Chapter 1

Nobody thought Denys Stephens and I would last.

Only because I was too innocent, and he was too much of a looker.

But only I knew how well-behaved he was.

When someone offered to buy him coffee, he pointed at a puddle on the ground:

"Just get down and drink a couple of mouthfuls, and don't keep me from waiting for my girlfriend."

When someone wanted to add him on WeChat, he pointed at the QR code on the shared electric scooter beside him.

"Scan that, and ride far away."

He always said, "Even when my girlfriend isn't around, I have to keep myself pure."

So even though everyone thought Denys was unreliable, I never doubted him.

Until the music festival, when I kept it a secret from him, wanting to surprise him before his performance.

The moment I got backstage, I saw him pinning a girl down, kissing her deeply.

"Wouldn't your girlfriend cry herself sick if she found out?"

There was laughter in Denys's voice:

"She's too well-behaved, she'd only cry herself sick, but you—I'll wear you out until you faint."

The girl laughed. "But you'll still marry her one day, won't you?"

Denys raised a hand and wiped the wetness from the corner of his lips.

"I can't marry her, because the one I'm going to marry is you."

The bouquet I'd carried the whole way, I threw into the trash can beside me.

And I finally decided to give up on the man I'd taken in and loved for twelve years.

......

After leaving backstage, I sat on a bench at the music festival, watching the crowd seething under the lights.

Denys's performance would start in half an hour.

Yesterday he'd called me, excited, saying he'd sing our special song for the first time today, and telling me to be sure to watch the live stream.

I smiled and agreed, but secretly changed my ticket, wanting to surprise him.

But now, none of it mattered anymore.

My phone buzzed in my pocket.

It was Denys.

Celine, didn't you say you'd be back tonight? When do you get in?

Just half an hour ago he'd been holding Wallis Swanson, kissing her deeply.

And now he was asking when I'd be home, as if nothing had happened.

I didn't reply.

Soon my phone buzzed again.

I pushed the interview back. I'll come home right after the performance.

I got you the chestnut cake you like.

Sweetie, answer me.

Suddenly my eyes stung.

In our first few years together, he was broke—he couldn't even buy a bubble tea without splitting it into two purchases.

But the moment he earned a little money, he'd go far out of his way to buy me the chestnut cake I loved.

He'd hand me the cake and smile. "Sweetie, eat slowly."

Later, no matter how busy he got, he never forgot.

Everyone around me thought he loved me to death.

Even I thought so.

Until today.

I set my phone to silent and slid it back into my bag.

The performance began, and amid the screams, Denys's familiar voice rang out.

The familiar melody started.

This was the song he'd written for me.

The year I was sixteen, the two of us huddled under a drafty bridge, and Denys sang to me all night long.

He said the song was called "Sweetie."

Written for Celine Cox alone.

As the chorus began, Wallis appeared on the rising platform, her voice soft:

"You said I was your sweetie, cradled in your palm and never let go..."

Her shoulder pressed against Denys's arm.

The next second, he reached out and wrapped his arm around her waist.

The fans below sang along.

I remembered the time I asked him why he wouldn't go public.

He stroked my head.

"You don't like being bothered by a lot of people, so I respect that."

Back then I thought he was protecting what we had.

But now I was standing below his stage, watching him sing this song to another girl.

The screams from the audience shot suddenly higher.

"Together! Together!"

"Denys and Wallis are real!"

Wallis looked up at him, smiling as she leaned closer into his arms.

I stood in the crowd, and tears suddenly fell.

Over the years, I'd cried below his stage too.

I cried, moved, when he played big shows.

I cried with joy when he won the Best Newcomer Award.

But this time, the tears were different from before.

Before, it was because of happiness.

This time, it was because I finally understood—what I'd thought belonged to me alone could always, so easily, be handed to someone else.

As the song ended, Wallis suddenly stumbled.

Denys barely hesitated before bending down and sweeping her up into his arms.

The screams broke out again from the audience.

Denys carried her, step by step, toward backstage.

Watching that familiar back, I suddenly remembered what he'd once said.

"My stage is only for you to watch."

"My arms are only for you too."

"When I stand on a bigger stage someday, everyone will know you're my girlfriend."

Now his stage, his arms, and the future he'd spoken of had all been given to Wallis.

And I didn't even seem to have the courage to confront him.

I raised a hand, wiped away my tears, turned, and walked away from the crowd.