That night, as I lay in Sarah’s bed,
congratulating myself on my thoughtfulness, my
く
phone rang. It was Ethan.
“Where are you? It’s almost ten. Aren’t you
coming home?” His voice was laced with
anxiety. I quickly lowered the volume.
“Are you seriously not coming back tonight? I think my brother misses you already.” Sarah said, tossing me a pair of pajamas.
“I’m at Sarah’s.” I whispered, a sense of
foreboding washing over me. I could practically see Ethan’s scowl.
“Are you married to me or to Sarah?” Ethan’s voice was sharp.
“Seriously, bro? Jealous much? Lisa and I have known each other way longer than you two.” Sarah snatched my phone before I could respond. “Actually, if we’re talking about first impressions, I met her before you did.”
<
CC
“”
Ethan’s cryptic response left Sarah and me
speechless. We stared at each other in
confusion.
In the end, Sarah couldn’t bear to part with me.
She begged Ethan to let me stay, and he finally
relented, saying he’d pick me up for work in the
morning.
Evil capitalist.
I couldn’t sleep that night either. I racked my
brain, trying to remember when I’d met Ethan
before.
The next morning, Ethan showed up at the
mansion, bright and early, much to the surprise
of his parents, and mine. He actually came
home!
“Mom, Dad, I’m here to pick up my wife.” He
grinned, looking smug and well–rested.
<
10:10
514
“Be good to Lisa, Ethan. You’re a lucky man to
have found such a wonderful girl.” Mrs. Davis
patted his arm.
Ethan glanced at me, then nodded at his
mother. He took my hand and led me to the car.
“Looks like my parents really like you. That’s
great.”
“I think they’d be happy with anyone you
married.” I teased.
“No, you’re different.”
“Different how? It’s just a piece of paper.” I
buckled my seatbelt and leaned my head
against the window, feigning sleep to end the
conversation. I could have sworn he kept
looking at me, but it must have been my
imagination, playing tricks on me again.
At the office, we walked in separately. No need
く
to advertise our fake marriage. It would only
complicate things later. And of course, who
should we run into but Ashley? She was wearing
a slinky red dress and flawless makeup. I
couldn’t help but admire her. Who doesn’t
appreciate a beautiful woman?
Ashley spotted me first, her eyes flicking over
my shoulder to land on Ethan behind me. I
quickened my pace, eager to escape into the
elevator and avoid the impending drama.
To my surprise, she greeted me calmly. “Good
morning, Mrs. Davis.”
I stared at her, dumbfounded. Had she been
body–snatched? Wasn’t she supposed to be
fighting for her man?
“Uh… hi.” I managed a weak smile.
“I came to say goodbye to Ethan. I hope you
don’t mind.”
く
Mind? I couldn’t possibly mind. If they got back
together, I was out of there.
“Not at all. Be my guest.” I turned to step into
the elevator, giving them some privacy, but Ethan grabbed my hand.
“What did she say to you?”
“She said she came to say goodbye. Go talk to her.” I tried to pull away, but he held on tight.
“Ethan, congratulations on your marriage. I really did come to say goodbye. I was too stubborn, too proud. I thought I could easily get back what I lost, but time doesn’t stand still.” Ashley turned to me, tears welling up in her eyes. “I didn’t want to give up. I kept thinking you still loved me. Until I saw this picture, Lisa. It seems the girl he was looking for was you all along.”
She pulled an envelope from her bag and
<
pressed it into my hand. I remembered what
Sarah had told me: Ethan and Ashley dated in
college. Ashley, bored with him, broke up with
him multiple times, only to change her mind
each time. Finally, she left him for a guy she
met abroad, truly breaking Ethan’s heart. Years later, after her foreign fling ended badly, she came back, assuming Ethan had been waiting for her all along.
“Where did you get that?” Ethan frowned.
“Remember? You told me about a little girl you met on a school trip to the countryside. You said you could never forget her bright, sparkling eyes. This is the only picture you had of her
together. I took it from your office the other day.”
“Then I realized the little girl in the picture…is your wife.”
“I bet Lisa doesn’t know about this. I thought
く
I’d tell her for you.”
“Lisa, he went to a lot of trouble to marry you.
And it wasn’t to get rid of me.” Ashley smiled.
Before Ethan or I could respond, she held up
her plane ticket to Los Angeles.
“Goodbye. I’ve realized foreign men are much
more straightforward. They love boldly.”
With that, she clicked away on her high heels.
Ethan and I stared at each other. I pulled my
hand away and opened the envelope.
It was a picture of a little boy with a shaved
head and me, arms around each other, grinning
at the camera. I stared at Ethan in disbelief.
“I told you I met you before Sarah.” He
scratched his head, a shy expression replacing
his usual scowl.
