Professor Lockwood had indeed been a well-respected gentleman, if the crowd gathered at the funeral parlor was any indication. Phoebe and her mother linked arms as they greeted and thanked those who came to pay their last respects.

When Phoebe spotted Daniel, she dropped her mother's arm and dashed up to him. She clutched his sleeve and broke into tears, wailing with grief. At some point, her legs caved under her weight, and she nearly toppled over.

Daniel hurried to pull the weeping woman into his arms and murmured soft words of comfort. He glanced at me. "I'll stay with Phoebe for a bit. Go on without me."

I nodded wordlessly and approached Professor Lockwood's portrait. I lowered my head in silent prayer, then made my way toward the ashen-faced old woman standing by the side. "Mrs. Lockwood, my deepest condolences."

Mrs. Lockwood dried her tears and gripped my hand, nodding with forced bravado. "You must be Daniel's girlfriend. Thank you for coming to see Macon. We heard you were getting married soon, but Daniel's a good kid.

"He said he'd put off the wedding for half a year out of respect for Macon. I'm sorry if you've had to put your plans on hold."

I said nothing as emotions swirled within me, but I kept my expression placid. I did not bring up the ridiculous affair that Daniel and Phoebe were having, but Mrs. Lockwood must have caught the look in my eyes.

She drew a deep breath and added, "Macon and I practically watched Daniel grow up. Macon was his mentor in all the ways that counted during his university days until he accomplished his doctorate's degree.

"Daniel had great respect for Macon, hence his decision to put the wedding on hold. I hope you won't hold it against him."

The woman was pleading with me, so I squeezed out a tight smile and said, "I understand where he's coming from." No point blaming Daniel for his decision when I had already promised to marry someone else.

Mrs. Lockwood nodded. "And please excuse Phoebe. She clings to Daniel far too often for her own good, but I can tell he doesn't think of her as anything more than a friend. His heart lies with you."

My own heart leaped to my throat as I regarded Mrs. Lockwood with shock. "Me?" I repeated incredulously, searching her gaze for an answer or explanation.

Taken aback by my response, Mrs. Lockwood hurriedly explained, "I'm not lying, child. Macon and I used to think Daniel was too engrossed with books and academics to fall for anyone. But since you came into his life, he would bring you up in his conversations with us from time to time.

"He would tell us where he ran into you or what you whipped up for him in the kitchen, or even what you did to get his attention during your pursuit of him. He sounded as if he were grousing, but we could tell he was in love with you. He just didn't know how to show it."

I felt like my head had just imploded. I might have felt happy or contented if Mrs. Lockwood had told me this months ago, but now, I couldn't help but find her reassurance ironic.

If Daniel truly loved me, why did I never feel it? If he cared about me at all, why would he agree to have a child with another woman?

I took a deep breath and willed myself to calm down. My relationship with Daniel had been doomed since the day he and Phoebe agreed to have a child together.

As Macon's protégé, Daniel was the last to leave the memorial service.

I stood before the funeral parlor as Daniel's black Mercedes G-Wagon pulled up before me. As I reached out to open the door on the passenger's side, I peeked through the rolled-down window to see Phoebe weeping herself silly in the car.

Mrs. Lockwood flashed me an apologetic look from the backseat.

I silently opened the door to get in, only to hear Phoebe say, "Danny, could you drop me off at the cemetery to see Dad? Just you and Mom."

Mrs. Lockwood frowned in disapproval. "Phoebe!"

However, Phoebe started bawling. "Dad's gone, and all I want is for those closest to me to visit him with me so I can talk to him. Can't I have that?"

"I'll pick you up later," Daniel said as he closed the door to the backseat and left in his black G-Wagon, not at all sparing me a backward glance.

I should be used to being in second place after Phoebe. After all, Daniel only ever cared about her.

I ended up waiting outside the funeral parlor for a good two hours. The sun had almost set, and it wasn't until the kind old guard stationed by the parlor asked if I was waiting for someone that I realized Daniel wasn't coming.

The funeral parlor was on the outskirts of town. Cabs hardly ever drove past the area, and I could not get a ride through my ride-hailing app, either. At last, I heaved a sigh and left the parlor in resignation.

The weather was fine until I had gone halfway from the parlor, and the torrential downpour started. I couldn't very well turn back, so with grim determination, I made my way down to the foot of the hill.

With no small amount of luck and effort, I flagged down a passing cab.

My head was heavy, and my steps were light by the time I reached the apartment. I took a quick, hot shower and half-blow-dried my hair. After that, I crouched by the television cabinet and rummaged through the drawers for ibuprofen.

When I had taken my pills, I crawled into bed and pulled the covers over me.

I slept fitfully that night, waking up a handful of times. Fever dreams plagued me, and though they were relentless, I could not remember any of them in my lucidity.

It was after I had knocked back a few cold pills that Daniel finally came home. He did not look at me and headed straight to the bedroom. A moment later, he emerged with a suitcase.

"Phoebe's mood has been unstable lately. I'll stay with her for a while. Call me if you need anything," Daniel said.

Before I could speak, he opened the door and left.

He never cared about me. If he did, he would have noticed that a drastic fever had leached my face off color.

…

I spent the next two days recovering from my fever at home, during which I penned a resignation letter. On Friday morning, I arrived at work and handed the letter in.

The human resources manager had tactfully asked if I was leaving because of the pay, but I shook my head and said I was going home.

"But if you're going home, wouldn't you and your boyfriend be doing long-distance?"

I took the resignation acceptance letter from the manager and shook my head again. "No. We're breaking up soon anyway. I'm going home to get hitched."

The manager eyed me with shock as I walked out of the place where I had worked for the last four years.

…

I did not expect Phoebe to sit in my living room.

"What's with the box?" Daniel asked, surprised as he watched me enter the house with a box in my arms.

I kept my face neutral and my voice even as I lied, "Oh, my office is moving, so I figured I'd move some of my stuff back home."

"Where's the office moving to?" Daniel frowned.

I was about to answer him when Phoebe interrupted, "Daphne, I've been down since my father's passing and ended up making a lot of bad decisions. Looking back, it was ridiculous of me to ask Daniel to have a child with me.

"But I swear, nothing is going on between me and Daniel. Now that my father has passed, I don't want to have a child anymore. I'm sorry if I hurt you. Please don't take it personally!"

She looked so apologetic that I might have believed her if I hadn't already seen the screenshot of her provocative conversation with Daniel. But I was in no mood to call her bluff, so I merely nodded and brought the box into the room.

I had only just unpacked my things when I heard my phone ring in the living room. That was when I realized I had left my phone there.

I went to open the door, but my hand had only just grazed the knob when the door swung open violently.

Daniel stood on the other side, his face stormy as he held up my ringing phone. He pinned me with a dark look as he demanded, "Who is 'Babe,' and why are they calling you?"