chapter 2
That night, Stefan didn't come home, and Ariana didn't call to ask where he'd gone.
She had already seen the photos on Jane's Instagram.
After leaving the hospital that afternoon, they went straight to Jane's house to announce the pregnancy to her family.
In the photos, Jane's grandmother was warmly holding Stefan's hand while talking to him, his other hand gently resting on Jane's belly, his smile tender.
In their five years together, Stefan had only accompanied her home onceafter agreeing to the proposal.
Despite the fact that their families lived less than half an hour apart, he had never offered to visit before.
He said it was because he didn't like being around elders and felt uncomfortable.
Even during that one visit, his attitude had been merely polite and courteous, nothing like the warmth he now showed toward Jane's family.
Ariana lowered her eyes, hiding the bitterness within, and turned off her phone.
The next day, Ariana met with several friends to tell them the wedding was canceled.
Stefan had never been enthusiastic about the wedding, considering it nothing but meaningless formality.
Only at Ariana's insistence had he reluctantly agreed to a small ceremony, inviting only their closest friends and family.
Everyone knew how she felt about Stefan, so her friends were shocked by the news.
"Haven't you been in love with Stefan for so many years? You finally got the chance to marry himhow can you bear to let go?"
Ariana's heart filled with waves of bitterness.
Could she bear it? Of course not.
She had pursued Stefan for twenty whole years before he finally agreed to marry her.
How could it be easy to let go of feelings that had lasted twenty years?
But the truth was, this relationship had been unequal from the very beginning.
From start to finish, she had been chasing after Stefan's footsteps, while he had never truly stopped for her.
Originally, she hadn't minded. She thought that since it took twenty years to get him to agree to marry her, she could surely find her way into his heart eventuallyit would just take time.
After marriage, there would be many long days ahead. She was willing to wait until the moment he would truly open his heart to her.
But ever since Jane, this so-called lifesaver, appeared six months ago, everything had changed.
Only then did Ariana realize that Stefan wasn't cold to everyone.
He was always gentle around Jane, yet couldn't spare even a smile for her.
Back then, she had comforted herself, thinking that Jane had saved his life and he was simply grateful.
She never imagined that after learning Jane had been diagnosed with cancer, he would actually agree to have a child with her to continue his bloodline!
What's more, while asking for her consent on the surface, he had already secretly arranged for Jane to conceive through artificial insemination.
In that moment, Ariana clearly realized that her relationship with Stefan could no longer continue.
Even if twenty years of feelings were hard to abandon, she had to steel herself and personally sever them.
She didn't tell her friends the specific reason, only saying she was about to enter the lab and would only be able to contact the outside world at long intervals.
To express her apology, she stayed out with her friends until late at night before going home.
When Ariana arrived home, Stefan had just gotten there too.
He smelled the alcohol on her, frowned, and stepped back several paces, covering his nose and mouth with one hand, his tone clearly disgusted. "Stay away from me. Don't get that alcohol smell on me."
Ariana smiled bitterly to herself.
He was probably afraid of getting alcohol on himself and affecting Janeafter all, she was pregnant now.
Such an obvious attitude showed he had no intention of hiding anything.
But since he didn't plan to say it outright, Ariana naturally wouldn't bring it up either.
She said nothing and went to take a shower.
When she came out, Stefan was holding his phone, typing rapidly, his face full of smiles.
Ariana glanced at him once, then headed toward the bedroom to rest.
But he suddenly called out to her. "I need to discuss something with you."
Ariana's steps stopped.
The last time she'd heard those words was a month ago when he first proposed having a child with Jane, and they had fought for a month afterward.
Now that Jane was already pregnant, what else could he possibly need to discuss with her?
Stefan said, "We're not doing the wedding photoshoot tomorrow."
Ariana glanced at the calendar on the table, where "Wedding Photos" was prominently marked in marker under tomorrow's date.
Though she wasn't sure why Stefan wanted to cancel the shoot, she hadn't planned on going through with the wedding anyway. Even if Stefan hadn't brought it up, she would have found an excuse to cancel. Now that he'd taken the initiative, it actually saved her the trouble.
Ariana nodded lightly. "Alright, I'll call the photographer to cancel."
Stefan felt a slight jolt in his chest at her response. He hadn't expected Ariana to agree so readily. He'd thought she would ask why. After all, every detail of the wedding had been carefully researched and deliberated by her. Even the photographer for this shoot was someone she'd paid extra to get bumped up the waiting list, all to achieve the perfect result.
But he hadn't expected Ariana to accept it so calmly.
Stefan looked at her with a complicated expression. "Actually, we don't need to cancel. Jane says she'll probably never get married in this lifetime, so she wants to do a wedding photoshoot with meconsider it her way of experiencing marriage without regrets. Let her come with me tomorrow instead. We can always do ours later."
Stefan's tone was as casual as if he were discussing what to have for dinner, just like a month ago when he'd announced his plan to do artificial insemination with Jane. On the surface it seemed like a discussion, but his words already revealed his decisionhe was simply informing Ariana.
Her lowered lashes hid the mockery in Ariana's eyes.
Later? Stefan didn't know she only had thirteen days left in Boston. There was no "later" for them anymore.
Ariana quietly responded with an "okay," then got up to return to the bedroom. Since she wasn't planning to go through with this wedding anyway, it didn't matter who Stefan took wedding photos with.
Watching her retreating figure, Stefan felt an inexplicable unease. Ariana was too calmshe hadn't even asked a single question. All the explanations he'd prepared were completely useless.
Just then, Jane called. He pushed aside his doubts and walked to the balcony to answer.
When morning came, Stefan was getting ready to leave. While putting on his shoes, he said, "After the photoshoot, I'm planning to travel with Jane for a few days. She's always wanted to go to Hawaii, so I'll take her. Let's just keep the wedding simpleI won't have time for rehearsals or setup. You can decide everything, no need to ask me."
Ariana swallowed her bite of toast and responded flatly, "Okay."
Keep it simple. This wedding would have no wedding photos, no guests, no officiant, and no bride.
Seeing Ariana just quietly eating her breakfast, Stefan felt something was off. After thinking for a moment, he added, "After the wedding, let's go to Europe for our honeymoon. I remember you've always wanted to go."
In the past, hearing Stefan voluntarily suggest a honeymoon trip would have made Ariana excitedly start planning routes and itineraries. After all, whenever she'd suggested traveling before, he'd always refused, saying he "didn't like it" or it was "too tiring."
But now, she just continued eating her toast in silence, offering no response.
Honeymoon? There wouldn't even be a weddingwhat honeymoon could there be?
Stefan looked at her with some surprise, seeming like he wanted to say more, but catching sight of the clock on the wall, he hurried to the door, leaving with a quick "We'll talk when I get back."
Ariana picked up the calendar and viciously crossed out "Wedding Photos" with her marker.
Twelve days left.
After breakfast, Ariana began organizing her belongings and clearing out things from the house that were no longer needed. A photo album with barely five pictures, a dust-covered projector, matching pajamas that had never been worn.
During their five years together, every item in this house had been carefully chosen and gradually added by her, slowly transforming an empty space into the cozy home it was now. But looking closely, Stefan had never touched many of these things.
He'd once said that even in a relationship, he remained an independent individual who didn't like using couple's itemsthey made him feel constrained.
Ariana pulled herself back to the present and continued cleaning. After she left, these things would only be eyesores to him. Better to clear them all out now and erase whatever so-called memories they shared along with them.
For the entire week that followed, Stefan didn't come home.
But Ariana knew exactly what he was doing.
Thanks to Jane, who loved sharing everything on Instagram, it was impossible not to know.
They went to hot springs together, watched the ocean, and took photos at sunrise.
Through Jane's Instagram, Ariana once again saw a different side of Stefan.
Turns out, he could act like any ordinary guy in love.
He just couldn't do it in front of her.
Ariana didn't pay much attention to where they went or what they did each dayshe'd just glance quickly and scroll past.
She kept herself busy too. There was so much stuff in the house that it took her several days to get everything completely organized.
She also found time to visit her parents, telling them she was about to enter the lab and would be out of contact with the outside world for a long time.
Her father, Evan Watson, seemed surprised. "You and Stefan are getting married soon. Won't you two be living apart?"
Her mother, Clara Watson, looked equally worried, gripping Ariana's hand as she urged, "Think it over again, Ariana. You and Stefan have finally made it this far. I'm afraid once you enter the lab, Stefan will object, and then your wedding..."
Ariana understood what they meant.
Over all these years, Evan and Clara had witnessed her devotion to Stefan, and they were well aware of his attitude toward her.
Before she decided to propose, they had gently tried to dissuade her, believing she didn't hold much weight in Stefan's heart and hoping she'd reconsider.
But back then, Ariana was convinced she could change Stefan and make him truly accept her.
So Evan and Clara ultimately chose to support her.
Now, with the wedding approaching, they worried that if she entered the lab, Stefan would object and might even cancel the wedding outright and break up with her.
They feared she'd get hurt again, which is why they wanted her to think twice.
But now, the person deciding to cancel the wedding was Ariana herself.
When she told Evan and Clara about her decision, they fell silent for a long time.
She didn't tell them about Stefan and Jane having a child together, afraid they couldn't handle such a blow. Instead, she simply said she wanted to continue developing her career in scientific research.
Evan and Clara exchanged glances. Since their daughter had made her decision, they would support her completely.
In the end, Evan just sighed, patted her shoulder, and said as long as she wouldn't regret it, that was enough.
After returning home, Ariana asked her best friend Vivian Payne to come help move all the organized items out.
Box after box piled up in the living room, taking up considerable space.
The two of them made several trips back and forth before finally getting all the boxes handled, leaving the room much more spacious.
Vivian looked at the empty house with some emotion.
She still remembered two months ago when Ariana had excitedly dragged her out for a whole night of drinking, constantly talking about how she'd finally gotten her wish and successfully proposed to Stefan.
Who would have thought that in just two short months, Ariana would decide to cancel the wedding.
She said, "Babe, you're actually serious about this? I thought you were just joking when you said you were canceling the wedding that day. I've watched you chase after Stefan for all these yearscome on, tell me what really happened."
Maybe because she was about to leave, Ariana suddenly felt the urge to confide.
She told Vivian everything that had happened over the past month, including the fact that Jane was already pregnant with Stefan's child.
Vivian had witnessed all the ups and downs between Ariana and Stefan. After hearing everything, she couldn't help but curse, "After everything you've done for him, he goes and gets someone else pregnant before your wedding and expects you to be okay with it? What the hell is he thinking?"
Ariana shook her head, swallowing the bitterness in her heart. "Who knows? He says Jane is his lifesaver and he has to fulfill all her wishes."
Vivian looked indignant. "But you're his lifesaver too! What gives him the right to treat you like this?"
Ariana didn't say anything more.
Maybe he just didn't love her.
But it didn't matter. Soon, she'd be leaving him behind.