Chapter 4

Jordan rushed out to see me off.

Inside the elevator, he broke the silence. “Mom didn’t mean it.”

“What?”

He fell silent.

“Mom didn’t mean anything when she asked Molly to call her Mom.”

I smiled.

Lifting both arms, I studied my hands front and back.

“When I first met your mom, she complimented my looks and my hands, saying they were so soft and pretty that it was obvious I'd never worked a day in my life.

“And yet, every single time I visited your place since then, she’d send me to the kitchen to help the moment I sat down.

“I’ve washed the dishes at your place seventy-eight times over the course of seven years.

“Meanwhile, your mom wouldn’t even let Molly get her own drink when we had lunch just now.”

Color drained from Jordan’s face.

“Eve, Molly is a guest.”

“And your mom tells the guests to call her Mom?”

Jordan kept his mouth closed.

I threw him another question. “Whose idea was it to give me the wedding favor?”

Jordan was taken aback.

“It was Molly’s idea. She wanted to spread the joy.”

“You didn’t stop her?”

“I didn’t see what the issue is…”

I grinned.

I’d lost count of the number of times Jordan said that in the last seven years.

When he forgot my birthday, Jordan said, “Work was hectic. I didn’t think much of it.”

During our anniversary, he bought me the same bracelet as Molly’s. He uttered, “They are the same brand. I honestly didn’t think it mattered.”

The ring he proposed with was even one size too big.

His defense was, “I can’t keep track of the little things. I wasn’t thinking too far ahead.”

I wouldn’t know whether he had given any thought to these things.

At this point, I couldn’t be bothered to care.

I asked, “Jordan, it’s not too late to back out of the wedding now.”

Jordan’s expression turned grim.

His left hand gripped my wrist hard.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Eve. We’ve been together for seven years. Who else would you marry if not me?

“If you’re upset about the wedding favor, I’ll dump it, but I don’t want to hear that from you. Take it back.”

It was not every day I got to see Jordan losing his temper. I smirked.

“Alright.”

I stepped out of the elevator, ditching him.

That night, I shipped out the very last piece of my luggage from the home we were supposed to share.

While sending a picture of the cleared space to Kendra, I got a text from Jordan.

“Are you still upset?

“I’ve talked to Mom. She won’t make you do the dishes again.”

I didn’t respond to his text.

Jordan typed, “We’re getting married in twelve hours. Are you excited, Eve?”

Sitting in the center of the empty, joyless living room, I hesitated for a minute before deciding to leave him on read.

Kendra forwarded me a news link.

“I can’t believe this pair. You need to look at this now!”

I tapped on the link. It was a local news push notification from Slandsdeca.

“Foreign Couple’s Wedding of the Century—Groom: Love Is Priceless.”

The report ran to nearly two thousand words, offering an in-depth description of Jordan and Li Molly’s wedding.

There was also a photo of Jordan being interviewed.

The journalist asked, “Why did you choose Slandsdeca as your wedding destination?”

Jordan replied, “It’s what my wife wanted.”

I downloaded and saved the article.

Then, I pulled up Jordan’s chat window and responded, “I can’t wait.”

With the message sent, I slipped off the engagement ring.

I set the band down on the coffee table, right next to his computer.

Moving the mouse to wake the screen, I typed in the URL Kendra had sent me and left the page open on the article about Jordan and Molly’s wedding.

I took one last look at the place before turning off the lights and walking away.

Kendra was already waiting in the car outside the apartment building.

“Where to?”

“The airport.”

As the car drove out of the neighborhood, I didn’t even look back.

My phone was set to silent mode.

It was a goodbye to my seven years.

The next morning at eight, Jordan arrived at the apartment along with Molly, family, and friends.

The moment the front door swung open, everyone was dumbfounded.