Chapter 1

My boyfriend, Otis Simmons, was a careless man.

He got my birthday wrong, mixed up my stomach medication, and even lost the ring right before he proposed.

Whenever I complained to my friends, they'd only tease me.

"Mr. Simmons is an artist, he's got his head in the clouds. But he treats you well already."

The next day, out of nowhere, he started fixing up the guest room in our wedding house.

New sheets on the bed, and he even set out stuffed toys, arranged just so.

"Isabel Henson gets back into the country today. I told her she could stay with us for a while."

"I'm picking her up from the airport tonight, so you should head back to your parents' place."

Right then a voice message from Isabel, his childhood friend, popped up on his phone.

"I've got a ton of luggage, so get to the airport early and wait for me."

Otis's voice went so tender it could drip.

"Don't worry, I'm leaving now. I'll be there two hours ahead of time, waiting for you."

"I already bought the strawberry cake you love, and I set up the guest room exactly the way you like it."

So it turned out he wasn't careless at all. He simply never had me in his heart.

Watching him hurry out the door, I dialed the wedding planner.

"Sorry, but I need to cancel the wedding."

1.

Otis changed after we decided to get married.

But every time I brought this change up to the people around me, they all thought I was reading too much into it.

My friends were baffled.

"Mr. Simmons is always coming up with new ways to surprise you. When you two were long-distance, he flew out to see you every week. He even set up the proposal at the foot of that snow-capped mountain you love, Snowpeak."

"And he takes such good care of us too, your whole circle of friends. Every time we go out, he's the one covering the bill."

My parents didn't get it either.

"Otis comes to see your mom and me every week, and he never shows up empty-handed."

"He's even learning to cook from me. Says he wants you to taste home-cooked meals every day."

In everyone's eyes, Otis was the gentle, thoughtful other half, a model husband through and through.

I was the only one who could feel how he overlooked me in ordinary daily life.

He gave me a grand proposal, and even got the ring size wrong.

He still prepared birthday surprises for me every year, but always a few days early or a few days late.

Once, just because I offhandedly said I wanted a sweet green pastry, he drove all the way to Westport to satisfy my craving.

But not one of the ones he brought back was the sweet red-bean kind I actually wanted.

At first I thought I was making a fuss over nothing, that pre-wedding nerves had made me suspicious of everything.

After all, Otis really did seem as thoughtful toward me as ever.

But today, seeing everything he'd done for Isabel, the doubt in my heart finally landed somewhere.

He wasn't good to me from the heart. He was only playing the part of a "good" husband.

"Evelyn Fisher, dinner's ready."

Otis's voice pulled me back. I met his faintly reproachful eyes.

"I called you several times. What are you thinking about?"

I didn't answer. I calmly sat down at the table.

The whole table was covered in red, fiery dishes.

Isabel gasped.

"I haven't been back in five years, and you still remember I love the spicy Southern comfort food from this place!"

"This place is impossible to get into, isn't it? And it's so far from your house."

Otis laughed softly, wearing that familiar thoughtful expression.

But for some reason it turned my stomach.

The two of them picked up their chopsticks, and it was Isabel who first glanced at me, puzzled.

"Evie, why aren't you eating?"

I gave Otis a flat look.

"I had surgery for a stomach polyp half a month ago. The doctor said I have to watch what I eat."

His movements froze, then quickly went back to normal.

"I'm sorry, Evie. I forgot."

"Let me go make you some porridge, something easy on your stomach."

He got up and headed for the kitchen, ignoring my protests.

Isabel sighed with real feeling.

"A man like Otis is so rare. He's always this thoughtful, with friends and with his girlfriend."

Thoughtful?

I wanted to pull my mouth into a smile, but no matter how I tried, none would come.

When we first started dating, Otis would go to every herbal medicine clinic in the city because of my stomach trouble, and he'd insist on brewing the medicine for me every night.

He still kept up the habit now, but he always mixed up the herbs, and he no longer paid attention to balancing the nutrition in each meal.

Before bed, Otis asked me to bring a glass of milk to Isabel.

"Isabel just got back and she's jet-lagged. A glass of milk will help her sleep."

When I reached the guest room door, I heard Isabel on the phone.

"Yeah, I've already settled in at Otis's place. He's as attentive as ever."

"At first I was afraid of intruding on them, so I'd already booked a hotel. It was Otis who insisted I stay at his place, that's the only reason I came…"

My mind went blank with a roar, and I couldn't take in a single word after that.