Scenery I Never Saw

They all said I had a playboy magnet syndrome.

Always falling for those bad-boy charmers.

Later, I got pregnant out of wedlock and married my childhood sweetheart, Leon, from the upper crust.

But to my surprise, Leon was smitten with his pure and innocent assistant.

I terminated the pregnancy and filed for divorce.

From then on, I decided to settle down, hoping to find a good man and live a quiet life.

The second time, I chose a marriage of convenience that blossomed into love, marrying Nolan, a rising star in New York who claimed to have fallen for me at first sight.

However, in our third year of marriage, I accompanied Nolan to a class reunion.

A drunk old classmate gave him a thumbs-up, his words dripping with hidden meaning:

"When it comes to devotion, Nolan, you're definitely number one among us."

"Back then, Aurora dumped you for being poor, took all your money, and ran off abroad."

"But didn't you end up marrying her anyway?"

I froze.

It turned out I had indeed found a good man, but the one he truly cherished and loved was never me.

1.

Nolan shot to his feet, barking, "Shut your mouth!"

The old classmate sobered up halfway, his gaze lingering on my face for a long time.

From his odd expression, everything clicked into place.

No wonder this promising New York elite had "fallen for me at first sight," a divorced woman;

No wonder he never allowed me to get a perm, always preferring me in white dresses;

No wonder he tolerated all my petty whims with boundless patience.

It turned out that before me, his heart was already occupied by a deeply ingrained college sweetheart.

I picked up my phone, ready to leave.

My wrist was suddenly grabbed.

It didn't hurt, but the nausea, a rising tide, washed over me.

I pulled my hand free and slapped Nolan hard across the face.

A collective gasp echoed through the room.

Nolan wiped the blood from his lip, a cold smile twisting his mouth.

After three years, I knew this was his precursor to rage.

Back then, when I moved to New York with him, my ex-husband Leon followed.

He tried to reconcile every day, coming up with different schemes outside our villa.

When Nolan saw him, he smiled and asked if I wanted to go back to my ex.

Before I could answer, he rolled up his sleeves and fought Leon.

That night, he launched a corporate war against Leon's family business at all costs.

Only then did he force Leon back to the mainland.

But now, what right did he have to be angry?

I was the one being treated as a substitute.

Just as I was about to leave, a woman in a white dress walked into the private room, smiling.

With just one glance, I knew she was Nolan's first love.

The same white dress, the same long, dark, straight hair.

Aurora noticed me too.

A hint of understanding gradually appeared in her eyes.

I bit my lip in shame, my nails digging hard into my palm.

Aurora brushed past me, greeting Nolan with familiarity.

"New girlfriend?"

"She looks so much like me; you're not still thinking of me, are you?"

Nolan's face grew even colder.

"This is my wife. Show some respect!"

Aurora lowered her head, her voice starting to tremble.

"I didn't know you were married. Why are you so mean to me?"

Nolan instinctively crouched down, his tone becoming flustered.

"Don't cry, I apologize"

Before he could finish, Aurora covered her mouth, stifling a laugh.

"Three or four years have passed, and you're still so easily fooled by me."

Nolan gritted his teeth: "Aurora!"

He was angry; she was laughing.

Everyone else, however, seemed accustomed to their drama, quietly watching.

I couldn't take it anymore and stormed out.

Behind me, Aurora's malicious tease drifted.

"Aren't you going to chase her?"

My steps faltered.

But then I heard the man's nonchalant reply:

"Her temper isn't as bad as yours; she's easier to appease."

2.

I don't remember how I got home.

As I stepped through the door, the wedding photo hanging in the living room was especially jarring.

Three years ago, Nolan claimed it was love at first sight,

but I simply didn't believe him.

After all, a childhood sweetheart I'd known for over twenty years could betray me.

How much less a stranger I'd only met once?

But after my tumultuous divorce from Leon,

my parents had blamed me, cutting off my credit cards.

And because I had no concrete evidence of Leon's infidelity,

the media fiercely attacked me, branding me as dramatic and high-maintenance.

The other socialites my age in our circle were just waiting to see me fall.

Everyone said I'd never find a husband better than Leon.

I refused to believe it; I had to prove them wrong.

Fortunately, I had gambled correctly on Nolan, a rising star.

His devotion to me had secured a brilliant comeback.

Those who mocked me for trading a watermelon for a sesame seed were silenced.

But it wasn't until tonight that I truly understood: my so-called "love at first sight"

was built upon the lingering embers of his past love.

My stomach began to churn.

I rushed to the bathroom, throwing up until I was completely drained.

Afterward, I walked into the study, a room Id never dared to enter.

Among the numerous economics books, a worn, old diary stood out conspicuously.

My hands trembling, I opened it.

A photograph fluttered out.

Nolan, in his graduation gown, gazed with deep affection at the girl beside him.

The man I remembered as calm even in a fight,

was, in this diary, just an ordinary person who felt jealousy and sorrow.

[She said I had no future with her, that she was breaking up with me to go abroad.]

[I didn't agree, but she still left, taking all my money with her.]

[That cruel woman, when she returns, I'll make sure her life is hell.]

The words on this page were blurred by water stains, the paper slightly wrinkled.

I turned the page.

[I met a woman who looks a lot like her.]

[On our wedding day, I texted her.]

[As long as she came back, I would marry her.]

[She didnt come, I wont wait for her anymore.]

My vision blurred.

So, while I was excitedly planning our wedding,

Nolan was waiting for another woman to return and stop the ceremony.

The sound of a key in the lock echoed from the hallway.

I didn't move.

Until Nolan rushed in.

Seeing the diary in my hand, Nolan's voice was laced with an icy chill.

"Who told you to touch my things? Give it back."

On the day he proposed, Nolan, wanting to reassure me,

had voluntarily transferred half of his company shares to me as a gift.

After our marriage, he had been completely open with me.

His phone was never password-protected, and his whereabouts were always reported in real-time.

But now, merely because I had touched something related to Aurora,

he was furious.

I gave a hollow laugh, "With someone else living in your heart, are you still worried about me looking?"

He didn't answer, just reached out to snatch it.

I clung on, refusing to let go.

He began to pry my fingers, one by one.

The sound of cracking bones was clearly audible.

My face went ashen with pain, and I hurled the diary at him with all my strength.

"If you love your first love so much, why did you marry me?"

He rubbed his temples in frustration.

"That's all in the past. Don't be unreasonable."

"Then dare you look me in the eye and say you married me because you love me?"

I met his gaze, unflinching.

Nolan's Adam's apple bobbed. His eyes flickered away for a fraction of a second.

The next moment, he let out a cold, angry laugh.

"You want the truth?"

"Fine, I'll tell you."

"I married you because you looked like her."

"But these past three years, haven't I been good enough to you?"

It was precisely because he had been too good.

So good that I believed he loved me, that his obedience stemmed from genuine affection.

But in reality?

Leon was fickle, always seeking novelty.

Nolan, however, was nostalgic.

But his affection, it was always for his first love.

Watching him carefully pick up the diary, I felt nothing but bitter irony.

"Nolan, let's get a divorce."

3.

Nolan paused, then said impatiently:

"Samantha, can you please stop being dramatic?"

"As the lady of the Nolan family, who in New York doesn't show you respect?"

"Divorcing me now will only make you a laughingstock."

Those words were eerily familiar.

When I divorced Leon, he had said the same thing.

He claimed he only had a slight fondness for his assistant.

He claimed there was no actual infidelity, telling me not to make a scene.

But I refused a man whose heart belonged to another.

If I could leave him then, I could also decide to divorce Nolan now.

"Tomorrow morning at nine, I'll see you at the registry office."

With that, I turned to walk past him.

But Nolan grabbed my shoulder.

"Samantha, don't be so childish."

"No one wants to marry a woman who's been divorced twice and had an abortion."

I suddenly couldn't see the man in front of me clearly.

When I cried and told him about my past with Leon,

he had held me tenderly, saying he wished he'd met me sooner.

Perhaps the sadness in my eyes was too obvious,

because Nolan's tone softened slightly.

"I'm sorry, I just"

Before he could finish, his phone rang.

I glanced down; there was no caller ID.

Nolan hesitated, then answered.

"Drunk driving? I'm not bailing you out."

"When you took all my money and left the country, you didn't think about my situation either!"

Every word was disdainful, yet it betrayed his deep concern.

Even in the midst of our divorce argument, Aurora's call took precedence.

Seeing his eagerness to go and bail her out, I forced a smile.

"So eager to see your ex? At least let's discuss the divorce first."

Nolan frowned deeply. "Stop overthinking."

"She just got back to the country, she's unfamiliar with everything."

"I'm her ex-boyfriend, after all; I'm just helping with a small favor."

He grabbed his car keys and hurried out.

With a bang, I was left alone in the study.

I went back to the bedroom and started packing.

Not long after, a friend request popped up on my phone.

The profile picture was a simple cartoon cat.

Nolan's profile picture, on the other hand, was a puppy.

Even after all this time apart, he hadn't bothered to change their couple's avatars.

After accepting the request, Aurora didn't send any messages.

I opened her social media feed and saw a completely different Nolan.

He would let her draw all over his face with lipstick;

He would take her to amusement parks, posing for those silly photo booth pictures;

He would even personally cook brown sugar water for her during her period.

And these posts were all from three years ago.

Before Nolan had even met me.

Just then, Aurora posted a new update.

[Bad girls get everything.]

The location was the most famous romantic hotel.

The accompanying picture showed intertwined hands, a post-coital snapshot.

The man wasn't wearing a wedding ring.

Only a white indent was left on his ring finger.

Nolan couldn't even wait for the month-long divorce process to be over.