En;

They say keep the ones who love you, and that’s why as I walked towards the stage to receive my certificate on a Sunny, yet still dull day in the fine capital of England, he was there smiling to me.

I was not a full time graduate, and yet they presented me my certificate alongside with the many others that had slogged hard for their degree. The valedictorian was fantastic, his speech was eloquent, and I, who was not a native speaker was trembling in my seat as I heard him. And a hand held on to mine, smoothing the skin on the back of my hand with his thumb.

“You will do fine, and I love you.” He said, as I left my seat towards the stage.
 

There, the crowd settled after a warm round of applause. The dean introduced me, and there I was standing before an auditorium full of hopeful individuals, their parents, and one very, very special man.

“I am Hui En, but better known as Grace here in London.” I started, my hands held on firmly to the stand as I faced the crowd. I stared at the many words that they, on my request, had printed for me.

“I am a famous author in China, stealing yet another paper from England.” I paused when there was laughter that erupted from a certain part of the auditorium. “I mean, what was I trying to proof with the certificate? That my dream is valid because I have a degree? Or perhaps that I had outgrew the confirmation my previous job had for me?”

“I am a woman, that is married. To this fabulous husband sitting next to me just now. He is so hot, that I feel the extreme need to be educated thus my impulse to shift half a globe away to study.” More laughters, and I could feel my nerves easing. “No, I’m kidding. I am not here to share my love for my husband, my already beautiful life. I’m here to talk about my past, and share my experience.

I’m a girl who has many scars. I have a fake relationship with my husband at the beginning of our marriage. It was nothing but a relationship built on sand, quick sand, something that was drowning the both of us. He was unhappy, and I was unhappy, and to a certain extent, I thought that silence and escaping was the only way to solve the issue. We took our house as child play, the marking of each other’s privacy, where the other party could not be