Part 1Too Late to Repent

In our seventh year together, Asher’s private social media account was leaked.

Post after post, it was a diary of his love life.

【The wife wore a pink sweater today. So cute! I just want to hold her and smother her with kisses!】

【Sang her my new song and she said she loved it! My heart is exploding!】

【Bought her a pink diamond, and the way she smiled… ahhh, I’d buy her the world! Anything my baby wants, she gets!】

【Day two of the concert tour. I miss my wife, ugh. No wife, no motivation. My sweet, soft wife.】

The comment section was a flood of fans swooning.

【OMG, Asher seems so wild and untouchable on the outside, but he’s a total simp in private.】

【LMAO, some people act all cold and indifferent to their S.O. in public, but inside they’re like: I AM MY WIFE’S DOG!】

My best friend forwarded the link to me with a playful jab.

“Damn, you’re getting spoiled so much in private!”

I scrolled through every single post, reading each one carefully.

After a long silence, I replied to my friend.

【I’ve never owned a pink sweater.】

* * *

Actually, that’s a lie. I did, once.

Back when I was chasing Asher, I’d heard a rumor that he liked the sweet, girl-next-door type. I’ve always hated the color pink, but I went out and bought a pink sweater specifically to wear when I brought him a home-cooked meal.

It was the dead of winter, and I’d skipped a coat to look better. My face was pale from the cold.

Asher finally emerged from the practice room, half an hour late. He looked me up and down, a slow, lazy appraisal.

Then he crossed his arms and let out a short, sharp laugh.

“Felicity,” he sneered. “You look like a giant pink pig.”

The room erupted in laughter. I fled, my cheeks burning.

I never wore pink again.

My friend’s follow-up text was awkward, trying to smooth things over.

【Hey, don’t overthink it.】

【You know how he is. He probably loved it but just had to say something mean.】

【We all know what Asher’s like.】

She was right. In college, Asher was famous for his sharp tongue and permanent scowl. As my roommate used to say, “Such a handsome guy. It’s a shame he’s not a mute.”

Nearly every girl who tried to get his attention was verbally shredded.

But I was different.

He criticized my clothes, my cooking, and the way I was always around him. But he was also the one who, at a party, would see me sitting alone in a corner and call out in his cold voice, “Hey. Come sit over here.”

Later, he became a huge star.

At his first stadium concert, he sang an entire love song looking directly at me. Then, the camera panned to my face.

The young man on stage looked earnest, his features sharp and beautiful.

“I want to introduce you all to someone,” he said. “The leading lady of my life.”

The spotlights were blinding. All I remember is his smile cutting through the roar of the crowd.

The second he got backstage, his manager tore into him. “Do you want to have fans? Do you want to have a career?”

Asher just leaned against the wall, a careless smile on his face. “You don’t know her. She’s sensitive and high-strung. If I didn’t make it official, she’d give me hell for it later.”

His career did stall for a few years after that. It only started to recover last year when his new single won a major award. But the person who presented the award to him was a junior artist who had once been far beneath him, a guy who had rocketed to fame after breaking up with his girlfriend of ten years to focus on his career.

A reporter asked Asher if he regretted going public with our relationship.

“No regrets,” he said, showing the camera the chain around his collarbone.

It was the birthday present I’d bought him after working as a food delivery driver for five months. He once told me it was more precious than any trophy.

But…

In the most recent selfie on his private account, his face was hidden.

And the chain around his neck had been replaced. In its place was a cartoon bear pendant from Hello Kitty. He used to say things like that were childish and girly.

But now…

The caption was ecstatic.

【Got matching necklaces with the wife!】