Chapter 1

While shopping at the supermarket with my three-year-old son, he suddenly called out "Daddy!" to a man's back.

I quickly covered my son's mouth.

"Sorry, sir..."

The man turned around.

When I saw his face clearly, the rest of my words stuck in my throat.

It was Sebastian Knight.

His gaze fell on my face, then slowly moved to the child.

The air went quiet for a moment.

I instinctively pulled my child closer and said calmly, "Long time no see. We have to go now."

As we left the supermarket, my son tugged at my sleeve and asked, "Mommy, who was that man?"

I looked down and straightened his collar.

"A stranger."

My son is three years old.

Counting back, Sebastian and I have been separated for three years now.

...

By the time we got home, it was completely dark.

Ian asked me, "Mommy, who was that man really?"

I closed the refrigerator door and turned to look at him.

"I told you, a stranger."

"But he kept staring at me."

Ian tilted his head, looking puzzled.

"He seemed like he knew me."

I didn't answer.

Instead, I walked over, picked him up, and headed to the bathroom.

I mechanically helped him bathe.

But in my mind, I couldn't stop replaying Sebastian's expression.

Three years.

I thought we'd never see each other again in this lifetime.

But fate had other plans.

At ten o'clock that night, Ian finally fell asleep.

Those eyebrows, that nose---they really did look like Sebastian's.

Like they were carved from the same mold.

My phone vibrated.

I picked it up.

It was a friend request on SnapChat.

"It's me."

Of course I knew it was Sebastian.

Always so presumptuous.

As if the whole world should revolve around him, as if everyone should remember everything about him.

I calmly pressed the lock screen button.

I didn't accept it, but I didn't reject it either.

I turned off the light and lay down beside Ian.

In the darkness, memories from three years ago came flooding back like a tide, scene by scene.

All those images I thought I'd forgotten, all those wounds I thought had healed---they were all torn open again.

Three years ago.

When Sebastian and I first got together, we actually had a happy period.

He was very gentle then.

He would drive to my office building and wait for me to get off work.

Every time I walked out of the building, warmth would flood my heart.

He remembered which bakery's chestnut cake I'd mentioned liking.

On rainy days, he would tilt most of the umbrella toward me.

I truly believed I'd met the right person.

But reality slapped me in the face soon enough.

The gap in our backgrounds was like an insurmountable chasm.

He was the heir to the Knight family.

He had a driver, a private chef, and every piece of clothing he wore cost more than my monthly salary.

And me? I was just an ordinary working girl fresh out of college.

I rented an old apartment in the suburbs, took the crowded subway to work every morning, and ate fifteen-dollar takeout for lunch.

I was always afraid of being looked down on by people in his circle, afraid they'd say I was social climbing.

So I never took his money.

When we went out to eat, I would quietly transfer him half the bill.

Every time he received the transfer, he would frown and say it wasn't necessary to split things so clearly.

But I insisted.

I thought this almost stubborn independence would earn me equal respect.

But I was wrong.

Sebastian had a friend named Jonathan.

He was also a colleague at my previous company.

Jonathan and I were just acquaintances.

We barely even chatted on SnapChat.

When we ran into each other at the office, we'd just nod and say "morning." That was it.

Until that party.

The party was at a very upscale private club.

It was my first time at a place like that.

The private room was filled with smoke, with men and women I didn't know sitting around.

Everyone was dressed so elegantly.

The women wore sparkling jewelry, and the men's watches were clearly worth a fortune.

I sat next to Sebastian, completely out of place.

That's when Victoria appeared.

She was Sebastian's childhood friend, a real socialite.

She walked over with a wine glass, her gaze scanning me up and down.

Then she smiled and turned to Sebastian.

"Sebastian, aren't you going to introduce us?"

Sebastian held my hand.

"This is Rain. My girlfriend."

Victoria raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, Rain. I heard you and Jonathan are quite close?"

All eyes turned to me.

Victoria pretended to look surprised, covering her mouth.

"Oh my, did I remember wrong?"

I froze for a moment and instinctively looked at Sebastian.

He was leaning back on the sofa, playing with a lighter.

He didn't say anything.

Didn't even look at me.

I could only force myself to speak.

"We just worked at the same company before. We've only met a few times."

"Just met a few times?" Victoria's smile was loaded with meaning.

"How strange. I heard Jonathan used to pursue you."

My hand clenched tight.

"That's not true, Miss Victoria. You heard wrong."

"Really?" Victoria shrugged.

"Then maybe I did hear wrong."

She raised her glass and clinked it with Sebastian's.

"But Sebastian, you'd better keep a close eye on her."

Sebastian lifted his eyelids and gave Victoria a cool glance.

"My business is none of your concern."

Victoria smiled carelessly and returned to her seat.

I spent the rest of that party on edge.

On the drive home, the atmosphere in the car was heavy.

Sebastian didn't say a word.

"Sebastian." I called his name.

He kept his eyes on the road.

"What?"

"Jonathan and I really aren't close."

Sebastian turned the steering wheel as the car entered the residential area.

"I know."

His voice was calm.

But I didn't catch the dismissiveness hidden in those words.