He Said Of Course to Everything, and I Stopped Loving Him Chapter 02

Paige replied almost immediately.

Paige: [?]

Paige: [What happened? Did you get married again?]

I stared at her response in confusion before another message appeared.

Paige: [Let’s talk in person. Our usual spot?]

I took a cab to our usual spot, sitting silently in the back seat as the city rushed past outside my window.

But two familiar faces kept catching my eye outside the window.

Every digital billboard we passed displayed the same photograph of Nolan and Sienna.

Underneath were the words:

“Congratulations to Cross Group CEO Nolan Cross and Sienna Hale on the arrival of their second child!”

I murmured the words to myself.

The driver overheard me and chuckled, striking up a conversation.

“Those two are practically famous around Westbridge for how much they love each other! Seven years ago, when Nolan told Sienna he loved her, there were fireworks over the city all night.”

“Seven years ago?”

“That’s right. I even remember the date. July 29.”

I froze. July 29 was the day I’d handed Nolan every penny I had before leaving Westbridge to work overseas.

“I remember another time, too,” the driver continued. “Five years ago, on New Year’s Eve, their first baby was born. He had people handing out gift cards downtown so everyone could share in the celebration.”

Five years ago, on New Year’s Eve, I’d transferred every dollar I’d saved from working to Nolan as a New Year’s gift. But he’d practically vanished for the entire night. I couldn’t get hold of him until the following morning, when he finally called.

He’d sighed into the phone.

“Lena, I’m sorry. I… I just found out I’m infertile.”

By the time my thoughts returned to the present, the driver was still talking.

“We’re used to seeing their faces on billboards like these by now. But I’ve never seen a couple so devoted to each other. You don’t come across love like that very often.”

I didn’t answer.

I simply nodded with a bitter smile.

He wasn’t wrong.

By the time I arrived at our usual spot, Paige was already waiting for me.

Before she could say a word, I grabbed the glass in front of me and drained it.

Then I kept drinking, one glass after another.

Paige snatched the glass from my hand, sounding thoroughly exasperated.

“What is going on with you?”

“It’s not like this is your first divorce. Do you really have to act like your whole world’s ending? When you and Nolan divorced, I called you and tried to feel out how you were doing without asking you outright. You seemed perfectly fine back then.”

I clenched my fists, struggling to stay calm.

“Divorced Nolan?”

“Then why didn’t I know? I was the one who supposedly divorced him.”

Seeing how serious I was, Paige’s expression changed.

“Wait. What do you mean?”

Then something seemed to click. She pulled out her phone and held it up in front of me.

“Look at this. Seven years ago, Nolan made a public announcement on Facebook. He said you two had parted on good terms and had nothing to do with each other anymore.”

I stared at the unfamiliar profile picture on her screen, momentarily at a loss.

Then I took out my own phone and opened Nolan’s profile.

The profile pictures were completely different.

Paige leaned closer. Suddenly realizing what that meant, she exclaimed, “Wait… are these two different accounts?”

I took her phone and opened Nolan’s Facebook profile.

His cover photo showed a family of five.

And there, holding a baby and smiling more brightly than anyone else, was my own mother.