Caden was waiting alone in the bedroom for Lilly to get ready. He was sitting on the couch when he suddenly noticed an earring underneath the bed.
He picked it up and thought, She forgot it again. I'll give it to her later.
He put the earring back in the drawer inside his bag.
A moment later, Lilly walked out.
"I'm ready."
Caden smiled.
"You look beautiful," Caden said with a smile. "Let's go."
In the lobby, Lilly looked around.
"Where's Sara? Aren't they coming with us?"
Caden replied, "She said they're going somewhere else today."
Lilly forced a small smile.
"Oh."
Caden smiled.
"That's good. We get some quality time together."
Lilly nodded.
Mark and Sara were walking near the lake.
Mark was lost in his thoughts.
You want to push me away? Fine. I'll make you regret it.
Sara looked at him.
"Why did you want to come here?"
"Nothing. I thought we should spend some time together," Mark replied.
"Yeah," Sara said, looking around. "Everyone here seems to be a couple."
"Yeah," Mark replied.
"You don't like talking?" Sara asked.
"I'm not good with people," Mark answered.
"But when I saw you at Jonathan's party, you were talking to everyone."
Mark was caught off guard.
"Jonathan's party?"
"Yes. You were talking about patent rights," Sara said. "I thought that was impressive."
Mark looked at her in surprise and, without thinking, asked, "So is that why you liked me?"
Sara was stunned.
How does he know?
She kept a straight face.
"When did I say that?"
"What I mean is..." Mark quickly corrected himself. "Is that why you agreed to marry me?"
Sara didn't want to admit the truth.
"No. Who would marry someone for those reasons?"
Mark tried to change the subject.
"So that's where you saw me for the first time?"
"No," Sara replied. "I saw you on the road."
Mark didn't think much of it. Since they lived in the same city, it was possible that she had seen him somewhere.
"On the road?"
Sara nodded.
"But why did you marry me?"
"Me?" Mark asked, thinking of an excuse. "I thought your profile was good."
"Profile?" Sara repeated, disappointed.
She thought about it.
What profile? There's nothing special about it. I'm jobless with a degree. Other than my family's wealth and name, I don't have anything. I don't even have anything except these scars.
Mark didn't respond. He assumed the conversation was over.
But Sara wasn't finished.
"What did you like about my profile?"
She looked at him curiously.
"I clearly remember you said no at first."
"Because, at that time, I didn't know anything about you," Mark replied.
"So later, you fell in love with me at first sight at the restaurant?"
Mark was stunned.
He clearly remembered that day, but when it came to Sara, he couldn't even remember what she had been wearing.
He wasn't sure what to say.
Should he say yes or no?
"I think you looked really beautiful that day," he finally said.
Sara smiled.
"I know."
He wasn't used to someone as confident and straightforward as Sara.
She seriously lives in her own world.
The image of Mark kissing Sara kept replaying in Lilly's mind.
She didn't want to think about it, but she couldn't concentrate on anything happening around her. She was lost in her thoughts, wondering what Mark and Sara might be doing at that moment.
"I didn't think this planetarium would be this interesting," Caden said. "Your choices are always amazing."
Caden looked toward the entrance.
"Let's go inside the dark room."
Inside, bright stars covered the ceiling and walls. It looked as though they were actually in space, surrounded by stars.
Caden stared at them excitedly, almost like a child.
"It looks real."
"Yes," Caden said excitedly.
Lilly smiled.
"When you were a kid, did you want to become an astronaut?"
He's really smart. Maybe he wanted to become an astronaut but had to join the family business because of his family.
Caden looked down, almost embarrassed.
"Not really. I just like these kinds of things."
"Oh. So, you're interested in business?" Lilly asked curiously.
Caden thought about it.
How should I tell her that I wasn't good at studies? That's why I joined my family's business. It would be so embarrassing if she found out.
"Yes. I've always wanted to run a business," Caden replied.
Lilly nodded. Talking to Caden had finally taken her mind off Mark, and she didn't want to lose that feeling.
"You're doing amazing as a businessman."
Caden smiled.
"Thanks."
He didn't want to look stupid in front of her, so he quickly changed the subject.
"Let's go somewhere else."
They were walking along the side of the road, but Caden was keeping a little distance from Lilly.
Lilly thought she might have upset him. She was about to apologize when she suddenly saw Mark and Sara at the intersection.
Mark was looking at Sara with interest, and their closeness bothered Lilly.
"Hey, that's Mark and Sara," Caden said.
Lilly was lost in her thoughts and didn't respond. Her attention remained fixed on Mark.
Suddenly, Caden's phone started ringing.
He didn't notice Lilly's expression. He looked at his phone and saw his father's office number.
He immediately answered.
"Yes, Dad?"
"I'm Acacia, your father's assistant," a woman's voice replied.
Caden frowned.
"Where is Dad?"
"Your father is in the hospital."
"What happened to him?" Caden interrupted.
"You need to come back immediately," Acacia said.
Caden could hear the nervousness in her voice.
He remained calm.
"I'm coming back immediately."
Mark and Sara were walking in their direction.
The moment Mark saw Lilly, he immediately reached for Sara's hand and held it.
Sara smiled brightly, thinking, So this is how two people start their relationship.
Caden felt a little guilty about ruining their honeymoon.
"I'm sorry, Lilly, but we need to go back urgently."
Lilly looked at him.
"What happened?"
"I promise I'll take you somewhere better next time," Caden replied.
"I'm fine, but are you all right?" Lilly asked.
Caden didn't want Lilly to worry right now.
Before he could say anything, Mark and Sara approached them from behind.
"Hi," Sara said.
She looked at their faces and immediately noticed that they both looked serious.
Lilly and Caden turned toward them.
"Hi. Something urgent came up, so we have to go back," Caden explained. "You can stay here and enjoy yourselves."
Sara was upset to hear that they were leaving. Seeing how worried Caden looked, she didn't want to stop them. She was about to ask if they needed any help when Mark noticed the concern on Caden's face.
"Is everything all right?" Mark asked.
"Yeah," Caden replied. "You can stay here. I'll talk to my friend. No worries."
A moment ago, Mark had wanted to make Lilly regret pushing him away.
But now, after hearing that she was leaving, he suddenly felt uneasy.
I won't get to see her anymore.
Without thinking, he said, "It's fine. We'll go back with you."
Caden looked at Sara.
"No, you guys stay here and enjoy yourselves."
Sara thought Mark was such a considerate person for worrying about Caden.
"It's fine. We'll go back with you."
Caden smiled.
"Okay. Let's go back to the hotel."
They hurried back to the hotel and packed their things.
Throughout the entire time, Caden didn't say a word. Lilly could sense how worried he was.
On the flight, Caden was sitting beside Lilly.
Lilly looked at him.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes."
Lilly nodded.
Since he didn't want to tell her what had happened, she didn't force him to talk.
Meanwhile, Mark was sitting beside Sara.
He tried to pay attention to whatever Sara was saying, but his mind was elsewhere.
Without realizing it, Sara fell asleep on his shoulder. She was tired after waking up so early that morning.
Mark glanced at her.
Finally, she stopped talking. I thought she would never get tired.
He leaned his head back against the seat.
I shouldn't have kissed her last night. What was I thinking?
I wanted to make Lilly regret pushing me away, but now I've started feeling angry at Sara.
But if she hadn't liked me in the first place, none of this would have happened.
Whenever I look at her, she reminds me of all the pain I've been through. I can't even look at her as a person.
After a one-and-a-half-hour flight, they reached their destination.
When they came out of the airport, Acacia was already there to receive them.
"Sir, you can sit in this car," Acacia said.
Then she looked at Mark and Sara.
Mark shook his head.
"You can go."
Caden and Lilly nodded.
"Take care," Sara said.
She could tell that something serious had happened.
Inside the car, Caden looked at Acacia.
"Can you tell me the truth now?"
"Sir, your father..."
Those two words were enough for Caden and Lilly to understand that something was seriously wrong.
Before Acacia could say anything else, Caden's phone started ringing.
It was his mother.
He answered immediately.
"Mom?"
"I'm at the hospital, but they're not letting me see your father."
Caden wasn't in a position to deal with his mother's problem at that moment.
"Mom, please. I'm coming."
He ended the call.
Lilly quietly reached for his hand.
She didn't know what to say to console him, so she simply held his hand throughout the rest of the journey.
When they arrived at the hospital, Caden's mother was arguing with a woman.
Lilly couldn't understand why his mother was in that situation. There were many people around them, but most of them were strangers to her.
"Mother," Caden called.
His mother immediately stopped when she saw him with Lilly.
"Dear, your father... They aren't letting me see him."
The doctor was waiting for Caden.
"Come with me," he said.
Caden followed him inside.
Caden stared at his father, lying pale and motionless on the hospital bed.
The doctor looked at him with a solemn expression.
"Sir, I'm sorry."
Caden stared at him, unable to speak.
"Your father is no more."