Chapter 2

However, I still heard the sound of my own heart skipping a beat when Quinn looked at me.

"Mr. Green, aren't you bothered by how average I am?" I asked hesitantly.

Quinn smiled. "I think you're wonderful, Ms. Caswell."

For the next few days, Sadie did not come to see me. She was probably busy romancing Henry.

I could not be bothered to ask about them and instead focused all of my energy on dating Quinn.

In this era, love was not rushed like fast food. Dates were simple—just strolling through the streets and chatting about life and dreams.

One day, while talking about how I had to drop out of school to support my younger brother, I mentioned how much I regretted it. He suddenly interrupted me.

"Take the exams again, Ren," he said.

"What… what did you say?"

"Take the SATs again. Education will only become more important in the future."

He was right!

I had been so focused on avoiding the mess with Henry and Sadie that I had not even considered this possibility.

Then again, after having spent an entire lifetime as a housewife, I knew nothing about academics anymore.

Doubt crept in. "Can I really do it?"

He took my hand and said firmly, "Trust me, Ren. You can."

When I got home and sat down, I heard someone shouting from the doorway. I went to check and found Sadie standing there, her face filled with anger.

"Renee Caswell, why are you trying to steal Quinn from me?"

What?

Unlike me, who had grown prematurely weary from raising my siblings, Sadie was a lively and romantic girl. She had always dreamed of dramatic, fairy-tale love stories.

That was why I had always assumed her growing distance from Quinn happened only after they got married.

After I married Henry, I had been busy with my own life and rarely interacted with them too much.

Henry was a skilled laborer with a decent income. He was not the stereotypical macho type and was generally considerate.

He would finish work early to cook dinner when I was pregnant. If I felt unwell, he would massage my feet and chat with me about our day.

Sadie had once seen this when she visited and said enviously, "Your Henry is so sweet."

Her words made me happy, but I thought Quinn was likely just as caring. So, I said, "Quinn is an intellectual. I'm sure he's even sweeter when he wants to be."

She frowned and shook her head. "Don't even get me started. He's just a boring bookworm. Everything about him annoys me.”

"Do you know what happened on our wedding day? He didn't say a single word, and he thought he could touch me then at night? Dream on!"

I was shocked. "So, you two never…"

"Exactly!" Sadie said, lifting her chin with pride. "A woman's body and mind must align to feel joy. Otherwise, how are we any different from animals?"

At the time, I did not know she had forced Quinn to live like a monk his entire life.

It was not until Quinn passed away from stomach cancer that Sadie cried to me about how unfairly she had been treated.

I clearly remembered how much she seemed to hate him, so why was she now acting like I had stolen the love of her life?

I furrowed my brow and asked, "Do you like Quinn?"

If so, what did that make Henry?

She opened her mouth, but did not speak. Still, I could see the truth.

"Oh, I get it. You're upset because I beat you to him. It doesn't matter who it is—as long as I choose someone, you suddenly want them too, right?"

Her face flushed red. "You're spouting nonsense! How could you say that about me?"

"Then what exactly did you mean by what you just said?"

When she realized she could not win the argument, she resorted to throwing a tantrum.

"I don't care! I like Quinn now, so you have to give him to me."

I let out a laugh, feeling both angry and amused.

"I'm not your mother. Why should I give you anything?"

I would not let this ungrateful brat ruin Quinn's life again, not in a million years.

My refusal made her stomp her feet in frustration. Just as she was about to say something else, a cool voice interrupted.

"Even if she were willing to let go, I wouldn't agree to it."

Quinn had returned and was now standing beneath the willow tree. His gaze was icy and resolute.