She Always Comes First

Herbert Fischer lets his precious childhood sweetheart dump scalding stew all over me as everyone watches.

Worse, he tells me to apologize, all because I said one harsh sentence to her.

Tears stream down my face as I ask him, "Is my life worth less than a hair on her head?"

He snorts. "Stop overthinking. It's just hot stew—you won't die from a few burns."

I didn't expect Michelle Watson to throw the pot of seafood stew all over me.

I stayed rooted to the ground. The only thing I could do in time was to close my eyes.

Everything was ruined—the dress I had painstakingly chosen for that day and the makeup I'd applied to my face.

There had been spicy peppers in the stew. The smell choked me, causing my eyes to water up from the sting.

It was deathly quiet in the private dining room. The other people around us were just watching us curiously, ready for more drama.

I stood there, rooted in place, and not a single person came up to me to offer any help.

With tears swirling in my eyes, I immediately turned toward Herbert Fischer. He was sitting by the side with his arms crossed before his chest, a look of dissatisfaction on his face.

"Lyanna Summers. Apologize to Chelly."

I immediately felt wronged as emotions rose within my chest. Tears continued to stream down my face more than ever before.

After such a long time together, this was the very first time I completely lost my cool in front of Herbert. I crumbled as I screamed, "I am your girlfriend, not her! How could you just watch someone else bully me and still demand that I apologize to her?"

Herbert just frowned harder and grabbed a napkin from the table to wipe off the stew that had splashed onto his shirt sleeve.

"If you hadn't called Chelly names just now, she'd never have thrown it at you. Also, Chelly is not just 'someone else'."

Meanwhile, Michelle simply examined her nails and commented nonchalantly, "Herbie, is this the woman Mandy chose for you to marry? She's such a disgrace for screaming and making a scene in public."

The icy look in Herbert's eyes was sharp enough to pierce right through me.

"Lyanna, where have your manners disappeared to?"

I was a huge, dripping mess as I stared at the unfamiliar look in his eyes, like he wanted nothing more to do with me. Then I looked into Michelle's eyes, smug and challenging, and I couldn't stop myself from chuckling bitterly afterward.

I said, "I bet that if Michelle were to hold a knife against my throat one day, I wouldn't be allowed to struggle either, since that would mean I was ill-mannered. Isn't that right?"

Herbert just snorted and chuckled aloud. "You really like overthinking. You were just splashed with hot stew. It's not like you'd die from that."

When the waitress entered with more food and caught sight of me, she couldn't help but ask, "Miss, do you need my help?"

Herbert's friends then finally stepped out, trying to be peacemakers.

"Alright. Lyanna, Herb, let's not argue anymore. Calm down."

"That's right. Lyanna, you know that Herb's always been like this since young. As long as Michelle is involved, he'd fly into a terrible rage."

I looked at the people in the private dining room, including Herbert.

From the start of it all, none of them had even offered me a napkin. My boyfriend wasn't even as concerned about me as the waitress who didn't know me.

I removed the gold bracelet around my wrist and gently set it down on the table.

"Herbert, I'm done being the Fischers' future daughter-in-law."

The waitress, who looked to be in her early 20s, brought me into an empty room next door and handed me a damp towel.

While wiping off the mess on my clothes, I recalled the first time I'd met Herbert.

I had met him because of his mother, Mandy Knight.

The Fischer family was well-known in the city for being old money. They were rich, wealthy, and had plenty of connections everywhere.

Mandy was a huge fan of scents and fragrances. She often hired me to produce one-of-a-kind perfume creations for her at her home.

Once, when I was just leaving her place, Herbert had walked in through the door at the same time, and I had collided with him because I couldn't stop myself in time.

The perfume in my box overturned, spilling all over my shirt and his. I quickly looked up in a panic.

Mandy had heard the noise and came out to look. Her eyes held a playful smile.

"You're such a clumsy oaf, Herbie. Go help Lyanna with a new change of clothes."

Mandy liked me a lot. She'd brought up many times before this that she wanted to introduce her son to me.

I looked at the man before me. He exuded an elegant charm from his head to his toes.

A second later, he suddenly smiled at me and said, "This smells really good. Am I detecting cedarwood notes in it?"

That was a huge plus for me. I felt better about him at once. So, I nodded and said, "If you like it, Mr. Fischer, I'll give you a bottle of it next time."

He answered me gently, "That would be too much to ask for. Why don't I treat you to dinner sometime instead?"

That was how our interaction started. Eventually, we started getting close.

Mandy seemed happy about it. She then continued asking me to come over, under the guise of appreciating her collection of fragrances, but she kept leaving me alone with Herbert on multiple occasions.

On the day we decided to become a couple, I gave Herbert a full bottle of perfume, like I'd promised him before. It was called "Forever Love".

I lowered my head anxiously. My voice was shaky as I explained, "This is the first fragrance I created ever since setting up my perfumery. It's called 'Forever Love', and it's not for sale.

"I've had many people tell me that I should use a stronger floral fragrance or sweeter fruit scent for my perfumes, but I prefer the clean fragrances from woodsy scents more.

"You're the first person to understand me for that. Would you like to be my muse for my next fragrance?"

This was a very private and intimate request from a perfumer, and a straightforward one too.

Herbert simply smiled and took the bottle from me, saying, "That works too." Then, he leaned down and kissed me.

At that moment, the smell of cedar and sandalwood enveloped us. I thought that I'd finally found the person who completed me.

I had never quite understood what he meant when he said, "That works too."

However, a month ago, Michelle finally returned from overseas. And on her, I smelled the familiar fragrance that I'd gifted to Herbert in the past.