Chapter 2

Claire's phone suddenly rang from its spot on the coffee table. The personalized ringtone she had carefully assigned to a special someone was unmissable as it played in the quiet living room. After a moment of hesitation, Ashton decided to approach the vibrating phone. Before he could reach it, however, a still-damp figure suddenly bumped into him. His shin slammed hard into the sharp corner of the coffee table, and the jolt of pain had his face instantly pale. Yet, the one who caused it all—Claire—didn't even seem to notice. She grabbed her phone and dashed into the bathroom again. Ashton gritted his teeth and limped over to the couch, doing his best to walk through the pain. Once he sat, he heard her voice, full of concern but disguised with feigned composure. She was comforting the caller, "Don't be scared. Just stay in the room, and don't come out. I'll come to you right now." Bitterness rose in Ashton's heart. For six years, Claire had always been calm and rational before him. Frankly, this was the first time he had seen her so panic-stricken over a phone call. For once, he finally understood she wasn't innately aloof. She simply didn't love him enough. With worry smeared across her face, Claire walked out of the bathroom, without slowing down a step, and said, "Urgent work matter. Don't wait up for me." Because of that, she failed to notice that the man who would always hand her a coat every time she went out and gently reminded her to come home early had stayed silent this time. He didn't even look up at her once. Ashton sat alone on the couch for a long time, motionless. Only when the pain in his leg subsided did he finally get up and return to the bedroom to start packing his things. The couple's mugs he bought long ago, but Claire never once used; the matching rings he crafted by hand, still waiting to be given; the symbolic unity knot he crafted just for their wedding; the vow he wrote… Each one of them was thrown into the trash without the slightest hesitation. After two hours, the room was half-empty. Ashton had just exhaled in relief when he received a phone call. The excitement in Jake's voice was unmistakable. "Hey, Ashton! I'm currently on a business trip, and with the time zone difference, I woke up to your great news! I wanted to officially welcome you aboard our team! "I'll be back in the country in another week, and we'll set off to Novaport together. The thing is… Didn't you say you're having a wedding ceremony soon? Is your wife okay with you leaving?" Ashton fell silent at his question. Despite dating Claire for six years, not many people knew about their relationship because she wanted to keep things low-key. It wasn't until three days ago, when Jake asked Ashton if he wanted to join his team in opening a new studio in Novaport, that the latter told him about the wedding. Who knew he would have to backtrack on his words so soon? Calmly, Ashton answered, "Everything will be fine. The wedding is off." Those were the words Claire heard when she pushed open the door. A flicker of panic crossed her eyes. "What did you say?" Ashton was startled by the sudden voice. He stayed calm and collected and made up a random excuse. "A friend ran into some trouble and had to cancel his wedding." She wasn't suspicious at all. Instead, she changed the topic and suggested, "Didn't you say on your birthday that you wanted us to have a couple's photoshoot? The photographer called earlier and said we can do that tomorrow." Without even thinking, Ashton was ready to turn her down. Before he could utter a word, though, Claire saw the empty table and furrowed her brows in confusion. "Ash, have you been cleaning the room? Why do I feel like a lot of stuff is missing?" He nodded casually. "Yeah. I just cleaned out whatever that's no longer serving its purpose." For some reason, Claire thought his words felt peculiar.