Six years kept him alive，Now I let him die

Chapter 2

As the Moon Goddess Festival drew closer, Lawrence became busier with each passing day.

So did I. I spent my days packing, getting my documents in order, booking flights, and tying up the loose ends of the life I was about to leave behind. Every errand felt like another cut, another piece of Lawrence I was carving out of my life.

"Hello, ma'am! We just got this one in. Would you like to try it on?"

An ocean-blue dress hung in the display window, its fabric falling like water behind the glass.

I stood outside and caught my reflection in the window, thin, pale, barely more than a shadow.

Six years ago, I had stood beneath the Moon Goddess statue in a dress the same shade of blue and listened as Lawrence swore to the moon that he would love me in this life and every life after it.

"I'll take a size small, please."

The sales associate brightened at once and led me to the fitting room, the dress draped over one arm. There was no mirror in the fitting room, so I had only the sales associate's practiced smile to judge by, the kind meant to make a woman feel beautiful before she had even seen herself.

Maybe I still was. Six years ago, I was beautiful too.

Then I gave too much of myself to save Lawrence's life, and somewhere along the way, I became thin, worn down, and faded.

"Lawrence, the zipper is stuck. Come help me."

Mia's voice drifted through the fitting-room door. It was cloying and sticky, like someone had smeared honey on my skin and dumped a colony of ants over it.

It was nauseating.

"That's naughty." Then came her laugh, soft, spoiled, and intimate. It was the careless sweetness of a woman who knew exactly how adored she was.

My fingers tightened around the fabric of the dress.

The fitting rooms opened right onto the main sales floor. This was a public space, bright with mirrors, sales associates, and passing customers.

And still, she called for him in that voice. And still, he answered.

If I hadn't known I was Lawrence's wife, I would have thought he was married to her.

Instantly, any desire to try on the dress vanished. "I'm all set," I said to the associate. "Could you help me with the zipper?"

"Ma'am, you don't like it? It looks gorgeous on you. That color makes your skin glow."

Maybe she thought I didn't believe her because before I could stop her, she opened the fitting-room door and gestured toward the full-length mirror outside. "See for yourse..."

The words died in her throat.

I froze, too.

In the mirror, I saw them.

Mia was wearing the exact same ocean-blue dress, only hers dipped so low at the neckline that her cleavage was impossible to miss.

Lawrence stood behind her, one hand still hovering near the strap on her bare shoulder. He had probably just been helping her with the zipper. From the way they looked, anyone would have thought they were about to f**k right there in the fitting room.

The three of us stared at one another through the mirror, like a still from some grotesque little play.

"Jasmine! Fancy seeing you here."

The shock that flashed across Mia's face vanished so quickly it might as well have been rehearsed.

The next second, she was smiling again, all practiced warmth and false innocence.

Lawrence stared at me, clearly thrown. He opened his mouth as if to explain, but Mia beat him to it.

"I was going to ask you to come shopping with me, but Lawrence said you'd been super busy, so I asked him instead."

As she spoke, she shifted closer, deliberately pressing her chest against his arm. I saw his throat work as he swallowed.

"Lawrence," Mia whined, shifting her shoulders, "do you think they gave me the wrong size? It's so tight across the chest I can barely breathe."

"Jasmine, it's not what it looks like..."

Lawrence finally found his voice.

"I came to buy you a dress. I ran into Mia by chance. That's all. She needed something for the festival, so we shopped together."

"Oh, really?" I let out a dry laugh. "What a coincidence."

I had no interest in hearing more. I shot the associate a look that stopped her from saying another word, then turned back toward the fitting room.

By the time I changed back into my own clothes and came out, Mia was gone. Lawrence was waiting outside alone.

His gaze flicked to the ocean-blue dress still draped over the associate's arm. "I already paid for it, Jasmine," he said, looking at me with the kind of tenderness that would have ruined me once. "You looked beautiful in that dress."

'Beautiful.'

I didn't even get a chance to really look at myself in the mirror.

"Jasmine, we're expected at family dinner tonight. It's getting late. We should go."

He reached for my hand.

I stepped away before he could touch me.

For a moment, real surprise crossed his face, but I didn't offer a single word of explanation.

We left the mall, and Lawrence drove us to Bradley Estate.

His family gathered there for dinner once a month. And if things followed the usual pattern, Mia would be there.

Of course, she was. By the time Lawrence and I entered the house, Mia was already seated in the sitting room, chatting easily with his parents and siblings as if she belonged there.

"Everyone's here." Lawrence's father announced. "Let's start dinner."

Mia rose first. As she passed in front of Lawrence, she swayed her hips just enough for him to notice. I heard his breath hitch. His gaze lingered shamelessly on her ass.

Without missing a beat, Mia slid into the chair right next to Lawrence, fully aware that she was taking my seat.

"Mia," I said, loud enough for everyone to hear, "that's my seat."

The laughter in the room died so sharply that the silence felt like a slap.

Every eye turned to me. They were all surprised because, in the past, whenever something like this happened, I had always given in.

The old me would have assumed it was a misunderstanding. I would have told myself Mia hadn't meant anything by it. I would have smiled, stepped aside, and given up what was mine just to keep everyone comfortable.

That woman was gone. I was done giving away what belonged to me.