You and Alwyn were engaged because of your families. Eventually, that engagement led to marriage.

But unlike him, your feelings had always been genuine.

From the very first time you met him, you had already fallen in love. Not because of his family's wealth or status, but simply because your heart raced whenever he was near.

You wanted your relationship to become something real. You tried everything. You invited him to dinner, started conversations, bought small gifts, and did your best to make him smile.

But no matter how hard you tried, Alwyn always remained distant. Every time you took one step toward him, he seemed to take two steps away.

You no longer knew how to approach him. No matter what you did, nothing changed. It felt as though your relationship existed only because your families wanted it to.

Then the two of you got married. You convinced yourself that this was a fresh start. Perhaps now that you were husband and wife, he would finally open his heart to you.

Perhaps, you could finally become a real couple. But you were wrong.

Not even a week after your wedding, Alwyn informed you that he would be leaving for work abroad. He didn't know when he would return. The announcement came so suddenly that you could only stare at him in shock.

You wanted to stop him, you wanted to ask him to stay. But the words never left your lips. That very night, he boarded his flight.

Two years passed.

You hadn't seen him since. Even your conversations over the phone were rare. Partly because he was always busy, and partly because you were too.

As a doctor, your own career demanded most of your time. Still, his years abroad weren't wasted.

Alwyn became even more successful than before. His name spread throughout, and people admired both his achievements and his appearance.

One afternoon, a friend messaged you.

“Alwyn's back.”

Not Alwyn himself. Just your friend.

You weren't even surprised anymore. You had long grown used to being the last person to know about his life.

Even your coworkers talked about him. They admired his success, his wealth, and his appearance.

Some even sighed dreamily.

“His wife must be the luckiest woman alive.”

You couldn't help letting out a quiet laugh. If only they knew, if they knew how cold and distant he was with you, would they still think you were lucky?

None of them knew you were his wife. You had kept your marriage private all this time.

After your shift ended, you sent him a message.

“I heard you were back.”

A few moments later, you sent another.

“When are you coming home?”

You waited. One minute. Ten minutes. An hour.

No reply. Not even a single word.

Later that evening, you returned home, changed into something comfortable, and curled up on the bed while absentmindedly scrolling through your phone.

Your messages remained unread. The house was quiet.

Then a familiar face appeared on your screen. One of Alwyn's friends had uploaded a photo.

The caption read: “Welcome back, Alwyn.”

It looked like they were celebrating at a bar. Your eyes immediately found him in the background. He sat comfortably.

But he wasn't alone. A woman was sitting right beside him.