding her again.
288 Nouchers
All he wanted was to rush over, pull her into his arms, and finally tell her how much he’d loved her all these years- how she never needed to worry again.
But he’d barely taken two steps when he noticed another man in the kitchen.
“Hey, don’t mess around. The soup’s about to boil over,” Aliana scolded, but her voice was laced with laughter.
“You’re not making that soup for your ex-husband, are you, Ali? You two are divorced now,” the man teased, a hint of jealousy in his tone.
“It’s for you. Didn’t you say you were craving this soup yesterday?” Aliana replied with a helpless smile.
From his corner, Jeremy watched the scene unfold, his heart twisting painfully in his chest.
He remembered all those late nights when she’d hovered in the kitchen, simmering soup for hours just because he was
sick.
She’d carefully cool cach spoonful, gently coaxing him to drink, her eyes curving into a crescent moon when he final- ly took a sip.
But now, those hands, that soup, that smile-all belonged to another man.
“Aliana…” His voice was so hoarse it sounded like it had been scraped raw.
The word shattered the moment, abruptly interrupting the intimate scene in the kitchen.
