Chapter 1Ask Not the Wine of Lost Years

Back in my hometown, the women would brew wine at a young age for their future husbands.

Since college, Jake Sanders and I had left our hometown for a brighter future in a city far away, and we finally returned in glory.

I was finally able to open my vat of wine, which had been kept for 28 years. I knew that Jake was quite particular about hygiene, so I changed my wine to store-bought wine during the town celebration, even though I knew it was taboo.

When I was about to share this secret with him, I heard his conversation with his buddies.

"Are you sure you're going to drink Erica's wine? You'll have to marry her according to tradition if you do that. Won't Cassie be mad?"

"Yeah. Cassie has already opened her vat of wine. If no one drinks from it, she can't marry."

Jake laughed with indifference. "She won't be able to leave me. She's even willing to change that vat of wine for me. Besides, her wine has been left for 28 years. Who would want to drink that? Erica's wine is only 20-years-old, and I heard wine is sweetest at this stage.

"Even though I've chosen Erica, I'll still make sure to treat Cassie well. I'll marry her if no one will."

It felt like my heart had been cored out and a cold wind was gusting through it, but I decided to let this go because I was not an unwanted woman, and Jake was not the only man in this world.

I replied to the text that was sent to me every year: [Will you marry me?]

He replied right away: [Wait for me.]

* * *

The wine vat with my name on it was placed in the family home.

Nina Coleson squeezed her way through the crowd, looking happy for me, as she held my hand and pulled me forward. "Hurry up! It's time! Your vat of wine has been waiting for years for its owner. You know how envious everyone in this town is of your relationship."

She was sincerely happy for me, but Jake Sanders did not come to me. Instead, he turned and walked straight toward Erica Jones.

I stood where I was, clenching my fingers.

Erica was also dressed in the town's festive costume, and she was hugging a wine vat in her arms. Her head was lowered, but she could not hide the smile on her face. "Jake, are you willing to drink my wine?"

There was silence all around. Jake took the wine from her hand without glancing at me, then drank it in front of everyone without hesitating.

Everyone was stunned.

The first few people to be shocked were several elders of the town. In this town, marriage wines should not be consumed so blatantly. According to town customs, once a man accepted a woman's marriage wine, he had to ask for her hand in marriage, and the town would bear witness to this.

Jake grew up in this town, and he was aware of its customs, but he still chose to accept Erica's wine.

Nina was the first to explode in anger. "Are you crazy, Jake?! How can you drink her wine? What about Cassie?"

Jake frowned and swept a glance across everyone, acting as if she had just blown this out of proportion. "It's nothing. All I had was one mouthful of wine."

I suddenly wanted to laugh at his reply. It had been 28 years, and I had been waiting for him for as long as I could remember, but to him, none of what I did meant anything.

Erica stood at the side with her head lowered, and she spoke very softly, "Don't be mad at Jake, Nina. I was just playing around and wanted to try offering my wine. I never expected him to drink it…"

Nina's eyes turned red with anger. "You knew exactly what wine you offered him. Haven't you had enough the past few years? You always tag along when Jake meets clients. Whenever there's a celebration or when Jake comes back here, he brings you along. Even when he bought gifts for Cassie, he made sure you had one too.

"Now, you want to take him for yourself?"

Everyone started whispering amongst themselves when they heard Nina's words.

Nina was right. Erica was never an ordinary colleague of Jake's. She had taken too many things that belonged to me since she started showing up by Jake's side.

Whenever Jake and I wanted to celebrate a holiday together, she would always appear. Every time he brought me a present, she would have one too. Even when we were visiting our hometown, he had personally brought Erica along with him.

Now, even at the most important marriage wine ceremony, Jake had chosen to take her side in front of the entire town.

Nina turned to look at me as she choked back a sob, "Say something, Cassie."

I held my hand up to pat her gently. "Don't be mad. It's not worth it."

Nina was taken aback. She probably did not expect me to remain so calm. It was not long before the ceremony ended abruptly. Erica chose to approach me at this time, looking timid. "Cassie, please don't take it the wrong way. I was just playing around…"

I was about to say something when Jake came over and stood between us. He reached out to hold my shoulders as he did many times before to remind me to be a good girl and to know my place. "That's enough, Cassie."

However, I moved to the side and dodged his touch. "Stop. You're Erica's fiancé in name now. We should keep our distance."

Jake grabbed me by the shoulders and said through clenched teeth, "What did you just say?"