Chapter 2

　　Nadia's POV

　　"What?" Alexander stared at me blankly. "What did you just say?"

　　"I said, I think we should call off the wedding," I repeated, my voice firmer this time around.

　　"Why the hell would such a thought cross your mind? The wedding is literally just a few weeks away, and you want us to call it off? Give me one good reason why we should do that," he demanded, his initial smiley face morphing into a deep frown.

　　I didn't want him to know I had seen him with another woman, so I deflected. "I don't have to explain myself to you. All you need to know is that I no longer wish for this wedding to happen. I'm done, Alexander. I'm done."

　　When he saw the look of resignation on my face, his expression softened, and he moved closer to me. "Nadia darling, if you're calling off this wedding because I've been very busy at the company lately, it is too unreasonable," he started, his voice smooth.

　　"I also do not enjoy being away from you for days on end, cooped up in my office with work, but I am doing all of this to strive for the company and for our future…" he trailed off, meeting my eyes. "Getting married is no small feat, nor is it something we can just go into without a proper plan for the future. And that is what I've been doing—planning."

　　"And you know what? I agree that I've been too busy lately. We have not been spending as much time as we should be, and I understand that it might be causing a strain in our relationship, especially since we used to be practically inseparable." He paused and chuckled to himself. "But from now on, I promise to turn down any engagements I might have to spend more time with you."

　　He reached out and tried to hold my hand, but I slapped his hand away. His smile fell for a second, but he quickly masked it. "So what do you say, baby? You surely won't let something as small as this affect our relationship, will you?"

　　Several seconds passed, and I stared at him without saying anything. He looked at me, a mix of eagerness and desperation crossing his features.

　　"Nadia? Did you hear all I just said? Say something," he spoke anxiously.

　　"Oh, you're done talking? I thought you still had more to say since you spent the last few minutes babbling on without giving me a chance to talk," I snapped.

　　He let out an exasperated sigh, brushing his hair back. "Fine, I'm sorry for not giving you a chance to say anything. Now that I'm done talking, can you please assure me that you won't let this small misstep ruin our relationship?"

　　"No."

　　"No?" he voiced back, narrowing his eyes. "What is wrong with you today? This is so unlike you."

　　"Yes, I said no. I will not be proceeding with this wedding, and there's nothing you can say that will change my mind." I was saying when a loud ringing sound cut me off.

　　It was Alexander's phone. He brought it out of his pocket and glanced at the screen. His eyes flashed with panic as he quickly hung up the call, and he fumbled with the phone as he slipped it back into his pocket.

　　"Sorry about that. It was a scam call. Could you continue with what you were saying?" he uttered, forcing a smile.

　　"A scam call?" I asked, and he bobbed his head.

　　"Yes. It's so stupid, I've been getting so many scam calls lately," he said with a light chuckle, and I let out an incredulous scoff.

　　I had seen the screen when he took out his phone. And the number that was called was saved as "Three Days". But here he was, lying that it was a scam call.

　　In what world would a scammer's number be saved on your phone? This man really took me for a fool.

　　"Right… I see…" I muttered, nodding to myself.

　　When he saw that I didn't say anything, he got off the bed and looked at me. "Could we continue this conversation later? I have some work I didn't finish back at the company, and I will have to work overtime today." He waited for my response, but nothing came. "I'll take that as a yes, then. See you when I'm back, Nadia."

　　I stood in the same position, staring at the door long after he had left.

　　Judging by how he acted like everything was okay, I was certain he felt no lick of remorse for his actions. And it further solidified my decision to end things with him.

　　I sat back down on the bed and picked up my phone as one thing in particular about the call kept bugging me.

　　"Three Days."

　　Why was the contact saved like that?

　　I searched for the meaning online, and that was how I found the classic line from John Keats.

　　"To live three days in summer with thee is better than fifty years alone."

　　I didn't need a soothsayer to tell me the number must belong to his mistress.

　　I huffed as I blinked back the tears. I couldn't keep wasting my tears on that cheater. I had to make my move. I didn't care if he agreed to call the wedding off or not. I was going to leave.

　　I quickly went online and listed the villa we lived in for sale.

　　My plan was to completely sever ties with everything in New York—Alexander included—within one month. Anything more than that, and it would be detrimental to my sanity.

　　Tons of messages poured in from people interested in the villa, and I spent the next hour replying to messages inquiring about the condition of the villa and other things.

　　I was mentally exhausted by the time I was done, so I lay on the bed and opened a social media app that had recently become popular to wind down.

　　As soon as I logged into the app, my eyes landed on a post that immediately made my heart stop.

　　"My boyfriend is about to get married, and today I had sex with him in the bridal shop while wearing his fiancée's wedding dress."