Chapter 2

On the third day of the experience, the McAdams family held a family dinner.

Hunter's mother sent me the address and asked me to bring over the sapphire bracelet passed down through generations in the McAdams family.

That bracelet was the one she had personally put on my wrist when I got married.

But I knew Hunter's mother had always looked down on me.

If Hunter hadn't insisted on marrying me back then, this bracelet, which originally belonged to Hunter's grandmother and was meant for his future wife, would never have ended up in my hands.

I remembered the day I met his parents at their house. His mother said in front of a table full of elders that I came from an ordinary background and wasn't good enough for the McAdams family.

But Hunter held my hand, his tone calm and firm:

"She is the woman I love."

"I don't need anyone else making decisions about who I'm going to marry."

But thinking back to that scene now, I only found it ironic.

I gripped the bracelet box tightly. Going there today was the perfect opportunity to return the bracelet to the McAdams family.

When I arrived, Megan was already sitting in the seat that originally belonged to me.

No seat was saved for me at the dining table. The housekeeper had to bring over a temporary chair and place it at the very end.

Hunter's mother smiled and explained:

"Since Megan is Mrs. McAdams these few days, the family dinner naturally has to go along with the game."

"You're young. Don't be so petty."

Hunter also had the kitchen prepare a new menu according to Megan's tastes.

I was severely allergic to peanuts.

But even after seven years of marriage, peanut butter cookies would still appear on the McAdams family's dining table.

Hunter used to remind them at first, but later on, he would just tell me to avoid them myself.

But because Megan didn't eat cilantro, cilantro never appeared on the McAdams family's dining table.

When a little chopped cilantro floated in the soup, Hunter immediately had the housekeeper take it away and remake it.

"She'll feel sick if she smells this."

At last year's family dinner, they let Megan sit in my seat for the first time.

After I turned and left the table, Hunter chased after me and hugged me.

He said a seat didn't mean anything.

He even promised, "That seat will always belong only to you."

But this year, I didn't even have the right to sit next to him.

Before taking the family photo, Hunter's mother suddenly looked at my wrist.

"Take off the bracelet."

"Lend it to Megan for a few minutes so the photo looks more complete."

Megan quickly waved her hands.

"That's not appropriate."

But her hands stayed hovering in mid-air, never truly pulling back.

Before I could speak, Hunter had already grabbed my hand and slowly slid the bracelet off.

The clasp scraped across my skin, stinging painfully.

He only looked down to check if the sapphire was chipped.

Then, he personally fastened the bracelet around Megan's wrist.

"It will naturally be returned to her after seven days."

"It's just a piece of jewelry. Not worth making a fuss over."

When taking the photo, Megan stood next to Hunter.

Hunter's parents sat in the front.

And I was placed on the far outer edge, almost out of the frame.

The photographer asked everyone to get closer. Hunter deliberately placed his hand on Megan's waist and looked back at me.

He was waiting for me to speak up and stop him.

But I just said to Hunter's mother, "There's no need to return the bracelet."

Hunter's mother's expression changed slightly.

"It was a perfectly good game. Did you really have to ruin it?"

"Embarrassing your elders like this—you're so immature."

An uninformed relative soon sent the family photo to the family group chat.

"Everyone is finally here this year."

Other relatives praised how Megan and Hunter were a perfect match. Some even asked if the two were preparing to hold a wedding.

Hunter's mother didn't explain. She only replied with a red heart under that message.

I looked at the McAdams family group chat I had been in for seven years. I quietly clicked leave.

Hunter noticed quickly. He sent me a message:

"You're putting on quite an act this time."

"I'll see how many days you can hold out."

He didn't know.

I wasn't holding out.

I was slowly erasing every trace of myself I had left in the McAdams family.