“Wow, he treats you so well! When’s the
wedding?”
“Mr. Stone is usually so serious, but he’s so
attentive to you! You can tell he’s smitten!”
“You guys are so cute! Makes me want a
boyfriend!”
I thought he was being so secretive, but I was the only one in the dark. I used to be the one he doted on. Now, he was showering another woman with the same affection.
I kept scrolling, the nausea rising. Then I saw
a post that broke me:
“Feeling down, so my boss gave me the day
off and took me to the amusement park!
Don’t be too jealous!”
The picture showed Ethan, smiling, with his
arm around a girl who looked eerily similar to
a younger me.
It was from last year, National Day. The day I’d had a car accident and frantically called Ethan. He’d said, “I’m in a meeting, I can’t leave. James will be there soon.” I believed
him. But he was at an amusement park with his lover.
In the end, it was a client, Alex, who
happened to be passing by, who helped me
after the accident.
Tears welled up and spilled down my cheeks.
I wiped my eyes and sent Ethan a text.
“Ethan, we’re over.”
The message, as always, went unanswered.
I pulled myself together and threw all my
belongings outside the apartment, leaving
only my laptop and a few clothes.
As I was leaving, Ethan must have finally seen
my text. His calls came flooding in. Even
without seeing him, I could sense his panic.
I didn’t answer Ethan’s calls, just declined
them one after another, just like he’d done to
me countless times. But the tears, they
wouldn’t stop.
When I was four, my father discovered my
mother’s affair and that my older brother
wasn’t his. In a fit of rage, he killed them
both, leaving me alone. My grandparents were
gone, and no distant relatives wanted the
daughter of a murderer, so I ended up in an
orphanage.
