Chapter 21
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.
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Chapter 21
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 his 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.
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When the plane landed, my uncle Ian 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.”
Ian 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.”
Ian 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.
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Chapter 22
Chapter 22
Antonio used to be Ian’s partner. They were buddies. It was one of his excuses for not publicizing our relationship.
He was proud. Being with me made him Ian’s nephew–in–law. He’d feel inferior to Ian.
After all, he was Ian’s age, seven years older than me.
I worked at Antonio’s company. Then, he made a rule that office romance was forbidden.
His act was impeccable in the past five years. Although we saw each other every day in the offices, no one had found out about our relationship.
Then, Ruth appeared and easily made me the shameless other woman.
I didn’t wanna talk about Antonio and began acting like a spoiled child in front of my mom.
Back home, the dishes were familiar and delicious. The fatigue vanished.
Ian kept praising the future husband he picked for me as if the man was the best work from heaven.
Ian had said the same thing about Antonio. I’d heard so much about him I couldn’t help admiring him and considering him perfect.
To be closer to him, I went to a university in the south.
Back then, Ruth had gone abroad.
Antonio focused on his career, and I kept making excuses to see him.