Chapter 1My Husband's Other Self

My husband, who I kept secret from the world, suddenly developed a split personality.

His eighteen-year-old self raged at me: "I have a girlfriend! I'm going to find her!"

He didn't know that his precious high school sweetheart had cheated on him.

I played along, coaxing his teenage self into signing the divorce papers.

But then, his twenty-eight-year-old self resurfaced, cold and ruthless: "He signed it, not me. It doesn't count."

Later, I found a note he left for his younger self.

"Rule 1: Win my wife back."

"Rule 2: If you can't win her back, get lost."

* * *

On our first wedding anniversary, Caleb Vance didn't go to the office.

Instead, he personally cooked a table full of dishes.

I ignored him, opened the door, and grabbed my Uber Eats order.

Steam rose from the home-cooked meal, fogging up Caleb's glasses. "Lily, do we have to do this?"

"Are we expecting guests?"

I put my takeout on the table and sat down, expressionless.

Caleb took off his glasses with one hand. "Today is our anniversary. Don't be like this."

He walked over and hugged me from behind.

"I admit I was wrong back then, but it's been three years. What are you still unhappy about?"

He was more mature and tempered than when we first met.

But I couldn't stand how easily he tried to brush over the past.

I stepped on his sore spot. "I think you're too old."

Caleb didn't speak. He tilted my chin up with one hand and held the back of my head with the other, kissing me fiercely, almost cruelly.

I bit his lip. The taste of rust spread in my mouth. He frowned in pain.

"It's only five years," he murmured against my lips, loosening his grip.

I insisted on provoking him. "When you were in college, I was still in middle school."

Caleb couldn't take it anymore. He picked me up and walked towards the bedroom.

"I like you more than college."