“Grandma… she’s not doing well…”
Looking at the lively old lady, my hand holding
the phone grew cold.
If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes,
I would have thought he finally realized his
mistake and regretted it after seeing the e-
vite to my wedding I posted online.
I simply replied,
<
“Okay.”
After hanging up, someone sent me a
screenshot of a group chat.
Josh had sent my e–vite to his friend group.
[Look, Ashley’s resorting to this to force me
to marry her!]
His friends replied almost instantly,
[The invite doesn’t even have a picture. If
she’s trying to bluff, she should at least make
it believable!]
[She probably freaked out because she knew
Sarah was with Josh!]
Josh added a sunglasses emoji:
[I just called and told her to come to the
wedding tomorrow.]
His friend replied:
[No need to guess, she probably cried with
happiness and said yes instantly!]
Josh:
[Everyone come tomorrow. It’s at the address
<
on the e–vite. I even got her a $15 wedding
dress.]
[If it weren’t for Sarah, I wouldn’t even spend
$15 on her.]
[Josh, you should just take pity on Ashley and
have both of them tomorrow!]
[Ew, don’t gross me out. She’s not even fit to
polish Sarah’s shoes! If Sarah hadn’t begged
me, I wouldn’t give her another chance to
cling to me!]
I thought after all this time, those cruel words
wouldn’t hurt me anymore.
But my vision blurred, and tears streamed
down my face.
My decades of devotion couldn’t compare to
a single request from Sarah.
As long as she was happy, he didn’t care
about trampling on my dignity.
Josh and I grew up in the same
neighborhood.
<
Our dads were colleagues. They were
inspecting a mineshaft together when there
was an accident, and it collapsed.
To save my dad, his dad was buried alive.
He was only ten.
His mom couldn’t handle the pressure and
abandoned him.
He was left with only his grandma.
Out of guilt, I tried my best to be good to
him.
Falling in love with him seemed natural.
But he fell for the beautiful transfer student,
Sarah.
He thought I was annoying following him
around, so he changed my college application
to a school thousands of miles away.
Sarah needed experimental data, and he
called me in the middle of the night to get it
for her.
I followed him around like a puppy dog for
く
But now, fifteen years had passed.
My debt was paid, and it was time to let go.
Sarah grabbed my hand dramatically.
“Ashley, that’s a huge diamond!”
Josh scoffed.
“Probably from Wish. Fake diamonds aren’t
worth much these days.”
His friend, Mike, chimed in,
“Yeah, Ashley, don’t be so vain. If you really
want to get married, you’re not good enough
for Josh. I guess I could lower my
standards…”
He grinned, revealing his yellow teeth, and
reached for my hand.
I slapped it away.
“Get lost!”
Mike’s face crumpled, and he spat on the
ground.
“Tch! Thinks she’s all that. Ungrateful bitch.
Like I’d actually want you!”
<
Like I u autually want you!
Josh was furious.
“Ashley, have I been too nice to you? How
dare you talk to my friend like that!”
I looked at his red face, my heart turning cold.
No matter how much I did for him, I was
nothing compared to Sarah.
Even his friends could insult me at will.
Sarah blushed, tugging at Josh’s sleeve.
“Josh, honey, don’t be so mean. She’s just
trying to help.”
She walked towards me, her expression
innocent.
“Ashley, thank you so much. Renting that
dress must have cost a fortune! It’s even
designer. You really went all out!”
Josh put his arm around her protectively.
“You’re too kind, Sarah. I bet she rented it.”
He smirked at me.
“This is the most expensive hotel in the city. I
く
only rented it for an hour. Someone like her
could never afford a venue like this.”
Sarah pouted and snuggled into him, looking
pure and innocent.
“Josh, honey, how can you say that about
Ashley? She’s so devoted to you!”
I had seen her true colors after all these
years.
A pure little flower in public, but behind
closed doors, she smoked, drank, and did it
all.
But Josh was completely blinded by her act,
even paying for her abortion.
I tried to warn him, but he just glared at me.
“Ashley, I can’t believe you’d say something
like that. Sarah just had a minor surgery for
appendicitis, and you’re accusing her of
having an abortion? Don’t say that again, or I
won’t hesitate to hit you, even if you’re a
woman!”
After that, I never said another word.
Sarah looked up at me from his arms, her
eyes filled with triumph and pity.
She sighed dramatically.
“Ashley, as a friend, this breaks my heart.”
“You’ve been chasing Josh for so many years,
and he always says how uncomfortable your
feelings for him make him.”
“They say it’s easy for a woman to chase a
man, but you can’t force love. He only sees
you as a friend…”
Mike quickly added, grinning,
“Exactly! Ashley’s as flat as a board, just like
a dude! Nothing like Sarah’s curves!”
He was still leering when Josh punched him.
“You can’t even think about Sarah like that!”
“Watch your mouth!”
Mike clutched his jaw, glaring at me.
At that moment, I finally understood.
No matter how much I was mocked and
But a single joke about Sarah could instantly
enrage him.
Sarah quickly smoothed things over.
“Okay, okay, let it go, for my sake!”
She reached for my ring.
“Ashley, return the dress and ring. You might
get some money back if you do it soon!”
Her voice was gentle, but her grip was firm.
“I’ll pay for the return shipping. Stop trying to
be someone you’re not!”
She built her innocent image with these
sugar–coated words.
I swallowed the bitterness in my throat and
looked at her, my gaze firm.
“This isn’t rented. My husband bought me this
dress and ring.”
Josh burst out laughing.
“Ashley, enough with the fantasy. Go home
and get some sleep!”
“If you really have a husband, I’ll change my
<
last name to yours!”
His friends echoed him, raising their voices.
“Yeah, didn’t you say today was your
wedding?”
