Carter pursued me for two years and spoiled me rotten for five. Five years ago, he was killed in the line of duty. No body was ever found. Today, five years later, Captain Miller called me personally. He said Carter had been found. He was alive and well, but… He was getting married. On the way to that coastal town, Captain Miller and the other officers kept trying to gently talk me out of my delusions, but I refused to give up. I rubbed the plain silver band on my finger. He had proposed to me. He was my fiancé. How could he marry another woman? A flight and a bus ride later—five hours on the bus having me throwing up violently—we finally arrived at the small seaside town after a ten-hour journey. "It's over there." Captain Miller pointed to a place called Sunny Haven Inn. It was an obscure little bed and breakfast that had suddenly gone viral because of a set of photos a tourist posted online. In those photos, the owner had accidentally stepped into the frame. Even though it was just his side profile, it was enough to send the internet into a frenzy. Captain Miller gave me a heavy look. "He doesn't remember anything. You have to..." I stared fixedly at that door, my senses completely shutting down. When Captain Miller pushed the door open, a wind chime made of seashells let out a crisp, clear melody. Before us lay a massive courtyard with a cobblestone path leading to the main house. There was a giant wooden swing, a golden retriever, and several stray cats lounging about. I looked at the animals in shock. Suddenly, a figure emerged from behind a curtain of strung seashells. The man was tall, with long legs and tight, lean muscles visible beneath his black t-shirt. His jawline was sharp and clean. The moment I laid eyes on him, my body froze uncontrollably. A numb tingling shot down my spine, and my head buzzed. All my bodily functions seemed to fail at once, leaving me with only enough strength to stare desperately at the man in front of me. I had seen people who looked eighty percent like Carter—some even had the exact same teardrop mole under their eye—but I always knew with one glance that they weren't him. But the man standing before me was far removed from the boy I knew. His facial features were more mature than the teenage Carter, sharper, and noticeably colder. I couldn't stop myself from stepping closer, and closer, until I clearly saw the teardrop mole by his eye, and the braided red cord around his neck... "Car... Carter..." I choked out, fighting back a sob, whispering his name softly as if afraid I'd scare him away. He looked up at me. His gaze was entirely, devastatingly foreign. "Excuse me?" "Carter..." I could barely articulate his name. The man looked at me with cold indifference. "Sorry, miss. You have the wrong person." I could be wrong about anything in this life, but I could never be wrong about Carter Davis. He was half my soul. Captain Miller hurriedly pulled me back. "Sorry about that. Do you have any vacant rooms?" Carter crossed his arms, scrutinizing us carefully. "Yes. How many?" "Two." "Come on in." He turned and walked straight into the house without sparing me another glance. I had naively believed that as long as he saw me, he would remember. If he just looked at me, everything would go back to normal... But the way he looked at me was unfamiliar and sharp, tinged with a hint of annoyance at my abruptness. I didn't cry when I heard he was alive. I didn't cry when I heard he was getting married. But remembering the look in his eyes just now, my heart felt like it was being crushed in someone's fist. It hurt so much it felt like it would explode, and my tears fell uncontrollably. 2 "IDs." Captain Miller handed over our driver's licenses. When the man reached out to take them, I saw it clearly: the top half of his left pinky finger was missing. As he walked behind the counter, he moved with a slight, almost imperceptible limp in his right leg. I clamped a hand over my mouth. Captain Miller grabbed the room keys and quickly had someone escort me outside. I sat in my room for a long time before I found my voice. "How did he end up like this?" On the way here, I swore to myself that the moment I saw him, I would slap him as hard as I could. That heartless bastard, how could he forget me and marry someone else! But the moment I saw him, I suddenly couldn't bear to do it. All I wanted to do was hold him. I stayed in my room for hours, so long that Sarah, a colleague, got worried and dragged me out. Everyone was in the backyard having a barbecue. I instantly spotted Carter manning the grill. Captain Miller stood next to him, and the two seemed to be getting along great. "Chloe, feeling better?" I nodded. "Carter, let me introduce you. This is Chloe." I slowly extended my hand, fighting with everything I had to keep it from trembling. "Chloe Adams. Nice to meet you." A broad, warm palm briefly grasped mine. "Carter. Nice to meet you." A greeting between strangers. In that split second, my nose stung. I remembered right after he proposed, he had held me, incredibly gentle, and whispered affectionately, “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Davis.” We had missed our chance. Looking at the man in front of me, I had a million questions, but all that came out was, "It's beautiful here. Have you been living well?" He expertly flipped the skewers on the grill and answered casually, "Pretty well." That's good. As we spoke, a piece of chicken wing fell from the grill. He looked toward the door. "Potato, come here." Potato was the name of an orange tabby we had adopted together. Carter named him. He had said, “He’s fat and round, what else would we call him but Potato?” Watching the big golden retriever trot over, wagging its tail, my throat tightened. "His name is Potato?" "Yeah. He's fat and round. What else would I call him?" I turned around to secretly wipe my tears. Only Carter would come up with such a cheesy name twice. When the food was ready, we all sat around the table. Seeing the beer, I grabbed a can and downed it. The bitter taste spread across my tongue. I looked at the man across from me. The teardrop mole I used to tease him about was still there. The braided red cord still hung around his neck, though I didn't know if it was the one I gave him. None of this felt real. Sarah handed out the skewers, placing a mushroom one on his plate. Before he could react, I snatched it away. "No, he can't eat mushrooms." Everyone at the table suddenly stared at me. Just as I froze, not knowing what to do, a figure ran over and jumped right onto Carter's back, wrapping her arms around his neck and nuzzling him affectionately. "Carter, I missed you so much!" Carter hurriedly leaned forward, supporting the person on his back with one hand. "Get down." It was a reprimand, but all I could hear in his tone was pure indulgence. He pulled the girl off his back and into his arms, smiling as he introduced her. "This is my wife, Lily." 3 Still holding the mushroom skewer, I stared blankly at the girl whose smile was as bright as the sun. My chest convulsed. It felt like I had been smashed with a sledgehammer. It hurt so much I couldn't breathe. "Hi everyone! I'm Lily, Carter's wife. Welcome to Oceanside!" Captain Miller and the others greeted her one by one. Lily was very outgoing. She complimented everyone. When she got to me, she said, "Chloe, you're so pretty! And so slim, I'm so jealous! Your hair is so nice too, unlike mine. I'm practically going bald." Remembering something, she turned to the man behind her. "It's definitely because you don't know how to blow-dry hair properly. Be careful, or next week you'll have a bald bride at the altar!" Carter ruffled her hair, letting out a helpless laugh. "Okay." Looking into her clear eyes—eyes that had never seen a speck of dust, eyes filled entirely with excitement for her wedding—I saw exactly what I used to look like. "Wedding?" Sarah asked. "Yes! Next Wednesday is our wedding. We'd love it if you all came!" I opened another can of beer. Lily reached for one too, but before she could grab it, the man snatched it away. "No drinking." Lily pouted. "Just a sip." Ignoring the fact that we were there, she sneaked a kiss on his cheek. "Please, Carter? Just one sip!" "Drink this." Inside a white mug were floating rose petals. As the lid was lifted, the scent of roses wafted out. Lily frowned. "Roses? Carter! I've told you eight hundred times, I don't like floral tea. How do you always forget!" "I don't know... I just make it out of habit." Hearing his words, I turned my head and downed the last drop of my beer. I used to hate drinking water. In high school, my throat would get so dry from reciting textbooks that sometimes I lost my voice. To make me drink water, Carter would make me all kinds of floral teas, fruit teas, and oolong teas, rotating them constantly. In the winter, he'd boil apple cider and pear soup for me. Every time I took an extra sip, the arrogant, untouchable Carter Davis acted like he wanted to build a shrine for my pink thermos. Seeing me drink the beer, Lily tried to negotiate. "Look, Chloe just drank a whole can. Maybe her hair is so nice because she drinks beer." "Quiet, you." I stared at the empty can by my hand, smiling bitterly. "My ex-boyfriend didn't let me drink either, because I'm a lightweight. He was super strict with me." Lily looked at me. "Then won't he be mad if you drink like this now?" I glanced behind her and shook my head. "He stopped caring about me a long time ago." Realizing she had touched a nerve, Lily looked apologetic and stopped arguing, obediently drinking the tea from Carter's mug until it was empty. I only ate that single mushroom skewer, but I drank quite a lot. My head spun, so I excused myself early. As I walked down the steps, I heard Lily's hearty laugh. I looked back. Lily was clinging to Carter's back like a sloth, waving her arms, talking non-stop. Carter stumbled occasionally from her weight, but he just kept his head down, patiently cleaning the table with a good temper, as if he were entirely used to it. Carter was not a good-tempered man. I thought he only reserved his patience for me. I thought he would only ever love me in this life... Looking at Lily, whose face was overflowing with happiness, I clutched my violently aching heart. It hurt so much I wanted to die. That should be me! The one being spoiled rotten by Carter Davis should be me! Suppressing the urge to tear them apart, I forced myself back to my room. I dumped everything out of my bag onto the floor until I found my pills. I swallowed them, and only then did the tidal wave of my emotions slowly begin to recede. When Sarah came in, I had returned to normal. "I thought you were going to cause a scene." I looked out the window. "I planned to. But suddenly, I couldn't bear to do it." "I saw how much you brought with you. Were you planning to help him get his memory back?" That suitcase held our ten years. It had the first note he ever passed me, his first confession letter, the gifts he gave me from age 18 to 28, our first photo together, and our first wedding portrait. I shook my head. "I never thought about it." Sarah looked at me in shock. "W-Why?" Remembering the brutal murder of Carter's parents, I closed my eyes and steadied my breathing. "The pain of losing your family... I don't want him to endure that twice." 4 I woke up very late the next day. By the time I got dressed and walked out with my sketchbook, it was already past lunch. Captain Miller waved at me. "Chloe, we saved some food for you." Everyone was chatting at the wooden table in the courtyard. When Lily saw me, she practically sprinted inside and came back out holding an orange envelope, handing it to me like a precious treasure. "Chloe, we don't have a lot of family, so this is a formal invitation to our wedding." A formal invitation. I took the envelope, lacking the courage to pull out the card inside. Lily kept urging me, "Chloe, you're an art major! Tell us what you think of the design!" It was a thin piece of paper, but it felt like it weighed a ton. "Here, let me see. Wow, the colors are gorgeous," Sarah quickly chimed in. "Right?! Carter picked the orange, and I picked purple, but the orange looked way better. Chloe, what's your favorite color?" I set down my sketchbook and pointed to my orange sweater. Before high school, I didn't have a favorite color. But one day I wore an orange jacket, and Carter told me I looked really pretty in it. From then on, orange became my favorite color. "Chloe, your taste is so similar to my Carter's!" My Carter. Hearing those words felt like glass shards in my ears. There was a time when Carter loved nothing more than introducing me to people as, “My Chloe.” Seeing my expression falter, Sarah immediately took the invitation from me. "The cartoon inside looks just like you, Lily. Very cute. But wait... is this a sunset? The wedding is at sunset?" Lily rubbed her cheeks. "Carter insisted on it! Because he said..." "Because someone can't wake up." Lily stared at me, dumbfounded. "Chloe! How did you know?! That's exactly what Carter said! But more importantly, Carter really loves sunsets." Carter once told me that his favorite time of day was dusk, because at dusk, Sleeping Beauty finally woke up and became his girlfriend. I was a notoriously heavy sleeper. Waking up at 5:30 AM for high school was pure torture. For those three years, every single morning, I would sit on the back of Carter's bicycle, wrapping my arms around his waist and going back to sleep with my eyes closed. I could cram three full dreams into a ten-minute recess, and every time I woke up, his varsity jacket would be draped over me. I remember one time, half-asleep, hearing someone sigh beside my ear. “Man, you sleep so much. What am I going to do with you on our wedding day?” Fast forward to my twenty-fourth birthday. I was woken up in the morning by the scratch of his stubble. I pushed him away to keep sleeping. He pulled me into his arms, gently patting my back, his voice thick with sleep. “Chloe, let’s have our wedding at sunset.” I mumbled in agreement. He kissed my forehead, letting out a satisfied sigh. “I have to make sure my little sleepyhead gets enough rest. If you get cranky and refuse to marry me, who am I going to complain to?” But now, it wasn't that I refused to marry him. It was that he wasn't marrying me. I truly had no one to complain to. I stood up and grabbed my sketchbook. At that exact moment, Lily noticed the ring on my left ring finger. Seeing her gaze, I wiggled my fingers. "Because he used to say the same thing." "Are you married, Chloe?" "Yeah. I've been married for five years." Lily looked surprised. "Where's your husband? Did he not come with you?" I looked at the man walking toward us from a distance, and slowly shook my head.
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