He handed me the scarf. It was blood red, glaringly bright.

Ironically, that was Selah's favorite color.

But for me, it was the color I hated most.

Cora had a congenital heart condition, and the sight of red always terrified me.

"Get that stupid scarf out of my face!" I snapped.

Oliver clearly hadn't expected me to be so angry.

He frowned and said, "If you don't like it, fine, but there's no need to make such a fuss.

"If it's because of Cora, I'll arrange for dinner tomorrow or the day after. That work for you?"

He tossed the scarf and its box onto the floor.

To him, even a half-hearted gift was nothing more than trash.

I said, "Oliver, have you ever noticed that Cora isn't here? Don't you wonder where she's gone?"

He waved his hand dismissively and lay back down.

He said, "If she's not home, she's at the hospital. I've visited her there before."

He didn't care at all.

I'd misjudged him. That was on me.

I said, "Oliver, next month, go ahead and marry Selah. I'm done."

His face darkened, and his voice turned cold with a hint of threat.

He grunted, "Amber, my patience has its limits.

"If you keep this up, don't blame me for sending Cora abroad for treatment.

"Don't think I don't know what you're doing. Ever since Cora came along, you've used every excuse to tie me down.

"Cora is a child, not some tool for you to manipulate."

He tugged at his tie, threw open the door, and stormed out.

And once again, it was like this.

He knew Cora was just a kid.

But I was her mother who wished nothing but the best for her.

To everyone else, Oliver could be polite, refined even. But with me, he was a bully.

He used Cora to threaten me, to make me back down, to force an apology, and to beg for his forgiveness.

Not this time.

I packed Cora's things, and without a backward glance, I left.

It was funny. I know Woiddiff better than Selah ever could.

After all, it was where Oliver and I first met.

Back when I was studying art and design there.

Supplies were expensive. I barely got by sketching portraits for tourists on the streets of Woiddiff.

One evening, as I was about to pack up and head home, Oliver appeared.

He looked scruffy, but even then, his good looks were hard to miss.

I had noticed him before.

He'd been watching me as I painted, stealing glances for quite a while, though I pretended not to see.

Finally, as I was closing up, he walked over.

He said, "Hey, you're from Clens too, right? I got robbed, and now I don't have any money. If you could..."

I stared at him, full of doubt.

He grew more flustered, not knowing what to do with his hands.

He said, "I'm really sorry. I'm not a scammer, I swear. I heard you speaking the Clens language just now. That's why I approached you. I'll leave right now, sorry."

His awkward, helpless look made me laugh.

He took a few steps away but then circled back.

"Seriously, I'm not a scammer," he insisted. "And also, um, you're really beautiful. I mean, uh, I just wanted to remind you. There are pickpockets everywhere. Be careful."

His face flushed red before he even finished his sentence, and he spun around, hurrying off.

Woiddiff at sunset was breathtaking.

He disappeared into the fading light, and for some reason, my heart skipped a beat.

On a whim, I called after him.

I said, "My name's Amber Barnes. Nice to meet you."

That was how I met Oliver.

At the time, for some unknown reason, he had fallen out with his family.

Back then, he didn't look like the heir to the Hall Group because he didn't have his family's financial support.

I thought he was just an ordinary person like me, stranded in a foreign land.

We lived in a small town near Woiddiff. I went to classes and painted during the day.

He either came with me or waited at home.

Occasionally, he took odd jobs to make some money.

Neither of us could cook, but after being abroad for a while, we got homesick and gradually learned to cook.

Our biggest joy was walking to a supermarket two kilometers away on weekends to buy discounted vegetables.

Then, we'd cook together while being scolded by our roommates.

We crammed into that tiny room, living together without any reservations.

We were in love for a year in a foreign land. It should have been tough, but I felt incredibly happy.

It was in the last month in Woiddiff that I discovered I was pregnant.

By the river, Oliver made a ring out of irises and proposed to me.

At that time, I didn't realize that a ring made of flowers symbolized something fleeting.

It was a mirage gone in an instant.

Just like Oliver's promises to me, everything changed once we returned home.

He turned out to be the heir to the Hall Group, and he had an ex-girlfriend named Selah.

In fact, the reason he went to Woiddiff was because Selah was there.

Selah was his first love, and for her, he didn't hesitate to break ties with his family.

That was why he was in such a mess when I met him.

The funny thing was, if it weren't for Selah, I wouldn't have met Oliver.

And according to the Hall family, I could never measure up to them.

Even when Oliver begged his parents, he didn't have the power to marry me back then.

So, I ended up having Cora on my own.

Unfortunately, Cora was born with a congenital heart disease, and to treat her, I had to stay tied to Oliver.

Three years ago, Selah returned to the country, and Oliver and I grew apart.

But for Cora's sake, I kept begging Oliver to stay.

Finally, he agreed to marry me next month.

Looking back now, what wasn't meant to be mine was never going to be.

Just like now, I'd lost Cora.

And I no longer had any feelings left for Oliver.