Celine looked at Harry intently. "Didn't you leave in the middle of the night? Harry, I didn't say I was going to pay my respects. How did you know I would be here?"

Harry took her hand. "My stomach wasn't feeling well yesterday. I saw you in the bathroom and went to the hospital by myself. I heard your Aunt Juniper say she wanted to pay her respects with you when I came back this morning. So, I followed her here."

His lie was almost perfect.

She gave a soft hum in reply and remained silent.

When she arrived at the cemetery and saw the two tombstones side by side, Celine felt a wave of sadness well up in her heart.

The two people who loved her the most were gone.

Seeing the tears in her eyes, Juniper walked over and gently patted her shoulder. "Celine, your parents are no longer here, but Harry will take care of you for the rest of your life. Your baby is about to be born, and you will have a new family."

She spoke so earnestly as if she had already determined for Harry that their marriage would last forever.

After she finished speaking, Harry quickly answered, "Yes, I will take good care of you and the baby. Don't be sad."

Celine only felt irony when she heard this.

Harry promised to take care of her for the rest of her life, not because of love, nor because of responsibility, but for another woman and his unspeakable desires.

Celine swallowed her emotions and looked up at the photos of her parents. "Yes, I will have a new family."

However, it would have nothing to do with Harry anymore.

After the memorial service, a light rain began to fall.

Juniper and Celine sat in the back seat while Harry drove.

Feeling the awkward atmosphere in the car, Juniper started a conversation. "I heard an Itolian restaurant opened in the south of the city. How about we try it for lunch?"

Harry immediately changed directions. "I heard the owner is Itolian, and the food is really authentic."

"Really? The pizza I had in Palto..."

The two chatted about Itolian food to Scandinian food, and then about their recent experiences.

No matter what the other said, the other could quickly chime in, never letting the atmosphere become awkward. Their rapport was like that of a couple who had been together for years, sharing everything.

After this thought flashed through her mind, Celine smiled self-deprecatingly.

They had indeed been together for many years. The places they had been together, the things they had done for each other, and their familiarity with one another were far beyond what a substitute like her could compare to.

Once they arrived at the restaurant, Harry habitually handed the menu to Juniper.

She took it and was about to open it when she remembered something and instead handed it to Celine. "Pregnant women must have many dietary restrictions. Celine, you do the ordering."

Celine casually ordered a few dishes, but Harry frowned when they arrived. "You can't eat any of these. Have you forgotten the doctor's orders?"

Juniper turned to look at Celine's belly, a flicker of surprise in her eyes. "Celine, aren't you four months pregnant? Why does your belly not look like it belongs to this stage of pregnancy?"

Harry immediately stood up, wanting to check, but he accidentally bumped into a waiter delivering the food.

The food cart overturned, spilling all the dishes.

Harry instinctively shielded Juniper, protecting her from the spilled soup and cold dishes.

Celine was not so lucky. The freshly made hot soup splattered all over her legs, instantly causing blisters. Her face contorted in pain as cold sweat covered her forehead.

Steam surged, and she gripped the tablecloth as she watched Harry pick up Juniper and hurriedly leave. In that instant, Celine's heart sank.

The scene was chaotic, and the waiter quickly helped her to a safe area.

As soon as she stepped outside, she saw Juniper and Harry arguing.

"I told you I'm fine! You should go back and take care of Celine!"

"Your hand is all red from the burn. Why do you act so tough? Let me send you to the hospital first. I'll come back for her later. Juniper, why are you so stubborn? You were worried about me just now, afraid I'd get burned. You still care about me, right?"

"So what if I do? So what if I don't? Harry, we've broken up. You've married Celine, and she's pregnant with your child!"

Hearing Juniper's agonized screams, Harry's eyes instantly reddened. "You know perfectly well that she will never be as important as you!"

Juniper paused for a few seconds and was about to speak when she looked up and saw Celine at the door. Her pupils contracted sharply, her voice filled with unprecedented panic. "Celine, why did you come out?"

Harry's heart skipped a beat as he abruptly turned around to see Celine lying unconscious with a pale face. He immediately turned around and rushed toward her, picking her up and heading for the hospital.

Amid the commotion, Celine slowly opened her eyes in pain and saw Harry instructing the doctor, "My wife is pregnant. She's four months along. Be careful when you administer the medicine."

After being pushed into the treatment room, the nurse lifted her clothes and saw her flat belly. She gasped. "Four months? He must have remembered it wrong! This doesn't look like she's pregnant at all!"

While she was doubting and turning around to confirm it, Celine endured the pain and stopped her. "Miss, my baby has miscarried. Please keep it a secret. I want to tell my husband myself."

Although the nurse did not know the reason, it was still not a good thing for a married couple to suffer a miscarriage, so the nurse respected Celine's wish.

As there was no anesthetic, Celine was in so much pain that she nearly fainted when cleaning the wound and applying the medicine.

The burning sensation from the wound pulled at her nerves, making her breathing extremely difficult. She was soaked in sweat, and every second felt extremely agonizing.

After the medicine was applied, Celine was sent to a ward.

Harry stayed by Celine's bedside, repeatedly apologizing, "Celine, you're burned so badly. Why didn't you call me?"

Celine's clenched teeth ached, and her legs felt like they were on fire. Her body temperature rose, and she could only manage to squeeze out a sentence. "You left too quickly."

"It's my fault. I'm sorry." Harry's guilt deepened, and he placed his hand in Celine's tightly clenched palm.

Her sharp nails scratched the back of his hand, drawing blood.

Watching the blood droplets mingle, Celine grew increasingly drowsy, and she drifted off to sleep.

…

It was late at night when Celine woke up again. She groggily opened her eyes and saw Juniper's back.

"You got burned too. Go get your wound treated now. I'll take care of Celine."

"No, I'm afraid she'll be upset if she wakes up and can't see me. I'll treat it tomorrow."

Juniper's voice abruptly rose several octaves. "I asked you to go now! Harry, don't gamble with your health!"

Hearing that, Harry's furrowed brows instantly relaxed. He grabbed Juniper's hand. "Juniper, don't deny it. You've always had feelings for me, haven't you? If you admit it, I'll drop everything right now. How about we get back together?"

Juniper realized her mistake and quickly withdrew her hand.

Seeing her panicked expression, Harry could not help but laugh. "Alright, I'll stop pressuring you. I have plenty of time to wait for you to relent. I'll do what you say and treat my wounds now."

With that said, he left with light steps.

In Celine's memory of their three years together, Harry had always been the one in control of everything. No matter how angry she was or how outrageous her jokes were, he would always soothe her like she was a child. He was always rational and mature. It was as though he wore a mask, never showing his true self.

She thought it was just his nature, but she never imagined he would lose control of his emotions. He could become furious and lose control over Juniper's indifferent words, be overjoyed by her concern, and unconditionally obey his lover like a boy experiencing first love.

Celine had never seen Harry like this before, so she was somewhat dazed. She met Juniper's gaze when she came to her senses.

Celine noticed the fleeting panic in her eyes and asked, "Aunt Juniper, where's Harry?"

Seeing that she seemed not to have heard their previous conversation, Juniper breathed a sigh of relief. "He went to treat his wounds. Let me know if you're feeling uncomfortable."

The burning pain still tormented Celine, but she endured it and shook her head. "I'm fine, go and rest."

Juniper did not leave. She poured Celine a glass of water. After asking a few more questions, she asked Celine a question, "Celine, did you hear anything before you fainted yesterday?"

Celine's hand holding the glass paused as she calmly met the probing gaze. "I didn't hear anything."

She lied without batting an eye. It was partly to dispel Juniper's suspicions, and partly to tell herself to forget what they had said. After all, she was about to disappear completely from their lives.

After ten days in the hospital, Celine's wound healed.

During this time, Harry was always by her side, bringing her water and changing her bandages, showing great concern. She gradually recovered, but he fell ill and had a fever for several days. Seeing as both of them were patients, Juniper came to help.

She drove them both back home. She watched the kitchen and helped Celine change the bandages—bustling around non-stop.

"Take good care of yourself, and the medicine for the baby will be delivered soon. Remember to take it."

Celine agreed.

After the medicine was delivered, she poured it down the toilet instead of taking it.

After a few days of rest, she managed to get out of bed. She carried the empty medicine bottle, wanting to drop it off downstairs and then head outside to get some sun. When passing by the study, she heard something breaking.

The door was slightly ajar. Celine glanced inside and saw Juniper.

Juniper stared blankly at the photos on the wall, her hands shaking constantly, while she had complex emotions on her face. After a while, she came to her senses and tore off the photos. Then, she threw everything in the cabinet into the box.

Seeing that she was about to come out, Celine quickly moved to the balcony at the end of the corridor.

A moment later, Juniper appeared in front of the trash can by the door. She threw all the gifts in and tore up the photos, love letters, and diary to shreds. After doing all this, she made a phone call and summoned Harry downstairs.

The two of them had a huge argument about the contents of the trash can, and Celine only vaguely heard the last few sentences because they were too far away.

"These things shouldn't be in the study. What if Celine goes in and sees them one day?"

"She doesn't have a key to the study, and she wouldn't barge in without my permission."

"Are you so sure? What if she goes in? Have you considered how heartbroken she'd be if she saw these things, given how much she loves you?"

"So what if she's heartbroken? Does that change the fact that you're the one I loved all along? Juniper, don't worry about others. I'll just ask you one question—do you still have feelings for me? If you say yes, I'll divorce her immediately!"

Hearing that, Juniper's expression changed drastically. She hurriedly hailed a cab and left.

Watching the two part on bad terms, Celine silently raised her hand and clutched her chest. Her heart was pounding faster, as if it would burst out of her chest. It felt slightly numb, but the pain had subsided.

It seemed the wound in her heart was gradually healing.

Great.

Downstairs, Harry retrieved the items Juniper had thrown away from the trash can and took them back to his study. He then locked the door and stayed in it for three days.

Celine knew he was piecing together the fragments and did not disturb him, simply having someone deliver food to him regularly.

…

After her legs could move like usual, Celine met up with her friends. After the meal, she passed the largest private room and heard a familiar name when she went to pay the bill.

"Harry, you're always so busy. We thought you wouldn't be able to join the class reunion, so we didn't invite you. Please forgive us."

"What are you saying? Juniper is here. Do you think Harry would be absent? Their relationship was the talk of the town at Slova University back then. You don't know that?"

"How is that possible? I witnessed Harry confessing his love on the field with tens of thousands of roses! I can still hum the songs he wrote for Juniper..."

Celine listened quietly for a while, and suddenly the image of Harry in a suit, playing guitar and confessing his love flashed through her mind. However, it felt awfully off, no matter how she looked at it.

She thought for a moment before realizing what was wrong.

The people in the room were describing the 20-year-old Harry, and the person he loved was Juniper. It had nothing to do with her. Of course, it felt off.