"Gabriella, are you really going to fly abroad and leave Owen behind?"

In the quiet cafe, Gabriella Candola puts down the spoon in her hand. She then looks at Anne Lockwood, her best friend, sitting across from her at the table, who wears a flabbergasted expression.

In a casual tone, she replies, "We're already divorced."

"Divorced?"

Anne never expects to hear such shocking news coming from Gabriella's lips. As soon as the shock passes, she begins lamenting about the injustice on Gabriella's behalf.

"And Owen actually agreed to the divorce? You treated him so well over the past three years! Even if his heart were made of ice, it'd have melted by now, right? Does he really not have any feelings for you?"

Gabriella just smiles in return, a glint appearing in her eyes.

The truth was, she didn't know if her husband, Owen Wendell, had actually agreed to their divorce. After all, when she handed the divorce agreement to him two weeks ago, he had signed it while talking to someone else on the phone. He had then hurried away without hearing a single word that she had to say.

Owen didn't ask about the document that he signed, either.

As a result, Gabriella only had to wait two more weeks before their divorce was finalized. She would be free once she got the divorce certificate.

She was just about to explain the situation to Anne when a deep, masculine voice rang out from behind them.

"Are you done?"

Gabriella and Anne looked back simultaneously.

Owen was dressed in a black coat as he strode over to them.

Anne was still annoyed with him. Wanting to get to the bottom of things, she said, "Owen, Gabriella just told me that she—"

"Why are you here?" Gabriella interrupted Anne before she could finish her sentence. She patted Anne's hand comfortingly and shook her head, silently telling her to say no more.

"It looked like it was going to rain, so I decided to pick you up since I was in the area."

Gabriella smiled. She had bid Anne farewell before grabbing her bag and leaving with Owen.

Raindrops pattered against the car while they were on their way home.

It was completely silent in the car.

Owen's lips twitched as he looked at Gabriella, whom he had "accidentally" married all those years ago. He opened his mouth several times, looking as if he wanted to strike up a conversation with her, but he couldn't stop thinking about how he hadn't returned home in two weeks.

The silence stretched on before he finally came up with something that they could talk about.

"Gabriella, what did you ask me to sign two weeks ago?"

Gabriella was a little surprised that Owen was asking about the divorce agreement now, after so much time had passed. But after giving it more thought, she thought it made sense that he would only recall it now since he had spent the last two weeks orbiting Samantha Roth.

Gabriella's lips twitched. She was just about to answer his question when his phone started ringing.

"I drank too much, Owen. My head hurts so much. Can you pick me up?"

Owen's knuckles turned white from how hard he was gripping the steering wheel as he listened to the coquettish voice echoing from the receiver. His face darkened in an instant.

"I've told you this many times, Samantha. I'm a married man now."

Samantha was silent for a few moments before she replied, "So what if you are? I was supposed to be the bride at that wedding."

Her nonchalant tone angered Owen.

Although he and Gabriella had been married for three years, it was the first time she had seen Owen lose control, his cool and reserved demeanor cracking.

Owen slammed his foot on the brake, causing the car to screech to a deafening stop.

"But you didn't show up!"

Samantha remained silent on the other end of the line after Owen's furious outburst. A few moments later, she choked out, "I'm sorry. I won't bother you anymore in the future."

Owen's expression remained stormy even after the line went dead. In fact, it darkened even more. He drummed his fingers against the steering wheel before finally giving in and resignedly typing out a message on his phone.

"Send me your address."

Owen shot an apologetic look in Gabriella's direction when Samantha sent her location to him.

Knowing what he wanted to say, Gabriella cut him off before he could utter a single word, saying, "You have something that you need to take care of, don't you? Go ahead. I'll just get a cab to go home."

Owen couldn't ignore the guilty sensation that spread through him as he watched Gabriella open the car door and slip out, shielding herself from the rain with an umbrella. "I'll come home after I'm done," he murmured.

Gabriella simply nodded.

A flurry of complicated emotions shone in her eyes as she stood in the rain and watched Owen's car until it disappeared from her line of sight.

Gabriella had been in love with Owen for seven years. She could still remember how she had fallen in love with him at first sight when she saw him for the first time on the basketball court.

Owen had been dressed in his basketball uniform. He made every shot and single-handedly broke through the rival team's defensive line, captivating everyone in the audience.

His fangirls screamed, cheering him on. Some of them also introduced him to the people who had just arrived.

Owen hailed from Ruthbelle's Wendell family. He was also a famous figure at Asora University and a member of the Department of Computer Science. Unfortunately for everyone else, the campus heartthrob had been dating his childhood friend, Samantha, for many years.

He was more than happy to splurge his money on her. For example, he would reserve the entire amusement park just to surprise her on her birthday.

Owen was also willing to throw his pride away and beg Samantha to take him back in front of everyone on campus just because someone else confessed to him, prompting her to throw a tantrum and block his number.

He would wait in the snow until his fingers turned red from the cold. He wouldn't say a single word of complaint even after finding out that she had stood him up because she went to get a manicure with her roommate.

During Gabriella's four years in university, she had heard countless stories about Owen's and Samantha's love life. She had always assumed that she would be just like a side character in a romance novel, watching from the sidelines until they settled down with each other.

However, everything had changed three years ago.

Owen couldn't wait to marry Samantha right after graduation.

Although Gabriella hadn't received an invitation, she had still attended what was supposed to be the wedding of the century as one of his classmates.

However, Samantha remained missing even after the wedding started.

Owen had looked like a madman as he called her 99 times.

In the end, Samantha sent him a message, telling him that she didn't want to get married so soon and had left the country.

Owen reached the end of his patience that day and refused to tolerate her antics any longer. He grabbed the microphone and said, "I've changed my mind. Is there a woman here who's willing to be my new bride?"

Gabriella had always been a quiet person who mostly blended into the background. However, at that moment, her heart was hammering wildly in her chest.

She knew that Owen had many admirers, so she immediately shot up to her feet the moment the question left his lips.

That day, Gabriella changed into a wedding dress that didn't fit her and married a man who didn't even remember her name.

They treated each other with respect and led a peaceful married life for the next three years.

However, Samantha returned to the country a month ago.

Gabriella knew that her dream was coming to an end when she saw how Owen couldn't control his urges to stay close to Samantha even as he rejected her advances. She knew that it was time to relinquish her position as his wife and let him fulfill his heart's desires.

It was time for Gabriella to set Owen free.

As she stood in the pouring rain, she sent a message to Owen.

"The document that you asked about is in the glove box. You can just take a look at it if you want to know what it is."

Owen only replied to Gabriella's message half an hour later, long after she had arrived home.

"No need. I'm sure that whatever you ask me to sign won't harm me."

It meant that Owen wasn't going to look at the divorce agreement.

Gabriella wasn't surprised.

Owen was in a rush to pick up Samantha, who was drunk. He didn't have the time to spare to look at the divorce agreement, even though it was easily within his reach.

It rained for an entire day, only letting up in the evening.

Gabriella stayed home the whole time, quietly deleting all her post-wedding updates on her social media. She had just finished deleting everything when she saw Samantha's new post.

Samantha was lounging on a yacht. Each photo that she took was perfectly angled to show off a man's defined hand.

Gabriella knew the hand belonged to Owen and that Samantha had intentionally taken those photos. However, she no longer cared about Samantha's petty actions. She locked her phone, got up, and headed to the kitchen to prepare a bowl of salad for herself.

Owen suddenly returned home just as Gabriella finished making dinner.

Gabriella was momentarily stunned when she noticed that he was holding a cake. "Why did you suddenly buy a cake?" she asked. "I thought you didn't like sweet things."

Owen walked over to her, frowning slightly when he noticed the dinner that she had made for herself.

"Did you forget that today's your birthday? Why are you having such a simple meal?"

Gabriella was stunned again.

Her parents had divorced when she was five years old, abandoning her with her grandmother, who passed away when she was 16 years old. No one took care of her after her grandmother's passing, so she stopped celebrating her birthday as well.

However, Owen remembered Gabriella's birthday every year ever since they got married three years ago. No matter how busy he was, he would always rush home and celebrate her birthday with her.

He always worried about her safety whenever she left the house for an extended period, and he would deliberately drop by the airport to pick her up when she returned from trips.

He also knew that she was scared of stormy days and would gently pull her into his embrace.

Gabriella assumed that these moments of kindness from Owen meant that he was developing feelings for her. However, she got a wake-up call when he cancelled their wedding anniversary candlelight dinner, claiming that he needed to work overtime at the company.

She had been wallowing in her disappointment when Anne called her, asking if she could deliver her coat to her at the bar. When she arrived, she noticed Samantha was there as well.

Samantha was heavily intoxicated as she clung to Owen, who was supposed to be working overtime at the company, refusing to let go of him.

Owen's face darkened as he angrily pulled her off him, shouting, "Get a grip, Samantha! Let go of me! What do you take me for? A toy that you can play with and abandon as you please?"

However, Samantha seemed to be deaf to his words and wrapped her arms around his waist once more. She kept throwing herself at him, no matter how many times he shook her off, seeming to never tire of the endless back and forth.

In the end, Owen gave in to Samantha. His eyes were overflowing with nearly indiscernible adoration as he looked at her. "What am I going to do with you, Samantha?" he asked, sounding resigned.

The bag slipped from Gabriella's fingers, landing on the floor with a thud. Countless images flashed through her mind.

She had witnessed Owen pushing himself through the crowd to tightly grasp Samantha's hands. She had seen him tilting the umbrella in Samantha's direction to shield her from the rain. She had also been there when he got down on one knee, still in his graduation robe, and proposed to Samantha.

Every scene that flashed through her mind proved that Samantha was the only woman whom Owen loved.

Gabriella had witnessed every scene firsthand, so she couldn't deny the truth, even if she wanted to.

It didn't matter that they had been married for three years. It didn't matter that she was his wife, and he had taken care of her during certain fleeting moments.

She couldn't deny the fact that he didn't love her. She knew that she had only gotten a chance to experience Owen's kindness because Samantha wasn't around. Nevertheless, she had still foolishly believed that she had captured his heart because of the tiny moments of kindness that he showed her.

The reality was that Owen never belonged to Gabriella, not even for a second.

It was why she had stayed perfectly calm as she looked at the number "24" that was on the cake. She politely nodded at him and thanked him for the cake.

Owen smiled as he lit the candles. "We're married, Gabriella. You don't need to thank me for something like this. Go ahead and make a wish."

Gabriella nodded. She had just stood up when Owen's phone started ringing.

It was easy for her to guess who was on the other end of the line when she noticed his eyes darting around. She sat back down again.

As expected, Owen left the house after ending the call.

A bitter smile stretched across Gabriella's lips as she listened to his car pull away from the driveway, the engine's sound fading into silence.

She didn't switch on the light in the room.

The dancing flames cast her lonely shadow on the wall.

Gabriella laced her fingers together and made a wish on her 24th birthday.

"I wish for Gabriella Candola to stop loving Owen Wendell."

The Department of Computer Science's Class of 2021 hosted its class reunion three days later.

Gabriella only found out that Owen was attending as well when she arrived at the venue.

Their former classmates surrounded him, making him the center of attention. But when he spotted her, he immediately approached her and sat beside her.

The atmosphere in the private room turned a little strange as their classmates looked at them sitting together.

Gabriella knew that she was the cause. After all, from their classmates' perspectives, she had only married Owen because she wanted to climb up the social ladder. It was why everyone looked down on her.

However, she didn't care that her classmates thought of her as a conniving woman. She simply sat quietly in her seat and didn't move an inch.

The class leader arrived late, carrying a large box. She greeted everyone and said, "The main purpose of today's class reunion is for everyone to catch up with each other. Secondly, it's also time for us to read the letters that we wrote five years ago for our future selves."

Chaos erupted in the room as everyone swarmed the class leader.

"Why don't we make this more interesting? Everyone should pick a random letter and read it aloud."

"That's a good idea. I'll go first!"

The most energetic student in their class, Thomas Dalton, squeezed through the crowd and grabbed a letter at random.

The others rushed him, prompting him to tear open the envelope. He cleared his throat and unfolded the letter.

"To Gabriella Candola five years from now, are you doing well? I'm sitting under the sun as I write this letter to you. Although I have no idea where you are, or what you're feeling when you read this letter, I still want to share my current thoughts with you."

The entire room had fallen silent by the time Thomas finished reading the first part.

Everyone's gaze was fixed on Gabriella. Even Owen, who had been scrolling through his phone earlier, looked up at her. Surprise was written all over his face.

Gabriella's heart plummeted into her gut when she thought about the rest of the contents of the letter.

Thomas glanced at her. A mischievous smile stretched across his lips before he continued reading.

"You're 19 years old this year. You just started your sophomore year in university, and you've fallen in love with Owen Wendell. He doesn't know about your feelings, but it doesn't matter since he already has someone that he loves. Your affection for him is fated to remain unrequited.

"You might be asking me why I didn't just give up when I knew that my feelings would not be returned. My answer is because I like how he gets fired up as everyone cheers him on. I like how he stopped the basketball from hitting me as it flew toward me.

"I also like how polite and sincere he is when he rejects another person's confession.

"I'm the one who gets jealous whenever I steal a glance at him and see the marks on his neck, but I'm also the one who willingly braves a storm to sneakily place some medicine in his locker when he gets hurt during a basketball match. I'm also the one who scribbles his name all over my notebooks.

"Perhaps he'll never remember my name in this lifetime, but it doesn't matter. After all, having a crush on someone has always been a chaotic and solitary struggle."

Everyone in the room had fallen silent by the time Thomas finished reading the letter.

Owen stiffened as he recalled his disastrous wedding. He remembered how Gabriella had stood up without any hesitation and resolutely walked to his side under everyone's scrutiny.

It was only at that moment that he finally realized why Gabriella had married him. It wasn't because she was after his power or wealth like some people accused her of. It was simply because she had nursed an unrequited crush on him for many years.

Owen's heart, which had been still for so long, suddenly started racing at that moment. He was nearly overwhelmed with the urge to blurt out all the questions that he had buried in the deepest part of his heart for the longest time, wanting to know Gabriella's answers.

However, before he could get a single word out, Samantha called him.

"Owen, I'm surrounded by a group of hooligans downstairs…"

Owen's expression twisted even before she finished her sentence. He leaped to his feet and rushed downstairs. The moment he laid eyes on the group of hooligans, he immediately began swinging his fists.

Driven by anger, he didn't pull his punches, beating the hooligans until they were black and blue.

Another group of people rushed onto the scene and shielded Samantha behind them. Tears were streaming down her face as she told them that the tattooed hooligan had touched her hand.

Owen immediately grabbed a steel bat and smashed it against the tattooed hooligan's hand, causing the latter to let out a bloodcurdling scream.

Gabriella rushed downstairs just in time to see Owen attack the tattooed hooligan. She stood rooted to the spot as she stared at the hooligan's nearly crippled right hand that was bleeding profusely. When she looked up at Owen, she saw him leading Samantha away while holding her protectively.

Gone was the fierce and ruthless man from a few seconds ago. Owen's expression was gentle as he softly comforted Samantha.

Gabriella had never experienced this sort of care from Owen. She dropped her gaze to hide the emotions in her eyes, barking out a self-deprecating laugh. She then quietly turned around and headed home.

Owen only returned home in the early hours of the morning. He only realized that he needed to explain himself when he saw Gabriella sitting silently on the couch.

"Gabriella, about what happened today… We're all classmates. I couldn't just stand by and do nothing after finding out what was happening to Samantha."

Gabriella wasn't interested in exposing Owen's lies. She hummed in response, then grabbed her pajamas and headed for the bathroom.

When she emerged from the bathroom half an hour later, towel-drying her hair, she noticed Owen looking at her phone with a slightly bewildered expression.

"Why are you buying plane tickets, Gabriella?"