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?"

Gabriella was momentarily stunned before she swiftly recovered her composure. She took her phone back from Owen and explained, "I'm not buying plane tickets. The airline company just sent me a promotional email about discounted tickets."

Owen wanted to question her more, but when he noticed that she had no intention to elaborate, he decided to drop the subject. After all, she had never lied to him.

He nodded as Gabriella retrieved her phone and left to freshen up. However, she stopped him before he could leave. She then grabbed a first aid kit from the cabinet and said, "Your back was hurt by some broken glass just now. Let me bandage it for you."

Owen was stunned by her words, but he still obediently sat on the couch and removed his jacket, revealing the scratch across his back.

It wasn't a serious injury, but no one had noticed that he had gotten hurt because the wound was on his back. He was surprised that Gabriella had noticed it at all.

His thoughts wandered to her letter, which Thomas had read aloud as he watched her concentrate on disinfecting the cut with a cotton swab.

"Gabriella, about your letter—"

"Make sure not to get your wound wet when you take a shower later. You wouldn't want to get it infected. Also, be more careful when you get into fights in the future. Try not to get hurt. No one's going to help you bandage your wounds anymore."

Gabriella interrupted Owen before he could finish his question.

Meanwhile, Owen didn't fully grasp the meaning behind her words after getting distracted by her interruption. "What did you say?" he asked, looking up at her.

Gabriella just shook her head. She made sure the bandages were secure before turning around and leaving the bedroom.

By the time she was done blow-drying her hair, Owen had also finished showering. He wrapped his arms around her waist before leaning down, wanting to kiss her.

However, Gabriella turned her head away from the kiss, saying lightly, "I'm on my period. I'd like to turn in early for the night."

Owen didn't continue his advances after hearing her words. He tucked the blanket securely around her before switching off the lights.

The next day was bright and sunny.

Gabriella was freshening up when she heard a commotion downstairs. She changed out of her pajamas before heading downstairs.

Samantha was standing at the door with an entire posse behind her.

Owen leaned against the doorway. "What are you doing here?" he asked, frowning, sounding a little irritated.

Samantha couldn't get a single word out before her friends approached Owen, matching grins on their faces.

"Sam said you saved her yesterday. She's very grateful, so she wanted to personally thank you."

Samantha pulled out a bouquet of fresh flowers and an exquisitely wrapped gift from behind her back. "Thank you for helping me yesterday, Owen. Please accept these as tokens of my gratitude."

Owen didn't accept the gifts, but it was obvious that his expression had softened.

Samantha shoved the bouquet into Gabriella's arms and said a little rudely, "These Juliet roses are Owen's favorite. Please put them in a vase for me."

Owen frowned. "Don't drag me into this when they're your favorite flowers," he said coldly. "Also, Gabriella is my wife. Don't order her around as if she's your maid."

The atmosphere in the room suddenly turned cold.

Gabriella's expression remained unchanging. She stared at the bouquet of vibrant roses in her arms, musing to herself that this was the first time she learned their name.

Juliet roses, was it?

It was no wonder Owen spent so much money cultivating them in the greenhouse since they were Samantha's favorites.

Gabriella kept her thoughts to herself as she handed the bouquet to the housekeeper and said, "Please get the vases from the display case on the second floor."

Samantha shot a knowing look at her, but Gabriella simply ignored her and brought her breakfast to the balcony.

Although there was a door separating them, she could hear the conversation in the living room with crystal clarity.

"Isn't this the paper crane I folded for you in middle school, Owen? Why did you store it inside a glass box? I can fold more for you if you like.

"What's this box of dolls doing here? I remember I tossed them into the trash. Did you fish them out from the bin?

"Aren't these the maple leaves that we brought back with us when we visited Cloudfall Mountain? You actually made them into bookmarks and kept them for so long?"

As Gabriella listened to Samantha's excited voice that sounded as if she had discovered a trove of treasure, she couldn't help but think about how she had also asked Owen about the little trinkets when she first moved into the villa.

"I kept them because my cousin, who's in kindergarten, gave them to me."

Gabriella had believed Owen's words at the time, completely missing the complicated look in his eyes.

Love, hatred, longing, and resentment had shone in his eyes, making it clear that each was tied to his love life.