9 Ten years ago, I only thought of Alec as a dear friend, someone I laughed and played with. My marriage was the crossroads between us. I believed we had already chosen opposite paths. What remained was only that half-serious, half-playful question. "If I were to crash your wedding, what would you do?" And my teasing reply was "Daring enough to steal my wedding with Clint Fleming? You must have a death wish." Back then, I was certain Alec would show up at my wedding. But his figure never appeared. All I received was a letter he sent through a mutual acquaintance. t was just four short words. I wish you happiness.] At the time, I only thought he was being melodramatic. even messaged him on VibeNet. Since when did you get so pretentious, writing blessings in letters?] 'et I didn't notice the blurred ink, stained by watermarks. Maybe I had sensed something from the way my best friend told me Alec spent his days Irowning in alcohol or from how he erased every trace of Clint's contact details, though they vere business partners. But I was blind. I was blind enough to see him only as a friend. was blind enough to ignore the deeper feelings I had for him that I didn't want to acknowledge. Alec, I do." hat was the answer I owed him for ten years. The moment I said it, my cheeks burned hot. He wasn't prepared. He didn't even know what kind of response was right. de fumbled awkwardly, wanting to hold me but afraid of touching my wounds and causing me >ain. His hands hovered for a long while before they finally clasped mine. His palm was slick with sweat, dampening my hand instantly. Realizing how clammy he was, he panicked and tried to pull away. But I tightened my grip. "Did you miss an important meeting just to come pick me up?" His eyes widened. "How did you know?" He had never been good at lying, even as a child. He thought he was clever, yet he was always full of loopholes. "Your phone kept ringing in the car," I said lightly. "President Sargent, you're always buried in work. What else could it be?" A mischievous thought struck me, and I decided to tease him. "Unless... those messages came from a woman you've been keeping?" "Impossible!" The way he rushed to deny it was exactly like when we were kids and he was caught copying homework. "I would never keep another woman. I've only ever liked you..." He froze mid-sentence, realizing he'd been tricked. In that instant, his face flushed scarlet with regret. If I hadn't known him for over twenty years, it would've been impossible to connect this flustered man with the decisive, sharp Sargent CEO of the business world. How had I never noticed before-Alec could actually be this adorable? It took a long time to convince him to return to his meeting. Before leaving, he went over every last detail, unwilling to let go. He even told me the safe was in the study's hidden wall, the code set to my birthday. He gathered all the house staff for a meeting, instructing them to take note of every one of my preferences since childhood. Even little quirks I'd long forgotten-like how I sleep best with my head facing west, or how I prefer bananas broken into four pieces-he listed them as if they were precious treasures. We hadn't even contacted each other in ten years. Yet his familiarity with me was so intimate that it made me wonder if he had installed secret cameras in Clint's villa. "While I'm away on this business trip, if I find out..." His voice trailed off, his Adam's apple shifting. "If my fiancée is wronged in any way, you'll all be fired." When he said "my fiancée," his eyes brimmed with hope, as if waiting for my approval. I laughed softly, squeezing his hand in return. From today onward, I was no longer Clint's wife. I was only Soleil... and Alec's wife.