The plane prepared to land at its destination—South Grinwell. This was a seaside city that I had always looked forward to seeing but had never visited.

There was no Gerald or Sheryl here, and none of the suffocating rumors and gossip. I stared out the window, watching as the plane cut through the clouds. 

Suddenly, I recalled that stormy night six years ago when Gerald had stood soaking wet outside my house, confessing, "Harriet, be with me. I swear I'll give you a good life."

…

When I turned my phone on, I saw 17 unread messages. The latest one was from five minutes ago. 

"Harriet, I'm in front of the city hall right now. When will you get here?"

I stared at the screen, and a laugh escaped me. How ironic. I had begged him for 27 days, and all that got me was him saying—"I'll marry you in three days."

And now that the three days were up, I didn't even have the strength left to exp

As I wheeled my suitcase out of the airport, I felt the humid, salty sea breeze on my face. 

I rented an older apartment by the seaside. The landlady was an elderly woman with a head of gray hair. She handed me the keys with a smile, saying, "This apartment is a good one. Everyone who has lived here has seen their life take a lucky turn."

Inside, I stared at the faded wallpaper where crooked sunflower stickers clung to the wall. Suddenly, I remembered how Mom loved to grow sunflowers on her windowsill.

"Sunflowers are wonderful. They always turn toward the sun. Even when they fall, they can get back up by themselves again," she had said. 

Tears suddenly welled up in my eyes without warning. I hurriedly turned away to wipe them, only to notice the elderly woman leaning against the door jamb, holding a pot with a sprouting sunflower in her wrinkled hands.

"The previous tenant left thi

By the time the sun rose, I had finished packing everything. I returned to the office to complete my handover. I had just stepped inside when I felt my coworkers looking at me strangely. When I walked away, they even started whispering behind my back, pointing and gossiping. 

It was only when I found Sheryl sitting at my desk that I realized why everyone was behaving oddly.

Though everyone's eyes were focused on their screens, their gazes would still flicker toward us uncontrollably, wanting to catch the drama unfold.

Seeing me arrive, Sheryl raised her chin arrogantly. "I'll be working here starting from today, and I want to sit here. You can go somewhere else."

I looked at her and nodded calmly. "Alright. I'll pack up my things."

Our exchange was calm, but seeing how I was behaving, my coworkers believed that it was because I was feeling self-conscious in front of Sheryl, the legitimate wife. 

But because both Sheryl and I were right there, no one dared to say anything openly. They merely typed away at their computers as a way of showing their disdain for me. 

I did want to clear things up, but I didn't know how to start. Sheryl was indeed Gerald's legitimate wife, after all. And no matter how I explained, I'd only be bringing more humiliation to myself. 

Just as I finished packing up and was about to leave, Gerald walked over. His expression tensed when he saw me carrying my things.

"Where are you going?"

"I—"

Sheryl cut in, saying, "She's making space for me. I like sitting here."

Seeing that I was about to walk off, Gerald hurriedly grabbed my arm. "No. This is your seat. No one can—"

I interrupted him before he could finish, saying, "If she likes it, she can have it."

I had already resigned anyway, so it didn't matter to me who wanted to sit there. But Gerald froze in place, his expression dark and unreadable. It wasn't until I and my box of things disappeared out of sight that he finally came back to his senses. 

He shoved Sheryl, who was humming happily while organizing her desk, aside. Then, he slapped her across the face in front of everyone. 

He snarled, "Did our fake marriage give you the illusion that you could overstep your bounds? Have you forgotten my warning that you're not allowed to cross Harriet?" 

After I left the office, I received a message from Gerald. 

"I'll be waiting for you in front of the city hall tomorrow. The specialist I hired for your mom will arrive tomorrow too. Once we get our marriage certificate, we'll go see her together."

A bitter laugh escaped me. This was already goodbye. 

With all my suitcases in tow, I headed straight for the airport. 

The next day, Gerald stood outside the city hall with a freshly issued divorce certificate in hand.

The plane prepared to land at its destination—South Grinwell. This was a seaside city that I had always looked forward to seeing but had never visited.

There was no Gerald or Sheryl here, and none of the suffocating rumors and gossip. I stared out the window, watching as the plane cut through the clouds. 

Suddenly, I recalled that stormy night six years ago when Gerald had stood soaking wet outside my house, confessing, "Harriet, be with me. I swear I'll give you a good life."

…

When I turned my phone on, I saw 17 unread messages. The latest one was from five minutes ago. 

"Harriet, I'm in front of the city hall right now. When will you get here?"

I stared at the screen, and a laugh escaped me. How ironic. I had begged him for 27 days, and all that got me was him saying—"I'll marry you in three days."

And now that the three days were up, I didn't even have the strength left to expose his lies. 

My fingers traced that familiar number in my contact list. Our chats over the past s

Chapter 5