Chapter 2
841 Words
That night, Oscar came home to find Phoebe already asleep.
He walked toward the bed in the dark and pulled Phoebe into his arms—force of habit.
The moment his hands landed on her waist, he rolled over and pinned her beneath him.
"Heard you stopped by my office this afternoon. Why didn't you come up to see me?"
He propped himself up with one arm. His voice turned low and husky, thick with rising desire as he brushed his fingers gently over her lips.
Phoebe knew how insatiable Oscar was. Over their three-year relationship, he'd wanted her almost every single day—save for the seven days of her monthly period.
There were even days when once wasn't enough, and two or three intimate encounters became routine.
The truth she'd overheard earlier echoed sharply in her head. All this time, he'd only been with her to practice his skills. She pushed his hand away and turned her head to dodge his kiss.
She pressed both palms firmly against his chest, trying to push him off her.
"You forgot to bring your phone. I meant to bring it to you, but I remembered you said you didn't like me visiting your workplace, so I left before going upstairs."
She had taken Oscar's private elevator to get to his office that day.
Aside from the front desk receptionist on the first floor, no one had seen her in the building.
Oscar said, "It's not that I hate you coming to my office. I just don't want people to know about us and mess up your life. I love you so much that I want to keep you hidden away—all to myself."
Right after speaking, Oscar slipped a yellow diamond ring onto Phoebe's ring finger.
Phoebe had begged him to buy this exact ring before her very first proposal. She'd wanted it to be her wedding band, but Oscar had refused outright when the word "marriage" was mentioned.
She never thought he'd end up buying it, especially not after turning down her ninth proposal earlier that day.
"I don't know what came over me. I just passed the jewelry store and thought of you right away. Babe, I didn't mean to turn you down earlier today. I'm just truly not ready to get married yet. You'll forgive me, won't you?"
He twisted and stroked her fingers softly, then laced his fingers tightly through hers.
His grip tightened little by little, his breathing growing quick and heavy. He scattered soft, dense kisses all over her brows, eyes, and lips.
He knew every one of her sensitive spots perfectly. His touch was gentle yet firm, sending waves of tingling numbness through her whole body.
Oscar had always been tender in bed.
He was never the kind of person who only cared about his own pleasure.
For three whole years, Phoebe had never sensed any hidden agenda behind his actions.
To her, their intimate moments were no different from those of any ordinary couple.
She'd always believed they were just two people in love, cherishing and pleasing each other.
"I'm tired. I don't want to do this."
Once upon a time, she would have believed every word of his explanation without a single doubt—but not anymore.
She finally saw the truth. The real reason he'd forbidden her from visiting his office was that he'd never intended to marry her.
He'd never planned to publicly acknowledge her as his girlfriend, let alone his wife.
All the passion and tenderness he'd shown her in bed was nothing but practice—practice to perfect his skills for Nanette to enjoy.
She could never understand how he could be so gentle with her yet hurt her so deeply at the same time.
Every cruel word she'd overheard in his office kept replaying in her head on loop.
With her resolve firmly set, Phoebe pushed Oscar away and walked out to sleep in the guest room.
Once in the guest room, she opened the nightstand drawer to put the ring away—and there, at the very bottom, she found a faded, yellowed photograph.
A photo of Nanette.
The angle of the shot made it clear it had been taken secretly.
Nanette looked much younger and more innocent in the picture.
It was obvious the photo had been kept well for several years.
Phoebe flipped the photo over and spotted a line of handwriting left by Oscar on the back.
If only life could stay as it was when we first met. No sorrow would come from unfulfilled love.
That single short line laid bare all of Oscar's regret over his unrequited love for Nanette.
Phoebe had already planned to leave the city for good. But reading those words, she felt hot tears blur her vision.
She pulled out her phone and rescheduled her flight out of Hyswater City to an earlier time.
By the time the tenth wedding dress was delivered to her door, Phoebe had already erased every trace of herself from the house.
- Writer
