All I Ever Wanted

I chased that young military officer for four years, exhausting every trick I knew, yet I could not even stir the hem of his garment. It was all because another woman—his late first love—had always lived in his heart. No matter how much I gave, it could never outweigh the keepsakes she left behind. Even her own younger sister received special favor from him, simply because her features bore a seven-part resemblance to her dead sister's face. When he refused my kindness once again and rebuked me as shameless, I finally chose to let go. I turned around and married my childhood sweetheart from the island, the one who had waited seven years for me. What I never expected was the news that came from the capital: that man, always so cold and composed, had gone nearly mad searching for me...