The Seventh Miserable Bride

When Yasmine placed her hand on his shoulder, she could feel his tense and nervous muscles. The man slowly turned his head and looked at her. Sure enough, it was the lead band singer she met in France, the one who introduced himself as 'Ethan Rowling1.

"Long time no see,"

the man said the same through his clenched teeth.

Yasmine finally caught her breath. She pointed to the door of the shopping mall and asked, "Shall we have a cup of coffee?"

The man nodded. They walked side by side and came to the cafe opposite the mall.

It was the same place where she and Lily were drinking coffee just now, but Lily had already left. Yasmine found an empty table at the corner and sat opposite Ethan. After a moment of silence, she asked, "When did you come back?"

"Not long ago."

"Are you curious to find out why I know your real name?"

Ethan stirred the coffee in front of him. "I'm indeed a little curious, but I knew that you would find out one day."

"I saw the picture of the three of you in your cousin's drawer. Trust me, I was as surprised as you were when I called out your name." "Do you know what happened between the three of us?"

"I'm his wife now. How would I not know what happened to him?"

Yasmine sipped her coffee and said, "That night in France, you left without saying anything because you saw him, right?"

Ethan did not answer.

"Where is she? Is she back, too?"

"Yes."

Although she had mentally prepared herself, her heart still hurt a little and she felt uneasy when she heard his confident reply. Because she knew better than anyone how much influence that woman had in her husband's heart.

"Why did you two come back? Since the both of you had left, why come back again?" Yasmine did not try to conceal her anger. "Why did you two betray your cousin?"

Ethan was silent again and refused to answer her question.

"Can you at least tell me why the both of you came back? You know, it's very important to me."

Ethan saw her frantic

eagerly waiting for him to reply. Ethan sighed lightly, "Hold on to your own happiness. Don't bother about our return."

"How can I not bother? The woman whom my husband loved deeply has finally returned and you' re asking me not to care?"

"My cousin is not an irresponsible man. You' re already married to him. He won't abandon you."

"Just how much do you know about him? Do you know what kind of life he had been living the past few years? To put it bluntly, I'm just his seventh wife. Only I'm luckier than the rest because I may be his last wife."

Ethan thought she had finished what she had to say, but she added, "If both of you hadn't returned, I'd be very confident about that.

"Our return shouldn't be a burden to you. If you had some faith in yourself, so what if Abigail has returned? Just like the thief you were chasing in France, you didn't chase after him for the money but you were chasing for the things you cherished. The same applies to love, just be brave and have a little faith in yourself."

"Does he know that both of you are back?"

Ethan knew in his heart Yasmine was referring to his cousin, Sebastian Simons.

"He doesn't know."

"Does your aunt know?"

"No one else knows except you."

"Give me your number. It's easier for me to contact you if there's anything."

"I can give you my contact, but you have to promise me that you won't tell anyone that you saw me."

Yasmine stared at him. "Do you trust me that I won't go back on my promise?"

"You're not that kind of person. I could tell at first glance." Ethan gave her his phone number and got up to pay the bill. He left so quickly after that, Yasmine did not even get to say goodbye. Yasmine sat alone in the cafe for a very long time. Through the window, she looked at the people passing by. She suddenly felt very lost, not knowing what lay ahead in the future.

She sat in the cafe until the sunset. If it was not for Sebastian's phone call, she might have continued sitting there, deep in thought. She left and returned home with a gloomy face. During dinner, Sebastian noticed her absent-mindedness. He took a piece of rib for her, "Why are you not having any of the meat? Are you going to be a vegetarian like my mum?" Madam Simons glared at her son and said, "Since when did my being a vegetarian bother you?"

"I'm just afraid that you might not have the energy if you don't eat meat."

A year and half ago, his mother had been introduced to Buddhism and constructed a Buddha prayer room in the house. Everyday, she would go in to pray for half an hour and only eat vegetables. Only during special occasions would she eat meat. Her family members thought that she was praying for her son to get better so they did not ask for the reason and just went along with it. Even until now, no one really knew why she was doing this.

"You've already lived for so long. Your life is determined by fate, it's not going to change based on what you eat."

Titus Simons could not help but interrupt, "Everyone has their own ways of living. Why talk about your mum when you were talking about your wife?"

"Dad, you should know by now that, aside from his wife, he doesn't like any of us in this household,"

Tiffany Simons snorted sarcastically.

Sebastian was getting angry. Sensing this, Yasmine hurriedly helped her husband out, "Mom, Dad, he was just kidding."

"Wow, even he knows how to joke now. I think we might need to set off some fireworks to celebrate,"

Tiffany said sarcastically. She was very good at holding grudges. She still had not forgotten when her brother teased her that she would never get married.

The dinner ended as they finished squabbling. Yasmine went up to the bedroom but the stone in her heart was still weighing her down. She was leaning against the window and looking at the stars when Sebastian came in.

"What's wrong? Is anything alright?"

He put his arms around her slender waist from behind. The heater in the room was switched on, so she wore very little clothes. Through the window, it could be seen that it was cold and chilly outside. "Maybe because it's the final exam period in school, so I'm a little tired."

"Winter break is coming up soon, right?"

"Yes."

"Do you want to go out and have some fun?" Yasmine was stunned. She turned to him and asked, "Where are we going? It's so cold outside."

"There are two places for you to choose from. We can either go skiing in Switzerland or Hokkaido to see the snow."

She thought for a moment and said, "Really? Would you be free?"

"Well, there won't be much going on in the company at the end of the year. Fynn can manage all alone while I'm gone. Besides, dad would be around in case anything happens." "Then, let's go to Hokkaido to see the snow."

"Why not skiing in Switzerland?"

Yasmine said slowly, "I don't know how to ski."

Sebastian's widened eyes in horror and sighed with his hand on his forehead, "Dear, which planet are you from? You're not an earthling, are you?"

"I came from the moon, so would you please build me a rocket and send me back?"

Sebastian shook his head and sighed, "Although I could build one, I'd miss you if I sent you back."

Yasmine smiled bitterly and reached out to hold him. "Dear, do you want to have a baby?"

"A baby?"

Sebastian was surprised. "Why do you want to have a baby all of a sudden?"

"It's not too sudden. We have already been married for over a year. Don't you think we should have our own child?"

"But I haven't lived with you long enough," Sebastian whispered in her ear.

Yasmine blushed slightly and said, "Don't be so selfish. Mum and dad have been waiting so long to have grandchildren."

He thought for a moment and said, "Well, let's make one tonight then."

"Not tonight. I'm on my period."

Sebastian rolled his eyes and said, "Your period is always on time."

"We'll have plenty of time anyway. Why don't we make one during our trip?"

Yasmine proposed hopefully.

"Sure,"

Sebastian agreed without hesitation.

Although he promised, her mood did not change much. On the contrary, she felt a little pitiful to use a child to secure her relationship with Sebastian.

As winter came, the weather became colder. Sebastian booked a flight on Saturday. Before he went out in the morning, he said to Yasmine, "Dear, you can go to the airport first. I'll meet you there once I settle some matters in the office."