Chapter 2

For several days, Elara seemed incredibly busy, so busy she even forgot my birthday.

But I didn't care anymore.

Then she seemed to suddenly remember and, to make it up to me, bought tickets for my favorite musical.

It was a popular show, hard to get tickets for. I hadn't managed to buy any myself, so when Elara said she had tickets and invited me, I agreed.

But on the day of the show, she didn't show up. Instead, I saw Milo Jensen flaunting two tickets on his Ins.

Two tickets.

[Bored, heading to a concert. It's so nice to have someone always ready to join you for some fun and relaxation.]

Although the faces weren't visible, the hand with the distinctive scar in the photo—I recognized it as Elara's in an instant.

The scar on her hand was from saving me years ago.

Suddenly, I felt like a clown.

I was outside, drenched in the rain, worried something might have happened to her, while she and her assistant were in the VIP seats inside, watching a concert.

The cold rain pelted my face, and my heart and body grew colder by the minute.

Just then, Mom messaged me, saying the wedding was set for two weeks later. She said if I felt it was too rushed, we could postpone it.

I shook my head. "No need. This is fine."

The heavy rain had brought the city's traffic to a standstill. I waited for a long time but couldn't get a ride.

Elara's call came very late. "Why aren't you home?"

My voice was calm, devoid of any emotion. "I'm at the theater."

She seemed to remember something, falling silent for a moment. "I'm sorry, something came up this afternoon. Wait there, I'll pick you up."

I didn't refuse, but I also knew she wouldn't come.

Sure enough, the next second, Milo updated his status again:

[My honey cooked ginger tea for me, worried I'd get soaked and catch a cold. A woman in the kitchen is the most beautiful. Want to marry her!]

The accompanying picture was Elara's back as she busied herself at the stove.

I glanced at it once, then calmly closed the app.

The heavy rain still inevitably led to me catching a cold and fever.

Using the excuse that I didn't want to infect Elara, I moved into the guest room.

Breaking her routine, Elara put aside her work to stay home and take care of me.

But I felt uncomfortable. "It's just a mild cold. I'm an adult; I can take care of myself. Go back to your work."

She stared at me strangely for a while;

"Didn't you used to wish I'd be with you when you were sick? Why are you acting so unusual today?"

I lowered my head, hiding all emotion in my eyes, and forced a smile. "I was immature before. Not anymore."

Elara looked at me with worry. "Asher, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. You go."

She felt I was a bit off but couldn't pinpoint what was wrong. Finally, she just stared deeply at me, sighed, and said:

"Alright, then get some good rest. Call me if you need anything."

After she left, I let out a long breath and went back to sleep.

When I woke up, I saw that Mom had sent me the detailed wedding plan.

She also sent me about a dozen suits, asking me to choose.

I casually scrolled through them, then clicked to enlarge a picture and started looking closely, so engrossed that I didn't notice Elara appear suddenly.

She snatched my phone from my hand and tossed it aside, her brows furrowed in displeasure:

"What are you looking at suits for?"

I thought she had discovered I was getting married and was about to just come clean.

But her next words made me realize how ridiculous my assumption was.

"Asher, are you trying to pressure me into marrying you? I told you I'd marry you. You don't need to play these games to hint at it. It's really unbecoming."