It was obvious what had just taken place.

Cynthia saw me, but she didn't feel embarrassed at all.

"It's such a bother, really. I already said I didn't want to do it here, but he's so in love with me that he couldn't wait any longer. I'm sure you know who he is, Daphne. After all, he's… pretty good at it."

I said nothing, but I started clenching my fists without even realizing it.

My relationship with Sean was built over two decades. It wasn't that easily shaken.

But, when I saw the button on the floor, it felt as if I had been hit on the head with a hammer. It looked exactly like the buttons on Sean's shirt.

Feeling dazed, I ran back to the lounge where the party was. Sean and his friends were chatting away happily.

He, who was always impeccably groomed, had a missing button on his shirt.

…

It had taken less than half a day for me to go from being overjoyed at being reunited with my boyfriend to being confronted with the fact that he was probably cheating on me.

Sean took me back to the riverside villa. He kept kissing my cheek.

Staring fixedly at him, I asked, "Sean, is there anything you want to tell me?"

However, I saw no trace of guilt or evasiveness in his eyes as he replied, "Yes. I missed you so much every day. I hated my stupid body for being so weak."

Something warm dripped onto my shoulder.

"I've really missed you. I love you so much. I won't ever let you leave my side again—not even for a second."

Growing up, Sean was known as the most fearless and mischievous among the children in our neighborhood. I was probably the only person he ever cried for. It seemed clear to everyone that he was truly in love with me.

He would shed his tears for me, and yet, in the middle of the night, he ran off to the balcony to make a call when he thought I was asleep.

"Why did you provoke her today?" Sean said to the person on the other end of the line. "I'm not mad at you. I know you're just indignant on my behalf."

Indignant? It was as if I had wronged him.

Back then, I had a ton of great opportunities here, but Sean had gotten severely ill with an unexplainable condition. I abandoned everything I had going for me back home to head abroad just so he could have a greater chance of survival.

Anyone else could've been justified in their criticisms of me, but not Sean. He had no right to do so.

I continued to hear bits and pieces of what Sean was saying out on the balcony.

"Don't come over tonight. She just got back. It wouldn't be good for me to ask for a breakup now. Be good and wait for me, okay?"

My tears soaked into my pillowcase.

Sean and I were childhood sweethearts. When he was a child, he loved squeezing my cheeks and shyly calling me his.

When he turned 17, in a rare display of seriousness, he waited at my house with a bouquet of my favorite roses. He was so nervous that his entire body was trembling.

"Daphne, I swear I will always love you."

And yet, he was on a call right now, coaxing his other lover.

"I love you, of course. You're the only one I love," he said.

An excruciating pain rocked through me. Sean, the man I had loved for ten years, had really cheated on me.

He seemed to have sensed something, for he turned around and met my gaze. Instantly, he stiffened.

"Daphne…"

He put his phone away and, with great difficulty, walked back to me.

Lying on the bed, I quickly stopped my torrent of tears.

"Who were you on a call with in the middle of the night?" I asked. "What were you talking about?"

Exhaling in relief, Sean lay down beside me before replying, "It was just a work call."

Sean seemed to have gotten sharper. Even though I didn't ask about Cynthia, he took the initiative to bring her up.

"Daphne, I have something to tell you," he said.

He told me that when he first saw Cynthia, he mistook her for me, but she had fallen in love with him at first sight.

"Perhaps that's why she was hostile toward you today," he explained. "But I'm loyal to you! Daphne, I swear I will never have anything to do with her."

I closed my eyes, allowing my tears to fall down onto the bed.

He held me and said affectionately, just like he had many times in the past, "You know how much I love you."

In the past, Sean's unbridled love for me made me have full faith in him. But If I hadn't seen that button, or if I hadn't stayed awake and heard everything he said just moments ago… I would've believed him now.

Soon, Sean drifted off to sleep, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't fall asleep.

After a while, I noticed that his phone lit up.

He got up and left as well, leaving a cold emptiness beside me.

Every fiber of my body had been brimming with joy and excitement when I flew home. All I could think of was how good it was to never have to be apart from the person I loved ever again.

But now, I felt like I had been placed in a chokehold. I could scarcely breathe.

I stumbled to the balcony to get some fresh air, but I ended up seeing two people in a tight embrace.

Cynthia wasn't the type of person who could be good after all.

Sean, who had just sworn he would never have anything to do with her, had a reproachful look on his face, but he also looked undeniably happy to see her.

Cynthia seemed to be cajoling Sean about something. Pointing at the swing in the garden, she said something to him.

Sean's expression was dark as he picked her up and briskly made his way to the swing. Soon, the two were going at it on the swing.

I was consumed by an overwhelming sense of disgust.

Sean had made that swing himself. Everything in this villa had been made by him. He said this was going to be our marital home, so he wanted to make everything himself. It would be more meaningful that way.

"I'll be loyal to you forever, Daphne. You will be the only woman who will ever set foot into this house," he said.

The swing jerked with every movement they made.

It was June, but I felt chilled to the bone. Fighting through the pain that made me tremble, I rushed to the bathroom and vomited my guts out.

An hour had passed before Sean returned. As if nothing happened, he hugged me from behind as usual and peppered my forehead with kisses.

…

When I woke up the next day, the swaying swing in the garden reminded me that what I saw hadn't been a dream.

I tried to keep myself busy to numb myself, but the cracks in my heart couldn't be filled.

Somehow, Cynthia got ahold of my contact and texted me.

"We've been living together. He promised to cook dinner for me after work. By the way, I love the swing at your place a lot."

The mug I was holding slipped out of my hand, shattering into pieces.

By the time I realized what I was doing, I had already gotten into a cab that was now stationed outside Cynthia's place.

I saw Cynthia and Sean walking hand-in-hand. She swung his hand back and forth while saying that she wanted to have roast beef.

Sean, who, as far as I knew, had never done a single household chore in his life, shook his head helplessly and said, "Alright. I'll make anything you want."

Love really could change a person.

Cynthia gleefully threw herself at him, and the two kissed for a long time before finally separating.

Sean once promised me he would never get involved with Cynthia, and for a brief moment, I wanted to believe him.

What a fool I was.

The cab driver asked me how much longer I planned to sit in the car. Tears streaming down my face, I turned to him and said, "Look at them. Don't they look happy?"

"They do. It's so good to be young."

The screen of my phone lit up.

"I have a business meeting tonight, Daphne. I'll be home a bit late."

However, the next day, I found out that Cynthia hadn't summoned me over just to show off how happy she was.

Sean didn't look pleased when he came back from work.

I was trying to avoid him, but he called out to me.

"Daphne."

I had no choice but to face him, but the next words out of his mouth felt like a knife plunging into my heart.

"You went to her house, didn't you?"

I froze in place, but he didn't even wait for my response before he continued with an irritated expression, "I remember promising you that nothing would ever happen between Cynthia and me. She's not like you. She's easily frightened. Why did you hang around outside her house to scare her?"

I felt as if my blood had stopped flowing. All I could do was watch as Sean carried on with his rant.

"I know you're feeling insecure about me because you just returned to the country, but you're the one who insisted on going abroad back then. Can you not be so paranoid about everything? You're making life hard for all of us."

I could almost hear my heart crumbling into pieces. I tried to summon every ounce of strength in me to smile, but instead, my tears started flowing.

Once Sean saw the tears streaming down my face, he finally realized his reaction was a bit off. He tried to take my hand, but I avoided him, leaving his hand hanging mid-air.

"You're my boyfriend, yet you seem to know just how easily frightened she is without knowing what kind of person I am."

Sean avoided my gaze. The childish, immature boy I once knew had now learned how to weasel his way out of difficult situations. He deftly buried his head in the crook of my neck and said coaxingly, "I'm sorry, Daphne. I didn't mean that. I just don't want people to be saying bad things about you."

He continued apologizing to me, saying, "Can you please forgive me, Daphne?"

Wiping my tears away, I replied, "Sure. Cook me dinner, and I'll forgive you."

The moment I said that, I couldn't resist being disgusted with myself. What a fool I was.

It was such a simple request. However, Sean stiffened and said, "Well, you know me. I know nothing about cooking. I'll probably blow up the kitchen."

I had only just managed to stop myself from crying, but now, my tears started gushing out once more.

I was no longer the person who was special to him.

Sean gave me a bunch of jewelry, but he no longer paid any attention to my emotions.

Well, it wasn't surprising. He was a busy man.

Cynthia sent me a text.

"Thanks so much. Sean said this place wasn't safe, so he wanted to get me a safer place to live in. He doesn't seem satisfied with all the options he's seen so far, but I think it doesn't matter where we live, as long as we're living together."

Every word of hers dripped with the smug preening of someone who was cherished and adored—unlike me, who did everything in my power to come back to the person I love, only to realize someone else had replaced me.

I was even having a hard time getting a job. I kept encountering issues with every hospital and research facility I wanted to join.

Being most keen to join one of the hospitals, I kept approaching the hospital administration again and again. The hospital director, Michael Lowe, was so overwhelmed by my persistence that he finally revealed a secret to me.

"You meet all our requirements, but you need to think about whether you've gotten into someone's way. Someone spoke to me about you," Mr. Lowe said.

That explained why I was faced with rejection on all fronts, but even after much pondering, I couldn't think of anyone I had offended.

I got a friend to help me look into the matter, and she got back to me extremely quickly.

"Daphne, do you know who's working at the hospital you want to join?"

I had a guess, but I dared not admit to it.

"It's Cynthia. She's working at that hospital."

I was too afraid to hear what came next, too.

"And, the person who's been causing these obstacles for you is… Sean."

I had just finished my meeting with Mr. Lowe when I saw that message from my friend. I recognized every word she sent, but why couldn't I understand what that sentence meant?

I woodenly sent Sean a message.

"I just got rejected by the hospital I want to join the most. I'm so sad right now."

Sean texted me back in no time.

"It's fine. You're incredible. You can look for other places. There's no reason for you to stubbornly fixate on that hospital."

I touched my face, wetting my palm in the process.

It rained a lot during June. I stood on the side of the road, rooted to the spot. The passing cars ended up splashing dirty water all over me.

A scooter came too close and ended up running over my foot. Instantly, I felt the stinging pain shooting through my body.

Looking like a pathetic mess, I hobbled toward the nearest shelter from the rain. Just as I was thinking of someone I could call to pick me up, I looked through the window of the restaurant I was standing outside of and saw Sean.

He took out a ring.

I couldn't tell what was being said, but I watched as Sean put the ring on Cynthia's finger.