Five years ago, my fiancé died in the line of duty. His body was never found. But this year, on August 20th at 8:17 PM, Captain Miller called me personally. He said they found Ethan Wright. He wasn't dead. He was alive and well. But he was getting married. 1 On the way to that coastal town, Captain Miller and the other officers kept trying to console me. But I refused to give up hope. I had chased him for two years, and we had loved each other deeply for five. He had proposed to me twice. How could he possibly forget me? I rubbed the simple silver band on my finger. He had clearly proposed to me. How could he marry someone else? We took a flight, then a bus. The five-hour bus ride made me violently carsick, but after ten grueling hours, the four of us finally arrived at the small town. "Over there." Captain Miller pointed to a bed and breakfast called Sunny Days. It was an obscure little inn that had suddenly gone viral because of a set of photos posted by a tourist. In those photos, the owner had accidentally stepped into the frame and gained countless fans. Even though it was just his side profile, it was enough to drive people crazy. Captain Miller glanced at me. "He doesn't remember anything. You have to be prepared..." I stared intently at that door, my senses completely shutting down. When Captain Miller pushed the door open, a wind chime made of seashells let out a crisp, clear sound. Before us was a massive courtyard. A cobblestone path led straight to the house. There was a huge swing set, a Golden Retriever, and several cats. I stared at the little animals in surprise. Suddenly, a figure emerged from behind a curtain of strung seashells. He was tall, with long legs. The muscles of his arms flexed smoothly under a black t-shirt. The sharp contours of his profile were striking. The moment I laid eyes on him, my body froze uncontrollably. My back went numb, and my head buzzed. It felt like all my bodily functions had shut down simultaneously. I could only use every ounce of strength I had to stare at the man standing in front of me. I had seen people who looked 80% like Ethan Wright before, even down to the exact placement of a beauty mark under their eye. But one look was always enough to know they weren't him. The man before me looked vastly different from the young man I knew. His features were more mature, sharper, and colder than the Ethan of my youth. I couldn't stop myself from moving closer, and closer, until I clearly saw the beauty mark under his eye and the red string around his neck... "Ethan... Wright..." I choked back a sob, calling his name softly, terrified I might scare him away. He looked up at me, his eyes incredibly, utterly unfamiliar. "Excuse me?" "Ethan... Wright..." I could barely articulate his name. The man looked at me with cold indifference. "I'm sorry, Miss. You have the wrong person." I could mistake anything in this world, but I would never, ever mistake Ethan Wright. He was half of my very soul. Captain Miller quickly pulled me back. "Sorry about that. Do you still have vacant rooms?" Ethan crossed his arms and scrutinized us closely. "Yes. How many?" "Two." "Come on in." He turned and walked straight into the house, not sparing me another glance. I had naively thought that as long as he saw me, he would definitely remember me. If he just saw me! Everything would change... But the way he looked at me was so unfamiliar and sharp, carrying a hint of annoyance at being disturbed by a stranger. When I heard he was alive, I didn't cry. When I heard he was getting married, I didn't cry either. But thinking about the look in his eyes just now, my heart felt like it was being crushed in someone's fist, aching so badly it felt like it would explode. The tears fell uncontrollably. 2 "IDs." Captain Miller handed over our IDs. When the man took them, I saw it clearly: the tip of his left pinky finger was missing. As he walked toward the counter, he walked with a slight limp in his right leg. I covered my mouth with my hand. Captain Miller grabbed the room keys and quickly had someone lead me outside. I sat in my room for a long time before I found my voice. "How did he end up like this?" On the way here, I swore to myself that when we met, I would slap him hard across the face. That heartless jerk, how could he forget me and marry another woman?! But the moment I saw him, I suddenly couldn't bear to do it. I just wanted to hug him... I stayed in the room for a long time. So long that Sarah, one of the officers, dragged me out, afraid I might do something drastic. Everyone was having a barbecue in the backyard. I immediately spotted Ethan grilling skewers. Captain Miller stood next to him, and the two seemed to be having a good conversation. "Chloe, feeling better?" I nodded. "Ethan, let me introduce you. This is Chloe." I slowly reached out my hand, fighting to keep it from shaking. "Chloe Adams. Nice to meet you." A broad, warm palm gave my hand a brief, polite shake. "Ethan. Nice to meet you." It was the greeting of absolute strangers. In that instant, my nose stung. I remembered right after he proposed; he held me so gently, practically melting, and whispered tenderly, "Mrs. Wright, nice to meet you." We had lost each other after all. Looking at the man in front of me, I had a million questions. But in the end, I only asked one: "It's beautiful here. Have you been doing well?" He skillfully flipped the skewers on the grill and answered casually, "Pretty well." That's good, then. As we spoke, a chicken wing accidentally dropped. He looked toward the door. "Potato, come here." Potato was the name of the orange tabby we had adopted together. He even picked the name. He had said, "He's fat and round. If we don't call him Potato, what else would we call him?" Watching a large Golden Retriever bounding over, my throat tightened. "His name is Potato?" "Yeah, he's fat and round. What else would I call him?" I turned away and discreetly wiped my tears. Only he could come up with such a tacky name. The skewers were done, and everyone gathered around to eat. Seeing the beer on the table, I grabbed a can and poured it down my throat. The bitter taste spread through my mouth. I looked at the man across from me. The beauty mark I used to tease him about was still by his eye, and the red string still hung around his neck. I just didn't know if it was the one I gave him. None of this felt real. Sarah handed out the skewers. Just as she placed a mushroom on his plate, he reached out before her. "No, he can't eat mushrooms." Suddenly, everyone at the table was staring at me. Just as I was feeling awkward, a figure ran over and jumped onto Ethan's back, affectionately nuzzling his neck. "Ethan, I missed you so much!" Ethan quickly bent down, putting a hand behind him to support her. "Get down." It sounded like a scolding, but all I heard was pure adoration. He pulled the person on his back into his arms, smiling as he introduced her. "This is my wife, Lily." 3 I still held the mushroom skewer. I stared blankly at the girl whose smile was as bright as the sun. My chest trembled. It felt like I had been struck by a heavy hammer, the pain stealing my breath. "Hi everyone, I'm Lily, Ethan's wife. Welcome to Ocean City." Captain Miller and the others took turns greeting her. Lily was very talkative. She complimented everyone. She complimented me: "Chloe, you're so pretty! And so skinny, I'm so jealous! You have such great hair too. Not like me, I'm going bald soon." As she spoke, she suddenly remembered something and turned to look at the man behind her. "It's definitely because you have a problem with how you blow-dry my hair. Be careful, or I'll be a bald bride at our wedding next week." Ethan ruffled her hair, letting out a helpless chuckle. "Okay." Looking at her clear eyes, unclouded by a single speck of dust, filled with anticipation for her wedding, she looked exactly like I once did. "A wedding?" Sarah asked. "Yes! Our wedding is next Wednesday. I hope you can all make it!" I cracked open another can of beer. Lily grabbed one too, but it was snatched away by the man before she could even hold it properly. "No drinking." Lily whined, "Just one sip." Without caring that we were there, she sneaked a quick kiss on his cheek. "Please, Ethan, just one sip. Just one!" "Drink this." It was a white mug with rose petals floating inside. When he opened the lid, the scent of rose tea drifted out. Lily frowned. "Rose? Ethan! I've told you eight hundred times, I don't like floral teas. How do you forget every single time?!" "I don't know... I just make it out of habit." Hearing his words, I turned my head and finished the last drop of my beer. I hated drinking water. In high school, I spent so much time reciting texts that my throat was always strained. When it got really bad, I couldn't even speak. To get me to drink more water, Ethan would try everything, constantly rotating between floral teas, fruit teas, and oolong tea. In the winter, he would even boil apple and pear water for me. Every time I drank an extra glass, the usually arrogant young master Ethan acted like he wanted to build a shrine for my pink thermos. Seeing me drink beer, Lily tried to negotiate again. "Look, Chloe has already finished a can. Maybe her hair is so nice because she drinks beer." "Quiet." I looked at the beer next to me, offering a bitter smile. "My ex-boyfriend wouldn't let me drink either. He knew I was a lightweight, so he was super strict about it." Lily looked at me. "Then aren't you worried he'll get mad if you drink like this now?" I glanced behind her and shook my head. "He stopped caring a long time ago." Realizing she had probably said the wrong thing, Lily looked at me apologetically and stopped fussing. She obediently held Ethan's mug and drank it all. I only ate that one mushroom skewer, but I drank quite a bit. My head felt a bit dizzy, so I headed back to my room early. As I walked down the steps, I heard Lily's bright laughter. I looked back and saw Lily clinging to Ethan's back like a sloth, waving her arms and chattering endlessly. Ethan stumbled slightly under her weight, but he maintained his good temper, looking down to clear the table, as if he were entirely used to it. Ethan Wright was not a man with a good temper. I used to think he only had a good temper for me. I used to think he would only love me in this lifetime... Looking at Lily, whose face overflowed with happiness, I clutched my violently aching heart, feeling so much pain I wanted to die. That was supposed to be me! I was the one who was supposed to be spoiled rotten by Ethan Wright! I fought the urge to tear them apart and forced myself back to my room. I dumped everything out of my bag onto the floor until I found my pills and swallowed them. Only then did the tidal wave of my emotions slowly begin to recede. By the time Sarah came in, I had returned to normal. "I thought you were going to make a huge scene." I looked out the window. "I planned to. But suddenly, I couldn't bear to." "I saw you brought so many things. Were you hoping to help Ethan regain his memory?" That suitcase held ten years of our lives. It had the first note he ever passed me, his first love letter, and every gift he gave me from my 18th to my 28th birthday. It had our first photo together and our first wedding portrait. I shook my head. "Never thought about it." Sarah looked at me in shock. "Why... why not?" Thinking of the tragic death of Ethan's parents, I closed my eyes, steadying my emotions. "The pain of losing family... I don't want him to have to endure it twice." 4 I woke up very late the next day. By the time I got ready and went outside with my sketchbook, it was past lunchtime. Sarah waved at me. "Chloe, I saved you some food." Everyone was chatting at the wooden table in the courtyard. When Lily saw me, she practically sprinted into the house and came back out holding an orange envelope. She handed it to me like she was presenting a treasure. "Chloe, we don't have much family. We'd like to formally invite you to our wedding." It was a very formal invitation. I took the envelope, lacking the courage to pull out the invitation card inside. Lily kept urging me, "Chloe, you studied art, right? Can you tell us how the design looks?" That thin piece of paper felt like it weighed a thousand pounds. "Here, let me see. Wow, the color is gorgeous," Sarah quickly interjected. "I know, right?! Ethan picked this orange. I wanted purple, but the orange looks so much better. What's your favorite color, Chloe?" I put down my sketchbook and pointed to my orange sweater. Before high school, I didn't have a favorite color. Until one day, I wore an orange jacket, and Ethan told me I looked really good in orange. From then on, orange became my favorite color. "Chloe, you and my Ethan have such similar taste!" My Ethan. Hearing those two words was incredibly jarring. Once upon a time, Ethan's favorite thing to call me in front of others was "My Chloe." Seeing my expression, Sarah immediately took the invitation from my hand. "The cartoon inside looks like you. It's very cute. But wait, is this sunset? The wedding is in the evening?" Lily rubbed her cheeks. "Ethan insisted on it! Because he said..." "Because someone couldn't wake up in time." Lily stared at me blankly. "Chloe! How did you know?! That's exactly what Ethan said! But the main reason is that Ethan really loves the sunset." Ethan had said that out of the entire day, he loved the evening most, because in the evening, Sleeping Beauty woke up and became his girlfriend. I'm naturally a heavy sleeper. Waking up at 5:30 AM in high school was basically the ultimate form of torture. For those three years, every single morning, I would sit on the back of Ethan's bike, close my eyes, hug him, and keep sleeping. During our ten-minute breaks between classes, I could manage to squeeze in three separate dreams. Every time I woke up, his school jacket was always draped over my shoulders. I remember one time when I was half-asleep, someone sighed in my ear. "Sigh, you sleep so much. What am I going to do with you on the day I marry you?" Fast forward to my 24th birthday. I woke up to the scratch of his stubble against my face in the morning. I pushed him away to go back to sleep. He pulled me into his arms, gently patted my back, and said in a husky voice, "Chloe, let's have our wedding in the evening!" I grunted in agreement. He kissed my forehead and let out a contented sigh. "I have to make sure my little sleepyhead gets enough rest. What if you throw a tantrum and refuse to marry me? Who would I complain to then?" And now... it wasn't that I wouldn't marry him, but that he wasn't marrying me. I really had no one to complain to. I stood up and picked up my sketchbook. In that split second, Lily saw the ring on my ring finger. Seeing her gaze, I wiggled my hand. "Because he said the exact same thing." "Are you married, Chloe?" "Yes. I've been married for five years." Lily looked surprised. "What about your husband? Didn't he come with you?" I looked at the man walking towards us in the distance and gave a slight shake of my head. 5 As I walked out the main gate of the inn, Lily's laughter followed me. She was telling Sarah the story of how Ethan proposed. I walked faster, feeling as if a demon were chasing me. I found an empty spot, set up my easel, and just as I picked up my palette, a wave of dizziness hit me. I took my pillbox out of my pocket. After swallowing the medicine, the discomfort slowly faded. I hadn't been a lucky person since childhood. I had no parents, no friends, and never even won a "free drink" under a bottle cap. I thought Lady Luck hated me. Until that day. I won the stuffed animal I had wanted for ages from a claw machine, got a free bubble tea, and won a $5,000 cash prize from a promotional event at the supermarket. Even the soda I bought for my friend Maya had a "free drink" under the cap. Maya looked at me, grinning. "Lady Luck must be watching over you today." I couldn't believe it. How could someone as unlucky as me suddenly be so fortunate? Just as our car was turning a corner, it suddenly lost control and accelerated forward. Seeing the wall getting closer and closer, I screamed in terror. Crash! The car smashed through the wall. Surprisingly, there was almost zero impact. Through the gaps in my fingers, I faintly saw orange lights and the scent of flowers spreading through the air, landing on a man in a suit standing in the center. Ethan stood in a sea of flowers, wearing an impeccably tailored suit. All our friends and family were dressed to the nines. Even Potato was sitting next to him wearing a tiny, handsome tuxedo. I stared in shock at the scene before me until Ethan walked over and opened the door. I still remember the first thing he said to me. He said, "Miss Adams, it's time." That was our secret code. Time to eat, time for school to end, time to kiss, time for you to marry me and for me to marry you. He carried me out of the car. Applause erupted around us. Ethan, a man who had faced life-and-death situations for years, was actually so nervous he stumbled over his words. "Chloe, did you have a good day today?" I was so choked up I couldn't speak; I could only nod vigorously. He smiled, looking impossibly mischievous. "Chloe, there's something very, very important I need you to help me with. And you're the only one who can do it." I looked at him. "What?" "Be my wife." "Marry me, and I'll make sure you're this lucky every single day." "Plus, it's a buy-one-get-two deal right now. Maybe even get-three!" It was strange. So many things with Ethan happened so naturally, without any need for buildup or "what-ifs." It was just like how I knew he would definitely marry me, and he knew I would marry no one else but him. On the way back after he proposed that day, he bought a lottery ticket. He told me, "If we win, the three million is all yours." "And if we don't?" I asked him. He looked completely serene. "It means marrying you used up all my luck." I laughed so hard. I looked at him dead seriously and said, "I've always felt like I had terrible luck. Turns out I was saving it all up just to meet you!" "Damn straight! You saved up eighteen years of luck to meet me. I hope you cherish me properly." I leaned over, kissed him, and said very solemnly, "I will." When the sun began to set, I stared greedily at the fiery red sky. The words still echoed in my ears, but the person who said them was no longer mine. By the time I packed up my easel and headed back, the lights outside the inn were already on. As I got closer, I saw a figure standing by the door. A fiery red spark floated in the air, and the smell of nicotine drifted over. I frowned at the man standing there. When he heard me approach and turned his head, I actually saw a flash of panic in his eyes. He quickly stubbed out the cigarette and awkwardly rubbed the back of his head, looking exactly like he used to every time he got caught smoking. I stood frozen in place, using every ounce of self-control to ignore him. But just as we brushed past each other, I heard him say: "Chloe Adams, I remember you." 6 With a massive boom, I felt all the blood in my body rush straight to my head. Did my Ethan come back? I turned around stiffly. My shoulders and calves trembled involuntarily, and my heart quivered along with them. His name was right on the tip of my tongue, but it died there when I met his flat, emotionless gaze. Ethan never looked at me with those eyes. When he looked at me, there was always a smile, his eyes filled with a tenderness that wrapped heavily around me. The sudden, extreme swing from joy to despair made my heart ache sharply. I lowered my head, hiding my reddened eyes from him. "Captain Miller told me, but he didn't mention you." He analyzed the situation slowly. "I feel like you're very familiar, but not in a 'colleague' way. Every time I see you, I feel this weird sense of guilt, and maybe even a little fear of you. You knew I was allergic to mushrooms, and the red string around your neck is exactly like mine." The red string was from when we went to a temple together to pray for blessings. I prayed for his safety, and he prayed that I would get everything I wished for. The string had two silver tags with our initials. I forgot. Ethan used to be a recon soldier. Even without his memory, it was in his bones. He was sharp. Captain Miller and the others had been acting uncharacteristically enthusiastic, which he obviously noticed. It only took him a day or two to guess that something was up. And my identity... he probably either couldn't guess it, or he guessed it but refused to believe it. I slowly lifted my head, meeting his assessing gaze. But he looked down at my ring. "Lily said you're married, you... me." Even though his hands were in his pockets, I knew his fists were clenched tight. His mind must have been a chaotic mess. Of course. A man blindly in love, ready to marry the girl of his dreams, suddenly confronted with a woman who might have a complicated past with him—he was definitely in turmoil. My throat was so dry and tight I could barely make a sound. After several attempts, I slowly opened my mouth. "I am indeed married, but... it has nothing to do with you." I could visibly see him let out a sigh of relief. That second was the most painful second of my life. I never, ever imagined a day would come when Ethan Wright would feel relieved that he had nothing to do with me. I still remember high school. When I caught him sneaking glances at me, the tips of his ears turned red, and he looked so flustered. And when I agreed to be his girlfriend, he was so happy it seemed like he had won the world. I had only ever seen him smile that deeply, that fulfillingly, twice in my life. "Then what about him?" I looked at the man in front of me, and the tears just wouldn't stay back. He looked at me, panicked, and apologized. "I'm sorry, I..." I bent down and raised a hand, stopping his movements. "Your parents pitied me and raised me like a daughter. I don't really have a relationship with you. I'm mainly just here to check on you for them. As for the red string." I gave it a hard yank, and the string fell. "Your parents prayed for your safety, and they just happened to get one for me too." Ethan looked at me in silence. But I had no strength left to keep lying. Those few sentences should be enough to let him marry in peace. I don't know how I made it back to my room. I thought I had kept it together pretty well, but the moment I turned around, the tears flowed like a broken dam. Tears ruined my makeup. Staring at my exhausted, sickly reflection in the mirror, I covered my face, crouched in the corner of the bathroom, and cried for a long time. Five years! I dreamed of Ethan coming back to me! But the moment he appeared, I had to push him away! Why was this happening to me?! Why did it have to be me?! Because of the massive emotional swing, my stomach started churning, and the taste of blood rose in my throat. "Chloe, are you okay? Open the door." I braced myself against the wall and stood up, mechanically flushing the toilet. I quickly touched up my tear-streaked makeup and walked out, trying to act as if everything was normal. "I'm fine, just slipped and fell." The pity in Sarah's eyes made my heart ache. "You don't have to hold it in around me." I turned my face away. "I'm fine." Sarah looked at me, hesitating, but ultimately just patted me and told me to get back in bed. The moment I turned around, I saw the item on the table again. An orange invitation. An evening wedding. That was supposed to be mine! In that moment, I felt so incredibly, overwhelmingly bitter. My emotions took over. I rushed out the door, heading straight for the lobby. I was going to tell him that I was his fiancée!
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