Chapter 13
The plane was taxiing. I forced myself to take a nap.
But some scenes kept rushing into my mind. When I disposed of my things, I opened Antonio’s safe.
After we established our relationship, I made a pair of matching rings.
Antonio wouldn’t wear his ring. He put both rings into the safe. He set a combination and didn’t tell me. He said we should wait to wear them at our wedding.
I racked my brains to open the safe, but I couldn’t figure out the combination.
Then, I tried the date of the concert, which was Ruth’s birthday. The safe clicked and opened.
The rings weren’t there, though. There were only well–preserved photos and a diary.
In the photos, Ruth and the 18–year–old Antonio were smiling at each other.
The photos had yellowed a little, but the affection between the pair was obvious.
The diary recorded the daily life of the lovebirds.
It said how Antonio missed Ruth after she left without saying goodbye.
No wonder passion was rekindled between them after they reunited.
Chapter 13
Antonio must’ve thrown away the matching rings I made along with other matching items.
If I had known this, I wouldn’t have gone to great lengths to open the safe. It was not like I wanted to snoop into the sweet past of him and Ruth.
Then, I wouldn’t have known he was thinking of his first love when he
was with me.
They did deserve each other. Ruth had left Antonio without a word.
And he went back to her without breaking up with me.
I had loved him heart and soul for five years. It turned out I was only hist pastime.
Sleepiness came to me. I was too drowsy to tell if Antonio had ever truly loved me.
If he hadn’t, why did he do all the chores and just want me to relax?
Why was he sweating and begging me not to leave him when my uncle called me and urged me to go back to Freyford City?
Why did he say we should have two kids and keep a cat and a dog after we got married? We even had named our imaginary children.
However, if he had loved me, how could he get back together with Ruth without breaking up with me first?
Why did he distrust me and make my colleagues believe I was the other woman?
However, it was pointless to be obsessed with these things now.
The moment I accepted the marriage my uncle arranged for me, Antonio
and I were out of each other’s world.
When the plane landed, my uncle lan Perry and my mom Karen Perry had been waiting for me for a long time.
“Grace, you’re finally back. What’s so good about the south? It’s rainy and wet. You’ve been frail since childhood. Why did you stay there for so many years?”
“Karen, you shouldn’t have let Grace go to college in the south. If it weren’t for my friend Antonio, she’d have suffered.”
Jan added, “You came back to get married. Did Antonio say anything? He’s praised you several times. He thinks you’re talented.”
“He only said that because of you. He was being polite. Don’t take it seriously.”
lan disagreed.
“I know him better than you do. He won’t just praise anyone. He has high standards. I wonder who else he’ll appreciate in the future. Back then…‘”
It seemed everyone knew Ruth was Antonio’s unforgettable first love.
Only I was the idiot who kept a five–year secret relationship with him. In the end, I left with a battered heart.
