Chapter 1
Chapter 1
Sophia Reed was thirteen when she first met Ethan Fuller and married him at twenty–three.
In their second year of marriage, Ethan disappeared in a plane crash, leaving her alone with nothing but memories.
But now, twenty years later at age forty–three, Sophia came face to face with the husband she thought was dead.
She had only wanted to see the aurora one last time before she died. But the tent next door kept shaking violently, accompanied by a woman’s uninhibited moans that made it impossible for Sophia to sleep.
Just as she decided to go for a walk, a loud crash sounded as the neighboring tent collapsed right before her eyes.
The first person to emerge was a man with a tender smile who held a blushing woman tightly in his arms.
Sophia’s feet felt rooted to the ground, unable to take another step.
When the man’s smiling eyes met hers, his expression gradually faded.
In that moment, Sophia understood everything.
But before she could confront him through her tears, a sudden avalanche threatened to bury them all. In the face of danger, Ethan shielded both her and the other woman.
His final words to her were: “I’ve repaid my debt to you with my life. If I could start over, I wouldn’t have married you so early… I would have waited
for her…”
When Sophia opened her eyes again, she had returned to the first year of her marriage with Ethan.
She sat frozen on the couch, staring blankly at her surroundings. Ethan’s last words echoed in her ears.
A sharp pain twisted like a knife in her chest, making it difficult to breathe.
So Ethan hadn’t died after all.
He had been living his life with another woman…
Everything had happened so suddenly she hadn’t even had time to ask him why.
The phone rang, and Sophia mechanically picked it up.
“Babe, Jason invited us out for dinner tonight. Get ready early, and I’ll pick you up after work,” Ethan said affectionately, calling her “babe” in a way that momentarily made Sophia feel like everything had been a terrible nightmare.
As if none of it had actually happened.
Ethan arrived precisely on time and immediately pulled Sophia into a tight embrace.
“You’re shivering. Are you cold?” he asked with concern.
Sophia looked at him with sorrowful eyes, but found herself unable to ask “why” in this moment.
This wasn’t the forty–four–year–old Ethan. He couldn’t give her the answers she sought.
On the passenger seat lay a box of cakes Ethan had bought in advance–all Sophia’s favorites from before.
When she made no move to take them, Ethan gave her a puzzled look.
“Aren’t you going to have any?”
20.0%
Chapter 1
Sophia kept her eyes downcast and quietly tightened the bag. “Too much sugar. I don’t want any.”
Ethan didn’t know that after his “death,” Sophia had given up all sweets. The initial sweetness on her tongue always dissolved into unbearable bitterness.
The cake in front of her dragged her back to cold reality. She stared at the man beside her, watching as he took her left hand and gently kissed it.
“What are you looking at?” he asked.
Sophia didn’t answer.
She was wondering when the supposedly loving Ethan had fallen for someone else. When had he planned to fake his death and leave her?
When they arrived at the restaurant, Ethan held her hand as they walked toward their private room. As they passed another room, the door was slightly ajar.
From where Sophia and Ethan stood, they could see inside where cigarette smoke swirled and men and women laughed boisterously while encouraging someone to drink.
She only caught a glimpse as they passed, but Ethan suddenly stopped in his tracks.
Sophia bumped into his arm unexpectedly. She frowned as she looked up at him, surprised to find his face had turned frighteningly dark.
“Babe, I forgot something in the car. You go ahead,” he said abruptly.
Without another word, he turned and walked away, not even telling her which private room was theirs.
Sophia watched his retreating figure, her eyes seemingly sinking to the bottom of a lake.
Before leaving the car, she had checked thoroughly–there was nothing left behind.
Ethan was lying.
This was the first time in all their years together that Ethan had lied to her.
♡ (0)
