Chapter 2

I did not expect Zachary to show up at my door the next day.

He got straight to the point and asked, "You're Sinead's husband, aren't you?"

His face was red, and he looked desperate. Maybe Sinead had confessed something to him after the wedding.

I nodded. "That's right."

He followed me into the house and saw our wedding photo. His eyes were filled with resentment, and his voice grew firmer. "You don't love Sinead as much as I do. Sinead told me you even made her go without food for several nights. I came here to tell you that even if I can't legally marry her, I'm still going to be with her."

He looked like a brave young man defending the love of his life.

I froze slightly. "So, you knew all along?"

He nodded.

I felt sick to the stomach, thinking about how cooperative I had been the day before. If I had known, I would have brought some men with me and ruined the whole wedding. Besides, the only time I had kept Sinead from eating was for her own health. Her doctor had told her to fast before a procedure.

It looked like I was being too kind. Why had I bothered trying to save either of their dignity?

Sinead finally arrived and pulled Zachary behind her, as if she was afraid I would hurt him. "Jesse, I can explain. This isn't what you think. His family helped me once. He came to me for help five years ago, so I looked after him for a while. We only had the wedding because his relatives back home kept pressuring him to get married. We put on a ceremony so they would leave him alone."

I looked up at her. "You got here too late. That isn't what he just said."

Sinead kept shielding Zachary instead. "He does have feelings for me, true, but it's more like sibling affection. He's young and doesn't know any better, so don't throw a tantrum."

That sounded like a warning.

I let out a furious laugh. How could she be so shameless?

The moment I took a step closer, Sinead grabbed my hand hard. She thought I was going after him. "Jesse, I already told you. He's practically a younger brother to me. I can't just ignore him. Stop throwing a tantrum. I made things clear with him last night, too."

My hand hurt so badly I could only shake her off with some effort. She put so much strength into it that my skin was already turning red.

It hurt.

Humiliation and fury churned inside me as I said, "Sinead, I don't care what excuses you have. The two of you have dirtied my home. Get out. Both of you."

Dirty.

Sinead finally realized she had crossed a line. She released her grip, and her tone softened. "I'm sorry. I was just afraid you would..." She trailed off and shook her head. "Forget it. We both need some time to calm down."

She was afraid I would hurt Zachary. Or maybe she was afraid I would cause a scene and expose the truth.

It was all the same.

The only way I could stay calm was by falling back on my usual restraint. This house belonged to me before we got married, and their presence disgusted me. "Get out."

Just as I was trying to make them leave, the small bookcase beside us suddenly tipped over. As the books crashed down, Sinead shoved me aside and pulled Zachary into her arms. Meanwhile, as I was blocked by Sinead, the books hit my arm instead. It swelled red in an instant.

A dull ache spread through my chest.

A person's instincts would never lie.

The spot where Zachary had been standing would not have been hit at all, but Sinead had still acted out of worry.

Concern made people lose their judgment.

Sinead, I've truly had enough of you already.

Sinead carefully checked Zachary over. "Were you scared? I'll take you to the hospital. Didn't you say your head hurt last night?"

She did not spare me another glance. "Jesse, I'm taking Zachary to the hospital first. There's ointment in the medicine cabinet. Put some on your injury yourself."

Soon, I was the only one left in the room.

I called a moving company afterward and said, "I need the whole place cleared out."

This house had once held so many beautiful memories for us.

I never thought we would end up like this.