Chapter 6

Back home, I dialed the real estate agent.

"I want to sell the villa on Willow Creek Drive, as quickly as possible."

That was the house my parents left me.

During college, my whole family immigrated to Canada, but I insisted on staying behind.

My father was so angry he smashed his coffee mug:

"For that Alex boy, you're abandoning your own parents?"

I was so naive back then, thinking that as long as I stayed by Alex's side, he would eventually turn to me.

Now Alex had found the love of his life, and it was time for me to completely let go.

The house quickly found a buyer.

The day I signed the contract, I received an unknown call.

"Ms. Alice, I'm Bethany."

The voice on the other end was soft and sweet,

"Could we meet?"

At the coffee shop, Bethany was wrapped in thick bandages, her face pale but still delicate.

She got straight to the point:

"Alex was already injured, and he donated a kidney to me. His appetite has been really poor recently, which is slowing down his recovery. I want to cook something for him…"

"So?"

I stirred my coffee, not looking up.

"I heard he used to love the chicken soup you made."

Bethany bit her lip,

"Could you… teach me how?"

My hand paused. I remembered Alex always wanted my ginseng chicken soup whenever he was sick.

Once, I had a high fever but still forced myself to cook a pot for him, only to faint in the kitchen afterward.

"He likes you so much now, he'd be happy with whatever you buy him."

I said faintly.

Bethany shook her head:

"I just want him to taste his favorite flavor."

She clasped her hands together, her eyes watery,

"Please. I know I was wrong for taking your coat before. Please be the bigger person and don't hold it against me. Just teach me."

In the end, I agreed.

I stood at the kitchen entrance, watching Bethany clumsily handle the ingredients.

She cut her finger while slicing ginger, scalded her hand while pouring hot water, but stubbornly kept starting over.

"Why are you so insistent?"

I couldn't help but ask.

Bethany wiped the sweat from her forehead, a sweet blush coloring her cheeks:

"Because he's worth it."

She began to recount all the good things Alex did for her.

Driving at three in the morning to buy her a strawberry cake she suddenly craved.

Planting twenty cherry trees in the yard just because she casually mentioned liking cherry blossoms.

Staying up all night when she had a fever, taking her temperature every half hour.

She vaguely woke up to see his eyes red from lack of sleep…

"Compared to how good he is to me, making a bowl of soup is nothing,"

Bethany's eyes sparkled,

"He said I was his ideal partner, the one he'd waited twenty-three years for, the only person he wants to marry in this life."

I listened quietly, my heart feeling like it was being slowly cut open by a dull knife.

I remembered how I used to pour my heart and soul into Alex.

When he had a high fever, I went out in the rain to buy him medicine;

When he was in a bad mood, I stayed up all night drinking with him;

On his birthday, I ran all over the city just to buy him his favorite limited-edition sneakers;

But Alex was always distant with me, even吝啬 a simple "thank you."

I thought it was just his nature and foolishly believed that with time, I could warm his heart.

Now I finally understood.

Alex wasn't incapable of love.

He just didn't love me.

When he met his true ideal partner, he loved more passionately and deeply than anyone.

After the soup was done, Bethany looked at the scalds on her hands, biting her lip in annoyance:

"I need to go treat my hands first, otherwise Alex will worry about them for ages."

She handed me the insulated container,

"Could you please take the soup over?"

The chicken soup in the container was still steaming hot.

I stood at the hospital room door, hearing Alex's gentle voice from inside:

"Bethany? Where did you go? Why aren't you coming in?"

The moment I pushed the door open, the smile on Alex's face froze.

The expectation in his eyes turned to surprise, finally settling into coldness.

"What are you doing here?"

I lowered my gaze, trying to maintain a calm expression, and placed the soup on the bedside table:

"This is…"

"Take it away."

Alex interrupted me coldly,

"I won't drink anything you've made."

He leaned back in the hospital bed, his face still a bit pale, but his eyes as sharp as knives:

"Alice, I have a girlfriend now. I don't want any involvement with other girls, especially since we used to have that kind of relationship."

"You can say I wronged you, or that I'm heartless, but I just want to give Bethany a sense of security."

I closed my eyes:

"You misunderstood. This soup isn't mine. I just…"

Before I could finish, Alex interrupted again, his gaze falling on the familiar insulated container,

"I made myself very clear. Bethany is the only one in my heart. I won't even glance at other girls' attempts to show affection."

He reached out, grabbed the insulated container, and without looking, tossed it into the nearby trash can.

The "thud" echoed, as if it had landed directly on my heart.

"Alex, what are you doing!"

Bethany's voice suddenly came from the doorway.

She rushed in, bandages still on her hand,

"That's the soup I begged her to teach me to make all day!"

Alex's expression instantly changed:

"What?"

"I can't cook at all. I wanted to make you something nutritious, so I specially asked her to teach me."

Bethany's eyes welled up with tears,

"I even cut my hand chopping vegetables…"

Alex immediately sat up from the bed, disregarding the pain from his wound, and bent down to retrieve the insulated container from the trash.

He fumbled to open the lid, scooped out a bowl, and was about to drink it.