The clock on the living room wall had just struck five in the afternoon when the phone on the table rang loudly. Alea, who was standing near the small kitchen preparing a cup of warm chamomile tea, gave a small start.
The name appearing on the vibrating screen made her hold her breath at once: Drew.
With slightly trembling hands, she answered the call. “Hi, Drew?”
“I’m going out to dinner tonight. I want you to come with me.” Drew’s baritone came through loud and clear, firm with certainty.
Alea stopped stirring her tea. Her thoughts returned to her husband’s glittering, unfamiliar upper-class social circle.
“Is... is it really okay for me to come?” Alea asked hesitantly.
“Why?”
“I come from a simple family. I’m not used to handling things that fancy.”
She drew a shaky breath before continuing, finally letting out the feelings she had kept bottled up in her chest. “A while ago, at your friend’s birthday... I made things awkward because I didn’t know how I was supposed to act.”
A long sigh came from the other end of the line. Drew had never imagined that his wife was still carrying such deep insecurity.
“Listen, Alea,” Drew said firmly. “No one expects my wife to be outgoing and good at socializing in front of them. You only have one job: just stay by my side.”
Silence briefly settled over the call. In the quiet kitchen, Alea absorbed every word her husband had spoken. Slowly, the knot of anxiety in her throat began to loosen. Drew had gone to great lengths to invite her and protect her in his own way. As his wife, shouldn’t she appreciate his good intentions?
“Okay...” Alea murmured softly, surrendering to the sincerity in her husband’s voice. “What time, and where?”
“I’ll pick you up. Wait at home,” Drew said before ending the call.
At his office, Drew stared at the box containing a white gemstone bracelet. He had even gone to great lengths to order it through an exclusive overseas jewelry auction.
She deserved the best. Even though this marriage had begun as a loveless arranged match, no one in the world was allowed to look down on Drew’s wife, he thought silently.
Time passed quickly. By seven that evening, Alea was dressed to perfection. Her white dress, with its full skirt, paired perfectly with the light makeup on her face. She sat on the living room sofa, waiting for her husband to arrive.
But time continued to crawl forward. Drew still hadn’t arrived. Exhaustion from a full day of activity made Alea’s eyelids grow heavier and heavier, until she finally fell asleep sitting in the corner of the sofa. *
The door opened quietly. Drew stepped inside and found Alea asleep.
In silence, Drew gazed at her sleeping face—the person who had accompanied him for the past three years, who had accepted him no matter what condition he was in.
Then the phone in Drew’s pocket chimed, making Alea wake up at once with a blink. “Drew? When did you get home? Why didn’t you wake me?”
“You were sleeping so soundly,” Drew replied gently, the corners of his lips lifting slightly.
Alea smoothed down her hair, which was a little mussed from sleeping, then glanced at the wall clock. “Are we still going?”
Drew nodded firmly. He stood first, then extended his large, warm hand toward Alea. Hesitantly, Alea accepted it, letting their fingers lock tightly together.
Inside the car cutting through city streets still wet from the rain, the atmosphere felt deeply intimate. Partway there, Drew suddenly pulled a small box from his suit pocket and held it out to Alea.
Alea looked at her husband with one eyebrow raised in confusion. Her thoughts immediately drifted to the ruby bracelet Ishara had given her yesterday. Was this some kind of jab? Or was it because of Ishara’s bracelet?
As if he could read his wife’s mind, Drew said at once, “Don’t get the wrong idea, Alea. I bought this long before Ishara returned to this country. It was only shipped and delivered to me today.”
Without waiting for her approval, Drew took the box, opened it, and carefully reached for Alea’s left wrist. He fastened the gemstone bracelet around his wife’s slender wrist. It fit perfectly, as though it had been created specifically for her.
Alea flinched when she felt Drew’s touch on her hand. “Drew...” she whispered, looking at her husband’s face. “Why are your hands so cold?”
Drew glanced up at her, meeting his wife’s eyes. “Maybe it’s because no one’s ever really cared enough to warm them.”
The words slipped out just like that.
Alea froze. She stared at the side of her husband’s face for a long moment.
Feeling her intense scrutiny, Drew glanced over and gave her a crooked smile. “What kind of look is that, huh?”
Alea suddenly became flustered, her cheeks glowing red in the dim city streetlights. “N-No... it’s nothing.” She then drew a breath and opened both her palms in her lap. “Where’s your hand? Here, let me warm it for you. My hands aren’t that cold.”
Drew laughed softly at his wife’s innocent offer.
“Save that offer for later,” Drew said, his eyes gleaming with amusement. “You can do it once we’re out of the car.”
Not long afterward, they arrived at a luxurious fine-dining restaurant. Kevin, Julian, and a long-haired woman in a dress by a renowned designer welcomed them.
Shock was clearly written across their faces. They had assumed Drew would come alone that evening. But who would have thought he would bring Alea instead?
Alea, meanwhile, felt her heartbeat pounding against her ribs. Memories of the past flashed through her mind.
Back then, Alea thought bitterly, I was just an ordinary student who happened to cross paths with Drew in the school hallway.
And the four of them were always together. Their world was an exclusive, untouchable circle.
In their world, I was always an outsider who merely passed through... just like now.
Ishara’s gaze fell on Drew and Alea’s joined hands. As if he sensed the sudden tension spreading through his wife’s body, Drew tightened his grip around Alea’s fingers. He even deliberately intertwined their fingers more firmly, as if he wanted to establish an absolute territorial boundary.
“You said you wanted to warm my hand, right?” Drew said.
Without the slightest hesitation, in front of his three stunned old friends, Drew continued holding Alea’s hand tightly and led his wife into the circle, ignoring everyone’s looks.
Drew pulled out a chair for Alea, making sure his wife was seated comfortably beside him, then promptly poured mineral water into her glass.
Kevin and Julian, still overwhelmed by shock, quickly cleared their throats awkwardly. Julian was the first to speak, trying to ease the tension by formally introducing Ishara to his friend’s wife.
“Uh, Alea... let me introduce you. This is Ishara. She’s an old friend from school who just came back from overseas.”
Unexpectedly, Ishara put on the friendliest smile she could manage. “Hi, Alea. It’s nice to meet you.”
A sincere smile formed on Alea’s lips. “Hi. It’s nice to meet you too, Ishara.”
But in the middle of the awkward small talk, Ishara’s gaze suddenly stopped on Alea’s exposed left wrist resting on the table. The gleam of the luxurious, exclusive-design bracelet reflected the restaurant lights with striking clarity.
Ishara’s eyes widened instantly. It was the bracelet she had wanted to buy at the auction. But it had been sold to someone’s wife.
Her chest suddenly tightened with a wave of anger and resentment that burned through her.
So he hadn’t bought it as just another piece of jewelry. It was something he had prepared specifically for Alea from the very beginning—even before he returned to this city.
The atmosphere at the table suddenly felt stifling. To ease the growing tension, Drew decided to start some small talk.
“How have you been overseas these past few years, Ishara?” Drew asked flatly, intending only to complete the formalities between old friends so he wouldn’t seem arrogant.
At his question, Alea’s blood suddenly ran hot. She glanced at her husband. A sharp stab of jealousy suddenly pinched her upper stomach without mercy.
I’m still sitting right beside you, Drew... Alea seethed inwardly, fighting the tightness in her chest. And now you’re already asking your ex how she’s been in front of me?
The discomfort made Alea incapable of remaining a passive listener. With a quick but decisive motion, she placed her cloth napkin on the table, casually cutting off the conversation between Drew and Ishara.
“I’m hungry,” Alea said in an utterly calm voice. She even smiled warmly as she added, “Can we call the waiter and order our food now?”