Sara panicked and quickly lied.
"Nothing. I was just looking at that."
Without checking, she pointed to her left.
Mark followed her finger and looked in that direction. What kind of weird taste does she have?
"Oh."
Sara quietly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking she had escaped his questions. But when she turned to see what she had actually pointed at, her eyes widened.
It was a deodorant advertisement featuring a man surrounded by several women.
After this, he definitely thinks I'm a pervert.
Completely embarrassed, she followed Mark with her head lowered. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice him stop and walked straight into his back.
"Sorry," she muttered.
Mark turned to her. "Walk carefully."
She silently nodded.
Meanwhile, Lilly and Caden wandered through the market, stopping occasionally to admire the historical buildings.
As they passed a jewelry shop, a beautiful pair of earrings caught Caden's attention. He immediately thought of Lilly.
"Do you want to buy anything from here?" he asked casually.
"No." Lilly looked toward a building in the distance. "I want to go up there."
Caden followed her gaze and nodded.
He decided he could return later to buy the earrings.
After nearly twenty minutes of walking, they finally reached the top.
"Wow." Caden looked at Lilly in surprise. "I didn't expect you to walk this fast."
"I like these kinds of activities," Lilly replied proudly.
"Then next time, I'll take you mountain climbing," Caden teased.
From where they stood, they could see almost the entire city.
Caden looked at Lilly and suddenly wanted a picture with her. Spotting a young woman nearby, he approached her.
"Excuse me. Could you take a picture of us?"
He gestured toward Lilly.
The young woman stared at Caden for a few seconds, clearly mesmerized by his appearance. A blush spread across her face before she finally noticed Lilly.
Her expression fell slightly.
Still, after looking between the two of them, she agreed.
"Okay."
After taking several pictures, she handed the phone back to Caden.
He looked through them carefully.
Young people really know how to take good pictures.
"Thank you. These are amazing," Caden said with a smile.
The young woman blushed again. "No problem."
A moment later, her mother came over and took her away. The girl kept glancing back as though she didn't want to leave.
Caden smiled and waved at her.
When he turned around, Lilly was standing behind him, staring at him.
"She's just a kid," he said with an innocent smile.
Without answering, Lilly walked ahead.
Caden quickly followed her.
"You're the only one in my life," he said worriedly.
"I'm not angry. You don't have to explain yourself."
Caden nodded obediently.
Sara and Mark had been walking continuously for what felt like forever.
Sara was starting to get irritated.
Has he gone mad? How long is he planning to make me walk?
Finally, she asked in frustration, "Do you love marathons?"
Mark looked at her in confusion.
"Yes."
Sara smiled sarcastically. "Oh. That's why you've been walking for thirty minutes so easily."
Mark finally realized she was taunting him.
"Yeah. Some people love talking. Some people love marathons."
Sara was too tired to pay attention to his words.
"I'm tired," she complained, sounding as though she was on the verge of tears.
"It's only five minutes away," Mark said. "There are better places to eat there. Hurry."
The promise of food gave Sara enough motivation to walk for another five minutes.
By the time they reached the fountain, the surrounding lights were beginning to glow. Nearby shops and restaurants were opening for the evening, and people had already started gathering around the fountain to watch the show.
But Sara was exhausted and hungry.
Food was the only thing on her mind.
She immediately sat down outside a nearby restaurant.
Mark, meanwhile, searched for a good spot to watch the fountain show.
That was when he saw them.
Lilly and Caden.
They were standing together near the front.
Lilly noticed Mark from the corner of her eye, but before their eyes could meet, Mark turned away.
A sudden uneasiness tightened his chest.
Seeing Lilly beside Caden made him feel dizzy, as though he might faint.
Then Sara appeared in front of him.
She gently placed a hand on his back.
"Are you okay?"
Mark snapped back to reality.
"Yes. I'm fine."
Sara guided him toward the table where she had been sitting and handed him a glass of iced tea.
"Drink this. You'll get some energy."
Mark looked at her.
Sara took a sip from her own drink.
"You're not actually that good at marathons."
Mark wasn't in the mood to respond. He quietly picked up his drink and took a sip.
The fountain show began.
"Why don't you go watch it?" Mark asked. "You might not get another chance."
Sara looked toward the crowd but remained seated.
"It's fine. It's not that important."
"People come here to make wishes," Mark said. "You'll miss your chance."
Sara shrugged.
"If it's in our destiny, we'll come here again and make a wish together."
"But the next fountain show won't happen for another six years."
"That's okay. I can't leave you alone like this."
"I'm completely fine," Mark insisted.
Her concern touched him slightly, but right now, he wanted to be alone.
"A few minutes ago, you almost fainted," Sara said. "What if I leave and you faint again?"
Mark gave up.
"Okay."
A few moments later, fireworks lit up the night sky.
Sara barely looked at them.
Mark glanced at her.
She really isn't interested in anything except talking.
They sat quietly until Caden and Lilly approached them.
"Did you guys have fun today?" Caden asked.
The two of them joined Sara and Mark at the table.
"Yes," Sara replied.
Caden looked curious. "What did you two do?"
"We ran a marathon," Sara said.
"A marathon?" Caden looked at Mark.
"Yes," Mark replied seriously.
Sara turned to Caden. "What did you guys do?"
"Nothing much. We just explored the City of Romance."
Mark felt uncomfortable hearing that.
"As expected," Sara said.
She looked toward the others.
"Do you guys want something to eat?"
"We already ate," Caden replied.
"Then let's go back to the hotel," Mark said.
"Sure," Caden agreed.
Lilly and Sara walked behind Caden and Mark on their way back.
At night, the streets looked like a carnival, glowing beneath countless lights.
"How are you?" Lilly asked.
"Good," Sara replied. "But I'm happy for you."
"Sara, I'm serious." Lilly looked at her. "Is he good to you?"
"Why do you ask me that every time? What will he think if he finds out?"
"I don't care what he thinks," Lilly said. "Why did he bring you to watch fireworks?"
Lilly knew Sara had no interest in things like that. Mark, on the other hand, loved them.
Didn't he even ask her what she wanted to do?
Before Lilly could continue, Sara interrupted her.
"Look. He bought these for me."
She showed Lilly the earrings she had bought earlier.
"He's not a bad person."
Lilly had genuinely been worried about Sara, but the moment she heard that Mark had supposedly bought her the earrings, something tightened painfully in her chest.
Sara sighed internally.
At least now she'll stop talking about Mark.
Caden and Mark walked quietly ahead of them.
After a while, Caden asked, "Where do you want to go tomorrow?"
Mark thought for a moment.
"I was thinking of visiting a museum."
"A museum?" Caden asked curiously.
"Yes. I like architecture."
Caden looked surprised.
"Just like Lilly."
"Oh," Mark replied quietly.
"What about Sara? Does she want to visit the museum too?"
Mark fell silent.
Only then did he realize that he hadn't asked Sara what she wanted to do.
"She likes architecture too."
Caden quietly observed his expression.
He could tell Mark was lying, but he didn't think it was his place to judge him.
When they reached the hotel, Caden told them he had some work to finish and would return later.
Sara, Mark, and Lilly went back to their rooms.
Sara placed her things on the table before quickly disappearing into the bathroom.
Mark took out his phone and messaged Lilly.
Meet me outside in thirty minutes.
Why? Lilly replied.
I want to talk to you.
After a few moments, her reply appeared.
Okay.
Mark put his phone away.
His eyes suddenly fell on an earring lying on the table.
At that exact moment, Sara came out of the bathroom.
"These earrings... I wanted to wear them."
Not wanting him to examine them too closely, she quickly picked them up and put them on.
"I'm going out," Mark said. "I'll be back in an hour."
"Okay."
Mark left the room and headed upstairs to the terrace to wait for Lilly.
The moment he was gone, Sara removed the earrings and quickly hid them inside her bag.
Later that night, Caden stood outside the hotel waiting for Sara.
"You finally came."
"Of course I came. You said you didn't want Lilly to know."
"I want to buy those earrings for her."
"I said I'd help you, but why are you making me walk again?"
Caden smiled.
"I thought you loved marathons."
"Mark loves them. Not me."
Caden laughed softly.
After a moment, he asked, "Why did you choose to marry Mark?"
Sara thought about his question.
"Because he's a good person. If he's kind to others, then I believe he'll be kind to me too."
"What about love?"
Sara smiled faintly.
"Where there's respect, love can grow."
Caden looked at her.
"What?"
Sara quickly changed the subject.
"How did you decide you wanted to marry Lilly?"
"From the first look," Caden replied.
"The day you met her?"
"No."
Sara looked at him curiously.
"Then when?"
Caden smiled.
"Back in school."