Part 1The Last Time He Chose Her

Julian’s first love was back.

And just like that, he abandoned the woman who had been his wife for three years.

For her, he left me alone in an unfamiliar city, coughing up blood.

He said I was manipulative and didn’t deserve to be his wife. So I gave him what he wanted. I left.

He told me to stop being childish.

What he didn’t know was that I was dying.

I set dinner on the table early and waited for Julian to come home. A long time passed, but I never heard the familiar sound of his key in the door.

I took out my phone, opened his contact, then backed out again.

While I was still hesitating, Julian called first.

“Emma, I’ll probably be home late tonight. Don’t wait up.”

I wanted to say something, but he had already hung up.

“…Okay.”

It was my birthday. He had promised to come home and celebrate with me.

I glanced at the medical report in my purse. In the end, I crumpled it in my fist and shoved it back inside.

I hadn’t been feeling well, so I’d gone to the hospital a few days ago for a full checkup.

The results had come back today.

Today, a doctor had told me I had liver cancer.

I didn’t understand. I didn’t smoke or drink, and I rarely even stayed up late. How could I have this disease?

I stopped thinking about the diagnosis. All I knew was that Sophie Bennett, Julian’s first love, had returned today.

That was why he had forgotten my birthday. Why he had been so quick to hang up.

He had gone to see the woman he’d never managed to forget.

I stood there in a daze. If the cat hadn’t meowed, I might have stayed rooted to that spot forever.

I gathered her into my arms. “Are you hungry, Emmie?”

Tears slid down my cheeks before I could stop them, soaking Emmie’s white fur.

Three years ago, I saw Julian again for the first time after he’d disappeared from my life for seven years.

He had been leaning against a window, a cigarette resting between his lips.

After a long silence, he finally spoke. “Emma Hayes, I want to get married. You’d be a good choice.”

I had loved Julian for ten years. I understood him well.

He needed a wife, and I happened to fit the role.

I wanted to take that chance. To believe that if I stayed by his side long enough, he would learn to love me.

I’d always had a habit of overestimating myself. This time was no different.

By the time I filled Emmie’s bowl and put dinner away, it was already late. The birthday cake sat alone on the table.

I cut myself two slices. Strawberry. It was sweet—so sweet it was almost sickening.

When I was little, I’d always dreamed of having a strawberry cake all to myself. Now that I finally did, it didn’t taste nearly as good as I had imagined.

I clasped my hands in front of my chest, closed my eyes, then opened them again.

“Happy birthday, Emma.”

Somewhere along the way, I fell asleep on the couch. Emmie curled up at my feet, keeping me warm.

I was a light sleeper. The sound of the door opening jolted me awake.

Julian stepped inside, closing the door softly and keeping his footsteps quiet. The moment he switched on the light, our eyes met.

He paused, then frowned slightly. “Why are you still up?”

I pointed at my phone. “I fell asleep watching a show out here. You woke me when you came in.”

I didn’t act upset about how late he was. I wore the same faint smile I always did.

I poured him a cup of herbal tea and set it beside him.

As I leaned closer, I caught the scent of another woman’s perfume.

It was Sophie’s. I knew it.