Chapter 2
The anger
that had been burning in my chest was instantly extinguished
I even felt a bit ashamed.
Arguing over a person who had passed away, I really didn’t know better.
“So, we won’t celebrate anniversaries from now on?”
“I want to dedicate this day every year to her.”
“I know, Joanna, you’re the most understanding, please just agree.”
Looking at him pleading with me, I was unexpectedly moved.
I decided not to argue any further: “Okay.”
But the lingering bitterness still surged in my heart.
He cupped my chin, turned my face away, and kissed me on the cheek
“I am the best with our Joanna!”
I was stunned by his kiss, my mind going blank, staring at him in a daze:
“I’ll head back to my room.”
Back in my room, I rushed to the bathroom, gagging.
I scrubbed the place he had kissed over and over with face wash.
The man who had been so intimate with me just yesterday
now made me feel utterly disgusted.
Years ago, on a street corner, I fell in love with him at first sight.
Chapter 2
On this day last year,
we met again at a bar.
I fell for him all over again.
He got drunk at the bar,
and we had a one–night stand.
The next morning,
he said, “I’ll take responsibility for you.”
And we became a couple.
Until today, when I saw the kissing photo of him with his first love,
I finally understood why he had agreed so easily back then.
It turns out, he had been seeing me as his deceased first love.
Not only did we look alike in height and shape, our voices were similar too.
Even our names were eerily close.
I went back to my room and started searching through all his social media accounts.
His first love had passed away in a car accident two years ago.
They had been at the stage of discussing marriage.
Suddenly, I understood.
That’s why, in so many intimate moments, the name he called out was “Joella” instead of
“Joanna.”
I had once naively teased him:
“You’re a CEO, but you can’t even tell the difference between ‘la‘ and ‘na,‘
39.0%
Chapter 2
aren’t you afraid people will laugh at you?”
He only smiled in response, saying nothing.
He would just whisper in my car:
“Joanna, you’re not like you used to be.”
had always hated roses, yet my house was filled with them and rose–shaped decorations.
I didn’t like wearing dresses, but every time we went shopping, he insisted on buying me
one.
“Tomorrow, come meet my friends, wear this one.”
Every time his friends saw me, they would instinctively take a step back, as if they’d seen a
plague.
They stammered, yet dared not say anything more.
Chapter 3
Chapter 3
