My parents told me and my boyfriend to go register our marriage before the New Year. On the drive to the courthouse, my boyfriend suddenly squinted at me. “Are you sure you want to marry me?” “What if I told you I slept with another woman—what would you do?” I slammed on the brakes and turned to stare at him in shock. “Don’t joke around like that.” “I’m not joking, babe.” His smile was twisted as he leaned over to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. “Last night I had two women in my bed.” “So, do you still want to get married? I’ll go along with whatever you decide.” I felt like I’d been struck by lightning. My whole body went cold. My hands trembled uncontrollably on the steering wheel. “We’ve been childhood sweethearts. My feelings for you haven’t changed, and I’m willing to marry you, but I don’t want you to be the only woman in my life.” Adrian grabbed my shaking hands, his movements gentle. But his words were colder than the snow falling outside the window. “I’ve been incredibly happy lately. Can’t you tell?” I looked at him in confusion. He smiled as he spoke. “Because it’s thrilling!” “You know that time I suddenly called you to come to the lab? Someone was under my desk right then, giving me a blowjob…” He laughed. “It felt amazing. Her mouth was so tight. I came right in her mouth.” I stared at him in disbelief. That night, Adrian had called in a panic saying something had gone wrong with his experiment and I needed to come help immediately. When I arrived, he didn’t look panicked at all. He was sitting calmly at his computer. Though his face seemed to be restraining something. Now, seeing his twisted smile, I instantly understood what had been happening at that moment. A chill swept through my entire body. My childhood sweetheart, the man who promised to marry me as soon as we graduated from our master’s program. Had been fooling around with other women all along as graduation approached! My voice trembled when I spoke. “Do you know that on my way back alone that night, I was almost assaulted by some creep in the grove?” Adrian frowned and pulled me into his arms with a pained expression, patting my back. “I know, babe.” “Thank God the security guard saved you, or I would’ve felt guilty forever.” “So, do you still want to marry me?”
My chest tightened as I instinctively pulled away from his embrace. Tears streamed down my face uncontrollably. The handsome face before me should have been so familiar, yet now it felt completely foreign. “Why?” I forced myself through the suffocating pain to ask. “Why are you suddenly confessing this to me? On our way to the courthouse to get married?” He reached out with practiced ease to wipe my tears away, as gentle as he’d been countless times before when comforting me. “Winnie, you’re too innocent. I’m afraid of hurting you.” “Even after we get married, I won’t go back to having only you like before.” “Can you accept that?” I broke down sobbing, unable to answer his question. Adrian’s eyes reddened too. “Winnie, from age five to twenty-five, I only had you. But I’m twenty-five now. I don’t want to waste the best years of my life anymore!” “I want to truly experience what this world has to offer.” “Besides, we’re about to leave the ivory tower of university. I need to go back and take over the family business.” “You grew up in high society too. In our circle, what man doesn’t play around on the side?” My whole body shook uncontrollably, my face a mess of tears and snot. What he said was true, but I’d always thought he was different. Maybe every man in the world would betray their partner, but not my Adrian. When he was five, in front of both our parents, he said he would marry me one day and love only me for his entire life! Everyone had laughed at his innocent but sincere words. But now my world was crumbling. I sobbed so hard I couldn’t breathe. That’s when my parents’ video call came through. I hastily wiped my face before answering. “Winnie,” they asked with expectant faces. “How did it go? Are you married?” The next second, Adrian’s parents crowded into frame too, looking at me with affection. “Winnie, welcome to officially becoming part of the family.” My heart clenched painfully as I instinctively looked at Adrian. Adrian lazily raised an eyebrow and mouthed at me. “Say whatever you want.” I turned back to face the four smiling faces. I opened my mouth, wanting to say we couldn’t get the license, that Adrian and I were done. But my throat felt stuffed with water-soaked cotton. I couldn’t make a sound. I could only take a breath and try to keep my voice steady. “We already registered the marriage.” At that, Adrian chuckled quietly and leaned closer to the camera, his expression perfectly composed. “I’m taking Winnie to pick out wedding gifts now!” The four parents’ faces immediately lit up with relief, the sight piercing my chest with pain. I turned my face away, unable to look at them anymore. That’s when I noticed a pair of torn stockings in the corner of the back seat. With dried stains of unknown fluids on them. In an instant, my scalp prickled and I burst into tears.
“Winnie, why are you crying?” My mother’s voice was anxious. “Did that brat Adrian bully you? Tell me and your father will set him straight!” Adrian’s father also immediately took my side like he always did whenever Adrian and I had a conflict. I raised my hand to roughly wipe away my tears and forced out a smile. “No, I’m just so happy. They’re tears of joy.” The four parents all laughed. “I remember when you two graduated high school and Adrian proposed to you—you cried like that too.” “The cherry blossom rain falling everywhere that day was so romantic. This kid takes after me—he knows how to make his wife happy.” “When you come home for New Year’s, we’ll throw a proper celebration!” “Alright, alright, we won’t interrupt you newlyweds anymore. Go pick out your gifts.” Adrian smiled as he ended the call. I couldn’t hold back anymore. I raised my hand and slapped him hard across the face, demanding through my tears. “You did it in my car too?” He casually worked his jaw and nodded. “Yeah, last night.” “But it wasn’t the same girl from the lab that day.” “Winnie, they’re not the first, and they won’t be the last.” Every word that left his mouth battered my nerves. It hurt so much—like my internal organs were about to explode. “Get out! Get out of my car!” I kicked him out of the car like a madwoman. The car door hung open, and the wind and snow quickly poured inside. Adrian ignored the snowflakes on his shoulders and leaned back in to adjust my scarf. His tone was as caring as it had always been. “Winnie, don’t catch cold.” “I’ll go. Take some time alone to calm down and think it over.” His fingers gently traced my face, now numb from crying. “Actually, I’m hoping you can accept who I am now and still marry me.” “After all these years together, how could I bear to be apart from you?”
I curled up in pain and ignored him. He sighed and closed the car door before leaving. I drove aimlessly, memories playing through my mind like a silent film. Five-year-old Adrian showing his little fangs when we first met, saying I was the prettiest little girl he’d ever seen. Eight-year-old Adrian promising to turn the whole city into an amusement park for me because I wanted to go every day. Eighteen-year-old Adrian hiring people to create a rain of cherry blossoms, kneeling on one knee to propose. Twenty-two-year-old Adrian giving up studying abroad to stay with me for graduate school, promising we’d never be apart. Twenty-five-year-old Adrian watching me break down in tears, yet still insisting he couldn’t have only one woman for the rest of his life. My heart felt like it had been torn in half, bloody and raw. I don’t know how I made it home. I sat on the couch all night. Adrian never came back. Perhaps after confessing to me, he felt completely unburdened. From that day on, he fully became a playboy. He frequented nightclubs, got tangled up with models and various minor celebrities. I couldn’t accept it. Every day I frantically went to different clubs to confront him, arguing, demanding answers, screaming. I tore to shreds all the dignity I’d built up over twenty-some years. But he deliberately showed me the scratch marks on his back, raising his eyebrows provocatively. “Winnie, this is punishment for being so possessive. If you can’t accept me as I am now, then we can’t spend our lives together!” My chest ached with tremors. I knew we could never go back. I knew how pathetic I looked, unable to let him go. But I couldn’t let go. Twenty years of connection—he and I had grown together, flesh and blood intertwined. Separating would mean scraping bone and carving flesh. It would be agonizing. Meanwhile, our parents sent me photos every day, full of joy. They’d bought us a newlywed villa. They put photos of Adrian and me from over the years in every room. They even started decorating children’s rooms—one pink, one blue. These were all the futures Adrian and I had once dreamed of together. Mom said, “Winnie, I’m so happy you’re marrying your first love. We’ve seen how good Adrian has been to you all these years. I hope you two will be happy together forever.” In that moment, my reason completely shattered. All I could think about was keeping Adrian. Even though he kept seeing other women.
🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “358674”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster #现实主义Realistic
Leave a Reply