Chapter 1
Chloe's POV:
One month before the wedding, I went to pick up the new car that was supposed to belong to both of us.
I sold the old car my father left me, paid an additional eighty thousand dollars, and chose the gray‑blue shade I liked.
After verifying the documents, the salesperson turned around, only to hand the keys to Ella Moore.
"Ms. Moore, your preferred driving profile has already been set."
I froze.
Ella smiled first. "Last time Matthew was on a business trip, I tested the car for you two for a couple of days. Aren't you the one who hates fiddling with these settings the most? I'll work out the kinks first, so you'll have less to worry about later."
Matthew Harris took the keys from her hand and opened the back door for me. "She gets carsick, so the front seat's hers. You'll have more room in the back, and the wedding dress box can lie flat too."
I didn't move. "Today is the day we pick up our car."
Matthew looked down at me and reached out to tuck my wind‑tousled hair behind my ear. "What're you jealous about now? The car is yours, and so am I. She's only sitting there for part of the ride. Can she really take your place?"
Ella had already fastened her seatbelt. Touching the center console screen, she marveled, "Cars are so smart these days. Let me try everything out for Chloe first, so she won't have trouble using it later."
She spoke so matter‑of‑factly; if I pressed further, I'd just seem like I was trying to ruin the mood.
The car started. The passenger seat automatically slid back, vanilla latte scent filled the air, and the navigation defaulted to Ella's home address.
She opened the glove compartment with practiced ease and took out a packet of sour gummy candies.
Matthew smiled. "That little carsickness problem of yours. The car remembers it better than people do."
I looked down at the keychain. A white bunny hung from it, its ears worn smooth and shiny from handling. "Did she test this one out for me too?"
Matthew glanced at it. "It's just a random trinket I hung there. Are you going to interrogate me about that too?"
At the bridal shop, he went with me to try on the veil, standing behind me to fasten the pearl clasp at the nape of my neck. "Don't frown. Every time you get angry, you stop eating. In the end, your stomach hurts, and I'm the one who has to comfort you."
My heart had just begun to thaw when Ella's call came in. She said the garage door wouldn't open and she was trapped alone underground.
Matthew undid the clasp on my veil and turned to leave. I grabbed him. "We haven't settled on a veil yet."
He lowered his head and kissed my forehead. "You have the best taste. Choose whatever you like. I'll make it up to you tonight."
Two hours later, I took a taxi home with the wedding dress box clutched in my arms.
The new car was parked downstairs. The passenger‑side sun visor was half open, and tucked beside the vanity mirror was a Polaroid.
In the photo, Ella was sitting in the driver's seat. Matthew stood behind her, his hands covering hers, his cheek pressed against hers as he taught her how to reverse.
The date was three months ago.
At that time, Matthew had explicitly told me the new car was still at the dealership awaiting paperwork.
It turned out the car had arrived long ago.
Under the pretext of an early inspection, he had taken it out again and again behind my back, taking Ella to places I knew nothing about.
At ten that evening, Matthew returned with roasted almonds. He peeled one himself and held it to my lips. "You saw the photo?"
Without a hint of guilt, he smiled and grasped my chin. "I was just teaching her to reverse. Chloe, if you're really that worried, I'll send you my schedule every day after we get married."
I asked, "Would you really bear to do that?"
He pressed the almond into my palm. "I'm already marrying you. Do you also want to cut me open and weigh which side is heavier?"
After saying that, he hugged me, gently patting my back the way he always had.
I reached out to remove the white rabbit from the keychain, but he held my hand back. "Don't take your anger out on an inanimate object. How childish can you be?"
In the end, I never removed the rabbit.
And for the first time, I realized that the place Matthew said was mine had already held another woman's warmth.
