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503words
"Don't think too much,Chloe.Everyone knows Ethan's crazy about you.He named all his accounts after the month you guys got together!Maybe you're just nervous about the wedding.Want me to walk April with you?"
She was right—Ethan loved me very much.A golden boy like him,doting on an ordinary girl like me,clashing with his family,even defying his father just to marry me—what else could it be but love?
I shouldn't doubt him.Maybe that girl was just delusional.
Comforted,I petted our dog,April,who bounded over to greet me.We'd adopted her a year ago,a stray I pitied.I thought Ethan,with his neat-freak tendencies,would object,but he adored her and named her April.
April 1st was the date when we got together.Four years ago,fresh out of college,I fought through rigorous interviews to join Caldwell Enterprises.It seemed that the moment Ethan saw me,he fell for me.
Today, however,April was oddly restless,she began running around the house,chewing everything and barking.While on the phone with Mia,she darted into Ethan's study,yanking something from a cabinet.
In our four years together,I'd never entered his study.Assuming it was something precious,I rushed to get it out her mouth.
It was a photo album,its cover was already chewed.Inside were Ethan's high school pictures—playing basketball,napping at his desk,talking with confidence and grace at a debate...
They looked like they were taken secretly.But the final photo was a posed shot.Ethan,arm around a girl,smiled shyly—a nervous look I'd never seen on his face before.Beside him stood the woman from the party!
Behind the photo,a note:
"Ethan,I promise—after we get our offers,we'll be together!—April Sterling."
Wait,her name was April Sterling?April...
My mind exploded.Everything clicked—the party,the past.
Why,though we had already fallen for each other in March,did he wait until April to tell me about his feelings?To honor his true love by branding everything"April."
Why wouldn't he tell me her name today?Why was he moody every April?Why was he always cheking flights to Europe?Why was he so moody tonight?
I felt a chill through my body as I clutched the album.
Instinctively,I called Ethan.The ringing felt like death knocking on my door.He didn't answer.I dialed Jake next.He however picked up quickly:
"Hey,Chloe,what's up?"
"Where's Ethan?!"
"Uh,he's probably at the office.Didn't he say he had work?"
His airtight response didn't calm me.His hesitant tone fueled my outburst:
"Tell me,what's that girl's name?Is it April Sterling?Was she with Ethan before?What's their deal?!"
"Chloe,how'd you know?Look,please don’t make things hard for me.Let Ethan explain when he's back."
His phone seemed to drop,still connected.April's hysterical sobs came through:
"Ethan,you said you'd marry me!I messed up leaving you back then,but these four years,you got yourself a substitute, fine.You're marrying her to provoke me,and I came back to give you guys my blessing—am I wrong?"
Ethan's voice was cold,resolute,as if seeing his lost love stirred both relief and pain:
"Don't you dare wish me a happy marriage..."
Jake hung up,but I had already heard every word I needed to hear.
