Chapter 1
“Chloe, I really hope you get remarried.”
“And I really hope you stop clinging to the past.”
What a load of crap. Who let the dogs bark?
Chloe clasped her hands together and looked at the couple sitting sweetly across from her.
She had come to this hotel after a long time to take a much-needed break. The lobby was luxurious, the room was spacious, and the bedding was spotless. After months of battling her thesis, her plan was to recover from the accumulated fatigue in this upscale hotel.
At least, that was the plan—until she ran into this cockroach couple.
If she had known she’d bump into these cockroach-like creatures, she wouldn’t have stepped out of her house.
If she had known they’d hand her a wedding invitation—if she had known they’d start talking about her remarriage—she would’ve bolted the door shut.
“Durr, you always read my mind! How can we think the same thing?”
“Because we’re soulmates.”
The man looking at his fiancée like he was about to burst with love—he was once Chloe’s husband. And the woman sitting next to him, laughing with glee, was none other than Melvin Garrett, Chloe’s half-sister and now the soon-to-be new Mrs. Durr.
Well, not Garrett anymore. Soon, she’d be Melvin Duncan.
Once known as Duncan, Chloe now stared at the two with tired eyes, watching their little affection act.
Her days of sobbing and raging over the betrayal of her husband and half-sister were long behind her.
This hotel… costs 120 gold a night.
Even while she sat through their comedy act, her precious time—bought with 120 gold—was being drained away second by second.
Chloe was simply tired, and she regretted the money spent. She just wanted to kick these unwanted guests out and soak in the hot spring on the top floor of the hotel.
“In that sense, I hope you too find your destined one soon, Chloe.”
“Exactly. It’s been almost two years since you’ve been alone… Oh!”
Melvin, who had been speaking like a dam had burst, suddenly clamped her mouth shut dramatically.
“Don’t tell me… you still haven’t gotten over Durr?”
“This isn’t good, Chloe.”
At Melvin’s words, Durr furrowed his brows sympathetically and spoke. He even had the nerve to look pitifully at her.
“What a load of crap.”
Unbelievable. Chloe finally opened her mouth for the first time to shoot down Melvin’s ridiculous assumption. But Melvin raised her voice even louder, completely unbothered.
“It’s been two years since the divorce! And you haven’t even dated anyone since!”
“Don’t you know I’ve been busy writing my thesis? I don’t have time for dating.”
“Then why have you turned down all the blind dates?”
“That’s because…”
She was at a loss for words for the first time. It wasn’t because she still had feelings for her ex-husband, like they were assuming.
Her marriage to Durr had ended in less than a year. Considering their six-year-long engagement, the marriage had been absurdly short.
She had prepared for that wedding for six years, only for it to collapse within one. So how long would a marriage last that came after an even shorter courtship?
Chloe didn’t have the confidence. She didn’t trust herself to meet someone new, to open her heart again, or to walk away from a sudden separation unscathed.
“Knew it!”
Misinterpreting Chloe’s silence, Melvin suddenly stood up from her seat.
“Chloe, I get that Durr was your husband once, but now he’s going to be my husband. He’s my man now!”
“Yeah, yeah, now sit down. Have you no manners?”
“And you’re talking about manners when you’re after someone else’s man?”
“Say it right, Melvin. You’re the one who went after someone else’s man first.”
The illegitimate child her father had suddenly brought home one day—she had taken everything from Chloe. Even her husband.
“Ugh…!”
Melvin turned bright red as Chloe hit a nerve. Unable to control her rage, she stormed off.
“Melvin, wait!”
Durr ran after her, and with that, the farce came to a close. All eyes in the café turned toward Chloe, now sitting alone.
“Ha…”
Chloe sank deep into the sofa. But no matter how many times she shifted, the seat still felt uncomfortable.
“Damn bastards.”
Only those two could make a five-star hotel’s luxury sofa feel this stiff and awful.
She glanced regretfully at the half-full glass of expensive liquor, then stood up. She didn’t want to be around when Melvin and Durr came back.
“Leaving already?”
A voice from behind stopped her.
“That was fun to watch. What a shame.”
The voice carried a hint of amusement. Chloe easily recognized the mocking tone. And she was not someone who let strangers mock her without a fight.
“You must be easily entertained. Laughing at things that aren’t even funny.”
“Well, I do enjoy a good farce.”
The man chuckled softly, his shoulders shaking.
At that, a vein popped on Chloe’s forehead.
What would happen if she yelled, “What are you looking at? Enjoying the show?!” at a regular person? They’d probably shrink back and scurry away, pretending not to know her.
But not this man. Instead of apologizing, he brazenly said he liked farces—as if that explained everything. And he kept smiling, as if her reaction was the best part.
So Chloe figured he must be drunk. His hair was probably a mess, and his face flushed red like an apple. Drunks always couldn’t tell where they didn’t belong.
But he looked completely fine. No—immaculate. So clean-cut that she shut her mouth before she could scold him.
Slicked-back hair without a single strand out of place, a crisp shirt collar and tie at perfect angles, a straight back and confidently crossed legs. No matter how she looked, there wasn’t a hint of intoxication.
And that’s what unsettled her even more. From her years of experience, men who talked like that while sober were rarely sane. Usually, a few screws were loose.
And those pitch-black eyes? Shiny and glinting—he definitely looked like a lunatic.
Chloe quickly decided it wasn’t worth getting involved. She could easily swallow her temper in front of a crazy person.
“Unfortunately, the farce ends here. As you can see, the actors have stormed off.”
She thought: If I play along this much, maybe he won’t try anything. Then she turned to leave. She didn’t want to see Durr and Melvin’s faces again.
“They’ll probably be back soon. You’re really going to leave?”
But the man didn’t let her escape so easily.
“This is the first time I’ve ever been so excited for Act Two of a play.”
“…Sorry, but not me.”
Calm down, Chloe Garrett. He’s crazy.
“Ah, well, I guess it’s not all that funny from your perspective.”
This bastard…
Crack. A vein throbbed on Chloe’s forehead. If he said one more stupid thing, she’d unleash a full-blown roar.
But the man only seemed more amused by her reactions, his eyes sparkling.
Just then, the sound of heels echoed. Apparently, Durr had succeeded in calming Melvin, and he was now walking back, arm wrapped around her.
“Look, the actors are back. Looks like Act Two is a go.”
“Ha…”
Too late. Chloe met Melvin’s gaze. And like an angry bull, Melvin marched over.
“Lucky you. You get to watch the farce you so desperately wanted.”
What the hell’s so funny about this?
Chloe slumped back into her seat and muttered under her breath. The man stared at her slouched shoulders, then spoke in a low voice.
“Then shall I make it interesting?”
“…Excuse me?”
“It’s boring when you’re not the lead, right?”
“What are you—”
She didn’t get to finish. Melvin, striding quickly on long legs, was already right in front of her.
“You know what, Chloe? I’ve decided to understand you.”
“Understand what?”
“Your feelings. Durr really is an amazing man. I get why you’d still have feelings for him.”
“Sorry, but I don’t give a damn about Durr.”
To Chloe, Durr was nothing more than a talking squid.
“How am I supposed to believe that?”
Oh, now she was back to glaring. Melvin’s expression turned sharp in an instant.
“Then don’t. I don’t care.”
“See? I knew you still had feelings!”
Chloe didn’t want to waste energy on pointless things. But the most unbearable part of this situation was being misunderstood as someone who still pined for Durr—that dried-up squid.
And that’s why she blurted it out on impulse.
“Sorry, Melvin. But I’m seeing someone.”
“…What?”
This time, it was Durr who spoke instead.
