Chapter 3

We walked so far, to a bench in a park. She pulled me down beside her and talked about the past, sighing, "Avery, I can't believe you, who was so small back then, are married now."

I was speechless for a moment, unsure what to say.

Then, she suddenly changed her tone. "Avery, you've always hated me, haven't you?"

"Say something!"

I truly didn't know what to say.

"You hated me so much that you had to marry Liam, simply because he was once my boyfriend." As soon as she said it, she was sobbing uncontrollably.

Fireworks exploded in the sky. She leaned back against the bench, the light reflecting off her face, showing countless tears. It was the first time I'd ever seen Selena cry like that.

In that instant, my hands and feet went cold. She was Liam's ex-girlfriend? We had only been officially married for less than a month!

Heaven help me, if I had known they were together, I would have run as far away as possible.

But I didn't know! Liam had come into my life, telling me how much he liked me. He had been there for me through my toughest days.

"I didn't know you two were together," I finally managed to explain.

She glanced at me, said nothing, and just walked away.

A few days later, she left to pursue her music dream. Before she left, she sent me a text: "You've given in to me so many times. I'll let you have this one."

I clutched that text message and had a massive fight with Liam. What did she mean, 'let me have this'?

If Liam couldn't let her go, he should just stay with her. I'd just admit I'd chosen the wrong person.

Liam yelled it was all a huge mistake, that he was being unfairly targeted. He showed me his phone. "Avery, you can't do this to me. I don't even have her on SnapChat. I didn't know about your relationship."

"What would you have done if you knew about our relationship?"

"I would have gotten with you sooner, hidden from her, and closed my eyes so I wouldn't even see her." He closed his eyes as he spoke.

His antics made me laugh, and he quickly pulled me into a tight hug.

In the following years, Selena genuinely didn't appear in our lives. I even almost forgot about it.

Until she finished her studies and came back, utterly exhausted, looking like a wilting rose – even more delicate and heartbreaking.

Selena complained about feeling cold every day then, perhaps also because she came back in winter. My mom was so worried, it was like she'd aged years, her hair turning grayer by the day. I even introduced her to some doctors I knew.

But then I saw the way Liam looked at her. I couldn't lie to myself anymore – how could you hide that look of deep concern for someone?

It felt like a needle piercing my heart, the pain so sharp it stole my breath.

I confronted him. He lost his temper for the first time: "Enough, Avery! She's already like this, what more do you want? Why are you making a scene?"

His words made tears stream down my face, and he quickly rushed to comfort me. "I'm so sorry, Avery, I really didn't mean to yell at you. We've been together for so many years; don't you trust me?"

I managed to push it away for a moment. All those years, all that companionship… it made me cling to a delusional dream, deceiving myself.

Later, he went on a business trip to a remote area, and returned right around New Year's. We went together to give gifts to my parents.

Without me knowing anything, I watched him pull out a small bag of saffron and hand it to Selena. "Locals say this tea helps with the cold."

Then, under her astonished and grateful gaze, he produced a small good luck charm. "They say this also brings peace and protection."

I remained silent the entire time, feeling a strange sense of déjà vu, like I was back many years ago. My parents would always buy Selena a huge pile of gifts whenever they went out, while I could only watch with longing eyes, like a dog begging for scraps.

On the way home, Liam tried to hold my hand, but I kept struggling. Then I noticed he'd placed a large, sparkling ring on my ring finger at some point. I was surprised.

He gently pinched my cheek. "Is my little Avery getting jealous? The saffron was for your mom, she asked me to get it. And the good luck charm was just a thoughtful extra. They thought your sister was under some kind of bad influence."

"But the ring… I chose this one myself, I spent ages finding it. With me, you'll always be safe and sound," he said. He was always so charming when he said sweet things.

I stared blankly at the massive, pigeon's-egg-sized ruby ring. He suddenly kissed my forehead. "Avery, let's have a wedding. I've always been so sorry I couldn't give you one."

Our eyes met. In that moment, I genuinely believed that everything before was just my imagination, that he truly loved me.

Suddenly, tears welled up and streamed down my face. He quickly wiped them away, asking what was wrong, his expression like a child who had made a mistake.

In that moment, I desperately wanted to tell him.

During his business trip, my insomnia had gotten worse, and I was vomiting constantly, feeling utterly miserable.

At first, I thought it was good news, and happily went to the hospital to check. But the doctor, seeing my continuous vomiting, recommended a full body scan.

When I received the diagnosis, I truly couldn't believe it. How was this possible? I was so young. How could this be happening?

I went to several more hospitals, but received the same devastating result each time.

I pulled out my phone, wanting so badly to tell him, but I couldn't calm myself. I couldn't even face my own reality.

I didn't know who to tell, or how to say it. The doctor asked why I hadn't come earlier.

I told him it had been like this since college; I'd vomit whenever I felt anxious.

He sighed. "Young people are under too much stress these days."

Back in college, my mom was funding Selena, so she literally had no money left for me. She only paid my tuition. Every day, she'd send me messages, call me, telling me to work hard, to "be realistic" about our family's finances.

Sometimes I'd get texts at six or seven in the morning, asking if I had a part-time job, if I was earning money, if I could get a scholarship.

She said she was so anxious, that the family could never save money, and what would happen when they got old?

I asked her why she was still funding Selena's expensive music lessons then. She got angry and snapped, "Why are you always so petty? Why can't you just let Selena be? She finally has a dream; shouldn't she be supported?"

"What about me?"

"What more do you want? I already put you through college! Are you trying to kill me with stress?"

She wanted Selena to live the life she desired, at the expense of my own survival, but she never saw that as a problem. She'd only say, "I gave birth to you, I raised you – what more do you want from me?"

Every day, I worried about my living expenses, how to earn money, how to make my resume look better, how to find a higher-paying job.

That's when I met Liam. He comforted me, understood me.

Later, when he started his business, I was by his side, traveling everywhere with him. To save money, we'd buy the cheapest bus tickets, spending twenty-plus hours practically standing. He bought two small stools, and we'd sit huddled together, him shielding me from the crush of the crowd.

He'd whisper in my ear, "I'll make sure you have a good life."

But now... my days are numbered.