I took a cab home by myself.

Luke didn't follow me.

We had already moved into the house our parents helped us buy, just waiting for the wedding and the reception.

Luke's family used to own a small business.

His mom was even a teacher at our high school, and she and my parents were friends.

Ever since we were toddlers, stumbling around as we learned to walk, his parents were always bringing him over to my house.

They’d joke about arranging our marriage, saying I was destined to be part of their family.

When we were little, playing in the park, a creep tried to grab me.

It was Luke who launched himself at the man, biting his hand until he let me go.

We ran to hide and got lost, and by the time our parents found us, we were both covered in dirt like a couple of stray kittens.

Luke even had a cut on his face.

Then, we grew up.

Luke bought a bike and rode me to school every single day.

The green leaves of the maple trees would flutter above us, and the golden sunlight would sprinkle down through the gaps.

The crisp ring of the bicycle bell was the soundtrack of our youth.

I really thought I was the main character in some romance novel, that I had found my once-in-a-lifetime boy in the clean white shirt.

What I never, ever could have imagined, was that Luke would actually fall in love with Leah.

He knelt on the floor and apologized to me, telling me that with me, it just felt… appropriate.

He said he'd never felt real love.

His parents had been strict his whole life.

Every step he took, even being with me, was part of their plan.

It wasn't until Leah came crashing into his world that he realized a person could live with such wild, reckless joy.

She got him to skip class.

She took him to bars to smoke and drink.

Luke got suspended and all hell broke loose at his house, but he was still happy.

He begged me to give him space, to set him free.

Then he and Leah started appearing everywhere together.

His grades plummeted, and his old friends started to drift away, but he seemed thrilled by the novelty of it all.

Right before finals, when Leah was arrested, he begged his father to save her.

He even threatened to not take his exams.

The stress sent his dad into cardiac arrest.

He was rushed to the hospital, and he never woke up.

That day, in the hospital corridor, Luke stood with his fists clenched, silent, as his mother screamed and cried and hit him.

When she was too exhausted to go on and my parents led her away, he finally looked up at me.

His eyes were bloodshot.

"You probably think I'm insane, too, don't you?" he asked. "But she’s the only one who makes me feel… happy. Really happy."

His voice was full of despair. "You all love me, you're all good to me, because I'm the good, obedient son. It's like a transaction."

"She's the only one who would love me no matter what I turned into."

His father's death was a huge blow to Luke.

But it did seem to sober him up.

If only to not disappoint his father's memory, he had to pull himself together for college applications.

We ended up at the same university and became the "golden couple" all over again.

In a performance of repentance and forgiveness, we were once again the perfect match, made for each other.

After graduation, I started interning at my parents' company, and Luke landed an offer from a major firm.

Just two months ago, we even had our own little miracle—I was pregnant.

Everything seemed to have finally fallen into place.

But all of it, every last piece, was shattered the moment Leah reappeared.

In the dark room, I took out my phone and played a voice message from Luke.

"Hey, baby, don't forget to remind Mommy to eat on time, okay?"

"And tell her that Daddy loves her very, very much, and he loves you very, very much. We're going to have a beautiful, happy family."

Luke was usually so serious. Hearing his voice, so uncharacteristically gentle and playful, used to be like spooning honey into my heart.

Now…

Now each word was a knife, twisting deeper and deeper inside me.

So, it turned out love could be faked after all.