Chapter 3

After hanging up, I began packing.

I had lived in this apartment for three years.

But every corner was filled with traces of Ethan and the others.

Three black baseball caps, the ones Ethan always wore outside, hung by the entrance.

A guitar belonging to Ryan sat in the corner of the living room.

Under the TV stand was the complete gaming setup Alex had bought for tens of thousands of dollars.

He said his parents would nag him if he took it home, so he kept it at my place.

Sophie had left even more things here.

Her personal slippers and her own designated mug.

I found those items one by one.

I had once treated this place as a home for all of us and carefully maintained every relationship.

But later, I finally understood that in their eyes, I was nothing.

Halfway through packing, I opened the cabinet at the back of my closet.

The heirloom wedding gown my grandmother had sewn for me stitch by stitch before she died had always been stored there.

Her greatest wish before passing away had been to see me wear it when I got married.

But she never got the chance.

When I opened the cabinet, I froze. Someone had cut a huge section off the original hem.

The waist had been altered into a complete mess and was stained with wine. Even the part embroidered with my name had been torn out.

A dense, prickling pain spread through my chest.

My grandmother’s health had already been very poor when she embroidered my name, and the stitches were crooked.

I had urged her to rest, but she was afraid I would think it looked ugly and insisted on fixing it herself.

Now, the loose threads brushed against my fingertips. If I touched them again, the whole thing might unravel.

I trembled with rage.

Just then, the doorbell rang.

I looked through the peephole.

Ryan and Alex kept pressing the doorbell. Ethan and Sophie stood behind them.

I opened the door. Ryan was holding two large bags.

When he saw me blocking the entrance, he frowned.

“Why are you standing in the doorway? We went all over town and waited in line to buy macarons from your favorite place.

“Ethan had to take his medication three times today just to keep his emotions under control.

“Let’s sit down and have a meal. Then we’ll call yesterday even. Stop dragging this out.”

I held up the wedding gown and stared at Sophie, who was hiding behind him.

“You did this?”

Sophie’s eyes reddened as she hid behind Ethan.

“Lily, I’m sorry… I just thought it was beautiful and wanted to try it on.

“But my waist is smaller than yours, and the hem was too long, so I made a few small alterations myself…”

“That was left to me by my grandmother!”

I was so furious that I rushed forward to grab her.

“Lily, what do you think you’re doing?”

Before I could touch Sophie, Ethan shouted angrily.

He suddenly reached out and shoved me hard in the shoulder.

I stumbled and crashed into the cabinet beside me.

A long gash instantly opened on my lower leg, and blood spilled across the floor.

But Ethan only cared about pulling Sophie tightly into his arms and accusing me.

“Are you insane?”

The last trace of warmth in my heart disappeared.

I braced myself against the wall and slowly straightened.

I looked at them coldly.

“Leave. You’re not welcome in my home.”

Ryan’s expression changed, and he forced down his anger.

“Lily, we only came to comfort you because we’ve been friends for so many years.

“Do you have any idea how upset Ethan was after you threw away the ring yesterday?”

“The street-vendor ring really did put him through a lot.”

Even though I already knew the truth, my heart still ached.

“I wonder whether he found it just as difficult to choose Sophie’s diamond ring.”

Ryan and Alex’s faces instantly stiffened.

Alex stammered,

“You have to let us explain. Sophie has cancer, and the doctor said she might have suicidal thoughts at any time.

“Her lifelong dream was to have a wedding. We were trying to save her!”

“And what about now?”

I looked at them with a faint, mocking smile, letting the blood from my leg drip onto the floor.

“She’s doing much better. Her emotions have stabilized a lot.”

I nodded, then turned and kicked the trash bags beside my feet.

“Then keep treating her.”

“These are the things you left at my place. Take them with you.”

Ethan, who had been comforting Sophie, suddenly spoke.

“Lily! Do you have no compassion at all? Are you going to be satisfied only after you drive her to suicide?”

“Aren’t you two best friends?”

I looked at him indifferently.

“Not anymore. And if she really wants to die, tell her to do it far away from me.”

“Ethan, we’re breaking up too.”