The Past is Hard to Recall

Chapter 9

My steps faltered. Even though I knew Cole was a scumbag, after everything we'd been through, it still felt like swallowing something foul, like fly's dung. Suddenly, I felt a gentle squeeze on my hand. Samuel, standing beside me, smiled and patted my head before handing me his watch. Without a word, he turned and marched toward Cole. The next thing I knew, he slammed his fist into Cole's face, knocking his jaw out of place. I was speechless.

Back in the car, Samuel's gaze was fixed on me. After a moment of silence, I took a deep breath and said, "Thank you for what you did earlier. What he said is true. I was with him for ten years, and I even had an abortion of his child. If this is too much for you, we can cancel the wedding. The Hale Family will take care of any losses."

The Harper Family was the wealthiest in Arham City, so I figured their reputation mattered. But to my surprise, Samuel laughed softly, squeezing my hand in his. His voice was calm, soothing. "Stella, there's no shame in being sincere, and no shame in loving someone. You were simply in a serious relationship. Your fiancé isn't the kind of person to be petty about it. Besides, thankfully, this happened just in time…"

Tears welled up in my eyes, spilling over despite my best efforts to hold them back. It felt like everything, the strength, the mask I had been wearing, had been stripped away. In that moment, I understood. When it came to choosing a man, it wasn't just about finding someone who treated you well; it was about finding someone who was genuinely good from the start.

A clean, white tissue appeared before me. I looked up to see Samuel's elegant face, and in that moment, I realized that maybe the arranged marriage I had always resisted wasn't so bad after all.

Since I had been at the hotel earlier, tradition dictated that we take a detour on the way to the wedding. Unlike the chaos of the day, the ceremony between Samuel and me went off without a hitch. Both families were thrilled, especially my father, who had mentioned more than once how outstanding Samuel was. I smiled the entire time, and the grand wedding was live-streamed across the city, ending in perfection.

After the wedding, Samuel took excellent care of me, showing me just how much he loved me. It was a "marriage first, love later" situation. Cole had tied me down for ten years, manipulating my emotions. Only now did I realize how essential it was to be in a healthy relationship.

Three months later, I heard news about Cole and Winona. I found out that on the day of their big blow-up, things had gone too far. Not only did Winona lose the child, but she also suffered severe bleeding, requiring her to have her uterus removed. As for Cole, he had to sell everything, his cars, houses, even his parents' home, to cover the debts. But it still wasn't enough.

I heard that Cole and Winona got into a serious fight over it. Winona had barely gained anything from me over the years; most of it had been used as an excuse to manipulate Cole. Now, Cole wanted her to sell everything she owned to help pay off the debts. But Winona refused, planning to run away with her boyfriend, taking the things with her. It turned out that, all these years, Winona had pretended to love Cole. In reality, she'd been seeing another man for years behind his back. She'd only stuck around, worried that without marriage, she'd be left alone as she got older.

It was during this time that she'd somehow learned the price of the ring and wedding dress I had ordered. She thought it might be her chance to take advantage of the situation.