Chapter 3

Dempsey’s hand trembled. He stared fixedly at my face, searching for any hint of "you're lying."

Even if it was hatred, even if it was revenge, even if I was deliberately fabricating lies to make him suffer, he could accept it.

But he couldn't accept *this* truth.

Because if it was true.

Then all his hatred of the past seven years, all his struggle, all the motivation that had pulled him out of the mud, would become a joke.

A complete and utter joke.

“If you were truly in trouble, why didn’t you call me? Why didn’t you come find me? Why did you send that text saying you’d fallen in love with someone else?”

I looked at his broken expression, finding it utterly absurd.

“Call you?”

I gave a light laugh, but no mirth reached my eyes.

“Dempsey, that night, I called you thirty-seven times.”

“Thirty-seven times.”

“The first call was when the doctor gave the critical condition notice. You didn’t pick up.”

“The tenth call was when I was kneeling at a relative’s door begging for money and got kicked out. It was hung up.”

“The twentieth call was in the pouring rain, I was soaked to the bone, with nowhere to turn. Your phone was off.”

“The last time, after I desperately sent that plea for help, I received those two words: ‘Get lost, leave me alone’.”

I took a deep breath, those long-buried memories resurfacing.

“You ask why I didn’t come find you? I did.”

“I stood downstairs from your rental apartment all night. I knew you were home because the lights were on. I watched Ashley’s shadow on the curtains, watched you two laughing and talking.”

“I thought then, if only you’d come down to see me, even if you said you had no money, even if you just hugged me and told me not to be scared, I could have grit my teeth and held on.”

“But you didn’t.”

“You told me to get lost.”

Dempsey’s face was ashen. He let go of my hand, staggering back two steps.

“It wasn’t me… I didn’t…” He clutched his head, groaning in agony.

“My phone was missing that day, I thought I lost it. Later, Ashley said you ran off with Jason, the rich kid. She said you texted that you didn’t want to live a hard life anymore.”

He suddenly turned to Ashley, his eyes fierce enough to devour her.

“My phone! You took my phone?!”

Ashley was terrified now. She had never seen Dempsey so out of control.

In her memory, Dempsey was always composed.

“Dempsey, please let me explain…”

Ashley cried, tears streaming down her face, trying to grab Dempsey’s sleeve.

“I loved you so much then, I didn’t want to see you dragged down by her. Her dad was a bottomless pit! I did it for your future!”

“For my good?!”

Dempsey backhanded her, a brutal slap across Ashley’s face.

*“CRACK!”* The blow was heavy; Ashley fell directly to the floor, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.

A gasp went through the room, but no one dared to intervene.

“You did it for yourself!”

Dempsey’s eyes were bloodshot, his finger trembling as he pointed at Ashley.

“How dare you make decisions for me! How dare you delete that text message!”

“Do you know that was money to save a life?! Do you know what that meant to her?!”

Dempsey seemed to go mad, sweeping all the remaining wine bottles off the table.

He remembered that night, seven years ago.

He came out of the shower, found his phone missing, and Ashley was sitting on the sofa, looking a little flustered, saying she didn’t know where it was.

Later, he didn’t think much of it, assuming it was lost.

The next day, the whole campus was spreading rumors that Chloe had run off with Jason, the rich kid.

He went to confront Chloe, but only saw her back as she withdrew from school.

He thought she was guilty, ashamed.

“Chloe…”

Dempsey turned around and dropped to his knees with a thud onto the shattered glass.

His knees instantly pierced, blood soaking his expensive trousers.

But he seemed to feel nothing, only crawling towards me, reaching out to grab the hem of my skirt.

“I’m so sorry, I truly didn’t know…”

“If I had known, even if I had to sell a kidney, sell my blood, I would have saved your dad! How could I have let you face all that alone?”

“Your dad? How is your dad now? I’ll get him into the best hospital, bring in the best specialists, I’ll pay any amount!”

He spoke incoherently, his eyes gleaming with a hopeful light, as if with money, everything could be undone.

I looked at the man sobbing on his knees before me, my eyes still calm.

Some mistakes can be remedied.

But some mistakes cost a life.

“Dempsey, save it.”

I coldly interrupted his fantasy.

“My dad died.”

Dempsey’s body stiffened abruptly.

He opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

“It was just a week after that rainy night.”

My voice was flat, as if telling someone else’s story.

“Because we couldn’t gather enough for the surgery, we missed the optimal window for rescue. He lingered in the ICU for seven days, and then he died in pain.”

“Before he died, he held my hand and told me not to blame you. He said you had it hard, and not to make things difficult for you over money.”

“Dempsey, you say you want to save him?”

“Are you going to save him in heaven?”