Seduce & Coax Chapter 1

I broke up with my boyfriend.

Sitting in my husband’s car, I couldn’t show a flicker of emotion. I couldn’t even cry.

When I was young, I was afraid to tell my parents I was dating. Now, I’m afraid to tell my husband.

My whole life has been a series of regrets.

* * *

I dated Joshua for over a year before I finally agreed to be his girlfriend.

He was an incredible cook, and his food was exactly to my taste.

After dinner one evening, I was lounging on the sofa, watching him in the kitchen with an apron tied around his waist.

A sudden impulse hit me.

“Joshua,” I said, “what do you think about us getting married?”

He turned and gave me a sidelong glance. “Isn’t that a bit of a simple proposal?”

I just smiled without answering.

Later, I discovered an entire wall in his house made of acrylic shelves, displaying a collection of rare models and a number of impressive trophies.

But in the very center, protected under a glass dome, was a single paper crane.

It was pink, and not very well folded.

Yet its place of honor on that wall spoke volumes about how much Joshua treasured it.

I tried to sound casual. “That’s a nicely folded paper crane.”

Joshua glanced at it. “You think so? I always thought it was pretty ugly.”

“If it’s so ugly, why do you keep it like a treasure?”

He shrugged. “I have to.”

“It was a gift from the girl I liked. Even if it’s ugly, I love it.”

The smile on my face froze.

I stared at the crane for a long time, trying to remember when I could have possibly given it to him. I couldn’t. A wave of guilt washed over me.

Joshua sensed my mood.

He wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me into his embrace.

“Alice, I know what you’re thinking. But I’ve always felt that loving you was my own affair. It had nothing to do with you. You don’t need to feel guilty for not returning my feelings back then.”

“Besides,” he continued softly, “for the me I was back then, just having a secret crush on you was more than enough to make me happy.”

I wrapped my arms around his waist and buried my face in his chest.

“Joshua, can you tell me when I gave you this?”

A gentle smile spread across his face as he remembered.

“You had just learned how to fold them. You were so excited, you showed the first one to your deskmate, but she told you it was ugly.”

“You got angry and started asking everyone around you.”

“They all said it wasn’t very good. But I had secretly glanced at it, and I thought it was perfect. It was the most beautiful paper crane I had ever seen.”

“So when you came over to my desk with it, I was shocked and ecstatic. I blushed and told you it was amazing.”

“You were so happy that you gave it to me—the very first paper crane you ever folded.”

I had completely forgotten about that small moment from our school days. Only Joshua would have carefully preserved such a tiny detail about me.

He leaned down and kissed my eyes.

“Alice, sixteen years ago, you gave me a pink paper crane. Now, I’m giving you a blue one.”

I felt him press something into my hand.

I looked down and saw a blue paper crane, folded a thousand times more beautifully than the one I had given him.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

Joshua’s lips curved. “You’re welcome.”

“And thank you. Not just for the crane, but for loving me back.”