Chapter 2
Primo held Yesha in his arms, his voice thick with regret. “I regret it. If you‘ 11 come back, I’m willing to call off the wedding.”
The words hit Asteria like a freight train,
and she felt the world tilt beneath her. She
crumpled to the ground, unable to support herself any longer.
When she regained her bearings, a sharp pain in her feet pulled her attention. She looked down to find her high heels soaked
in blood.
These were the heels Primo had given her as an engagement gift. She had adored them, even though they were a size too small. After the long journey back, her feet were now covered in painful blisters, each one a cruel reminder.
After only a brief moment of hesitation, Asteria slipped off the shoes and tossed
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them into the trash.
Shoes that didn’t fit, no matter how beautiful, weren’t worth holding on to.
And a marriage that wasn‘ t right, no matter how much love had once been
there, was no longer worth the fight.
With a steady resolve, Asteria made the difficult decision to release the man she
had loved for over a decade.
But this wedding, the one she had dreamed of for years, had been her labor of love. Every detail had been carefully crafted, every moment planned with precision.
She couldn’t bear the thought of letting her hard work be a gift for those two.
After a moment of deliberation, Asteria chose to bide her time. On the wedding day, she would expose their shameful betrayal, delivering a “surprise” that would haunt them forever.
She forced herself to appear unaffected,
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pretending the betrayal didn’t sting.
Yet, her hands betrayed her, instinctively reaching for the surveillance footage once again.
Yesha, drunk and flushed, sprawled on the sofa in an almost pitiable state.
The very same Primo who had earlier scolded Asteria for her drinking, calling it beneath her, was now lovingly preparing sober–up soup for Yesha, feeding it to her with the kind of tenderness Asteria had once longed for.
Yesha refused to drink, a mischievous gleam in her eyes as she playfully kicked Primo. “Are you really going to marry Asteria?”
Primo, unfazed, gently took Yesha’s foot in his hands and began to massage it, his touch tender and deliberate.
Yesha smiled, her expression one of satisfaction. “You don‘ t even need to say it. I already know you‘ re still angry with
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- me. Everything you‘ ve done has been to push me away just so you could bring me back to you.”
“All these years, you’ve never truly let go. This bridal chamber, decorated just the way I like it, the wedding ring you chose, and the high heels Asteria wore are all reminders that none of it ever really left
me.”
As she spoke, Yesha pressed her foot against Primo‘ s chest, a coquettish laugh slipping from her lips. “All along, the one you‘ ve truly loved has been me.”
Asteria gripped her phone, her fingers. tightening with an almost painful urgency.
Her heart felt as if it were being shredded in slow motion.
The most agonizing part? Even though she knew the truth, a small, foolish part of her still clung to the hope that Primo would stand by his principles in the end.
And then, as if to crush that fragile hope,
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Primo, who had been silent all this time, leaned in, capturing Yesha‘ s lips with a
kiss.
It was slow, lingering, a kiss drenched in longing, in love that had festered beneath the surface for far too long.
Asteria couldn’t hold it in any longer. Her body trembled, a flood of tears spilling uncontrollably down her cheeks.
She remembered their ten years together, each attempt she made to kiss Primo, how he’d always turn his head away, just shy, just reserved.
Back then, Asteria believed it was nothing more than his modesty and quiet nature.
She never imagined that all the passion he‘ d kept locked inside was reserved for
Yesha.
For ten years, they had shared a bed, countless stolen moments of closeness, yet Primo’s heart had remained firmly tied to
his first love.
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Asteria’s nails dug into her palms, the sharp sting a bitter reminder, each breath a struggle against the suffocating pain.
She couldn’t stand it any longer. With a shaky breath, she forced herself to her feet and stumbled toward the roadside.
Just as she was about to hail a cab, a voice cut through the air, sharp and familiar. Primo called her name, his voice sending a jolt through her heart.
