Chapter 2

Flora discovered this secret in the first year of living with Carlton. That day, she was happily packing up her new home, but she found a locked safe in the bottom drawer of the study. The password was very simple, it was Carlton's birthday. There were tens of thousands of photos and thousands of love letters neatly stacked in the box. The girl in the photo was wearing a white dress, her long hair was loosely tied up with a hairpin, and her smile was as gentle as moonlight. The date was written on the back of each photo, from elementary school to college. And the love letters were all in Carlton's handwriting. "You always say I should find a girlfriend, but they are not you." "Did brother send you home again today? I stood at the window on the third floor, watching his car drive away, and suddenly I wanted to smash something." "Why him? Why can't it be me?" Flora sat on the floor and flipped through them one by one, her fingers shaking so much that she could hardly hold the love letters. Later she found out that it was Calista, the daughter of a family of Davis Family, who had been engaged to Carlton's brother since childhood, and Carlton had been secretly in love with her since he was twelve years old. It turned out that he was not born to be a playboy. He just couldn't get the person he loved the most, so he played around. Flora realized belatedly that the girlfriends who came and went around Carlton had one thing in common besides being beautiful, which was that they all looked more or less like Calista. Or the eyebrows, or the temperament, or the way they smiled. "Don't you think it's pitiful to secretly love someone? What's wrong with giving her a chance?" It turned out that when he said this, it was not only her who was pitiful, but also himself. That night, Flora cried until she was almost suffocated, but she learned that Calista and Carlton's brother had already settled abroad. She thought, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way. As long as she stays by Carlton’s side, he’ll eventually forget Calista.” But she waited and waited, and what she waited for was one girl after another who looked like Calista around him, and the tenderness in his eyes when he looked at Calista's photo. She finally understood that Carlton would never like her. If it weren't out of pity, he wouldn't even glance at her. That's fine. If you wish for something, you should accept the loss. Carlton didn't come back that night, and Flora didn't wait for him until dawn with the lights on like before. She went to bed early and started packing her luggage early the next morning. Halfway through packing, Carlton called. "Send some band-aids and medicine to the night banquet." His voice was still lazy, as if it was normal for him to stay out all night last night. Flora didn't know what happened, but she still took the medicine box specially prepared for him and rushed over. The moment she pushed open the door to the private room, she was stunned. This was a welcoming banquet, and the young men from wealthy families in the private room were all surrounding the woman in the middle like stars surrounding the moon. The woman was wearing a white dress, with her hair tied up, and she looked as gentle as a lady from a painting. Flora's breath stagnated. She recognized who she was almost at first sight - Calista! Carlton saw Flora and immediately took the medicine box and knelt on one knee to apply medicine to Calista. He gently took off her high heels, put a band-aid on the red area, and changed her into the flat shoes he had prepared. "Calista, don't wear high heels in the future." He said in a low voice, "It's just a gathering of friends, there's no need to dress up." Calista chuckled: "You prepared such a grand welcoming banquet for me, how can I not dress up well?" Carlton didn't say anything, but raised his hand to tuck her hair behind her ears, his eyes focused and almost pious. Flora's heart trembled slightly. In front of her, in front of anyone, he always looked careless. She had never seen Carlton like this, cautious and full of affection.