Chapter 2

"No," I spoke up before she could.

In the rearview mirror, I saw her let out a visible sigh of relief. But she still didn't dare to look at me.

I was already regretting taking this ride.

The man looked to be in his early thirties. He was dressed in smart business-casual clothes, with a very expensive-looking watch on his wrist.

His hand rested naturally on her thigh.

The GPS instructed me to turn right ahead, so I flipped on the blinker.

Silence filled the car, heavy and suffocating.

The man probably felt bored, so he started scrolling through his phone gallery, leaning in to show her photos from time to time.

"Look, babe, this is the progress on our new house from last week. The hardwood floor in the living room is already done."

She mumbled a soft "yeah" in response.

I watched her through the rearview mirror.

She kept her head down, trying to shrink herself into the seat.

Five years of memories turned into nothing but air in an instant, completely outweighed by a brand-new house she shared with a stranger in the backseat.

"When did you guys get married?"

The words slipped out before I could stop myself.

The man was taken aback for a second, then he smiled, his eyes filled with pride.

"We got legally married at the courthouse last month. The big wedding ceremony is next month, and we’re going all out."

He said it with a boastful grin.

"I’ve been working out of state for a while, so we’ve been long-distance. I finally got some time off to visit her, so I wanted to take her to see our new house."

Long-distance.

My throat tightened.

Her hometown was upstate, about a four-hour drive from here.

Over the past few months, she had told me countless times that she had to go back home to handle family emergencies. I had never once doubted her.

"Hey, driver, that's a nice watch you have there."

The man suddenly leaned closer, pointing at my left wrist.

I looked down. It was the watch on my wrist.

She had given it to me for my birthday last year.

I used to be too afraid to wear it because I didn't want to scratch it. But she told me that a boyfriend should wear his girl’s gifts, so I started wearing it every day.

She bought it with her very first project bonus. She had told me that although it wasn't expensive, she would buy me a much better one once she made more money.

My family wasn't wealthy. To give her a better life, I pushed myself to drive Uber every single night, wanting to save up as much as possible for our wedding.

We were originally planning to get married at the end of this year.

"It looks almost exactly like mine."

He held up his left wrist, showing it off.

"See? Simple design. My wife picked it out for me. She said it's a timeless classic."

In the rearview mirror, Chloe’s head sank even lower.

"What a coincidence," I replied.

"It’s actually a couple’s set. Since you’re wearing the watch, you must have a girlfriend, right? When are you guys tying the knot?" he asked with a chuckle.

I paused for a moment, then spoke quietly.

"We broke up."

"I just forgot to take the watch off."