Chapter 3

When I got home that evening, the broken items had been restored to their original state.

That's the upside of having money. As long as you have it, you can replace even the rarest things with identical ones.

I held my hot milk, wearing a face mask, sitting in the spacious living room, listening to the lonely wind.

Howard wasn't back, and neither was Marcus.

My private investigator told me that the three of them—Howard, Scarlett, and Marcus—were out having dinner at a romantic restaurant.

In the photos sent to my phone, Howard wore a gentle smile, and Marcus's eyes were sparkling.

It was strange, how much they, father and son, liked Scarlett.

That girl, besides looking a bit like me, had a completely different personality.

She came from a poor background, wasn't academically brilliant. Her only real virtue was her gentle patience.

Unlike me, who'd been fiery since childhood.

Howard and I actually met because of a misunderstanding that led to a fight.

Back then, my friend got bullied after confessing her feelings. She tearfully mumbled a name, and I just assumed it was Howard, the hottest guy in school.

Only after I'd finished my rant did my friend clarify it was someone from the class next door.

Howard glared at me, a cold smirk on his face. "You just said some pretty awful things. How are you going to make it up to me?"

On a whim, I puffed out my chest and leaned in. "How about I offer myself as compensation?"

His face immediately flushed.

We went from friends to lovers, like something out of a romantic teen movie.

Everyone knew Howard was head-over-heels for me. At our wedding, he almost cried himself unconscious.

My mom had just passed away then. He held me, sobbing, "Joshua, I'll treat you well for the rest of our lives."

But the shelf life of our love was so short. In just five years, he had his first affair.

Then a second, a third, until Scarlett.

When I saw them together, I often felt a strange sense of déjà vu. It was like seeing eighteen-year-old Joshua and twenty-eight-year-old Howard falling in love all over again.

Howard dropped Marcus off around ten that night.

He was already calm, and even offered a few words of concern when he saw me.

"How are the babies?"

"They're fine," I said.

"And your prenatal appointments?"

"Normal."

Howard fell silent, turning his head away.

I didn't say anything either, just picked up my phone and continued looking at photos.

He waited for a while, seeing I wasn't speaking.

"I just dropped Marcus off. Should I go now?"

I didn't even lift my eyelids.

"Fine. No need to see you out."

After a long moment, I didn't hear his footsteps.

I looked up. Howard was still standing there.

"Something wrong?"

He pressed his lips together.

"You... look pretty good."

What was wrong with him?

"Thanks," I said.