8
Г
“Whatever you do now, only reminds me that
while I was helplessly lying on the ground, you
were with Rhonda.”
Zach’s arm tensed, a hint of regret in his
eyes.
“Chloe, listen, Rhonda and I grew up together,
I treat her like a sister, so taking care of her
is a habit. That day, Rhonda was really
unwell…”
“When wasn’t she unwell?”
I stared into Zach’s eyes, asking each word
slowly.
“On my birthday. Rhonda said she was sick
く
“On my birthday, Rhonda said she was sick,
you left a room full of friends, leaving me to
face their ridicule alone.”
“When I was sick, Rhonda said the dust at her
house was too much, so you went to her
place, leaving me alone in the hospital,
struggling to even go to the bathroom.”
“There were so many instances like this,
Zach. Can you give me just one example
when Rhonda was healthy enough that it
didn’t disrupt our lives?”
Under my relentless questioning, Zach
lowered his head in silence.
I felt a surge of vindictive satisfaction.
But it was fleeting, quickly replaced by
overwhelming despair.
All those grievances,
How did I endure them? How did I repeatedly
convince myself that everything was alright?
“Oh, I remember, Rhonda was healthiest when
we were fighting.”
“She was busy meddling in our relationship…
Zach, are you deliberately blind to all this?”
Zach’s lips trembled.
Before he could speak, his phone rang.
I recognized it instantly.
It was Zach’s special ringtone for Rhonda.
Zach hung up, but the call came again soon
after.
Zach looked at me, seeking help.
“Chloe, I’m afraid something’s wrong with
her…”
I scoffed, turning my back.
Rhonda’s weak voice filled the phone.
“Zach, can you come see me? My heart hurts,
it’s beating so fast, I feel like I’m going to
die…”
“I’m always troubling you, but you know my
parents are abroad, the only people I know
are you and Ethan… Ethan won’t answer my
calls I’m so scared to die alone 11
L
Here we go again.
Poor health was Rhonda’s default setting.
No matter what she said, someone would
always fall for it.
I sneered, waiting for the sound of the door
closing.
But unexpectedly,
A cold voice echoed from behind.
“Rhonda, I’m with Chloe. If you have a
problem, call 911 yourself. Don’t call me
again.‘
Then Zach hung up.
L
He rushed to my side, like a dog seeking
approval.
“Chloe, you heard? I won’t leave you again.
Relax, recover, okay?”
In the past, if Zach had spoken to me like
this,
I would have been overjoyed.
I might even set off some fireworks to
celebrate.
But now,
His appeasement only brought a cold smile.
Zach, you see.
You know how to treat someone well.
You know how to alleviate my doubts, to
show me that I’m special to you.
But you just.
Never bothered to do it.
I turned my back to Zach, speaking calmly.
“Zach, if you don’t leave, I’ll call security.”
In the reflection of the mirror, Zach’s joyful
expression slowly faded.
His voice was tinged with hurt.
“Chloe, I’ve taken such good care of you, and
you still won’t forgive me?”
L
“I know I was wrong before, but now I
understand, the only person I love is you. My
feelings for Rhonda were just a habit.”
Love?
I laughed, shaking, tears streaming down my
face.
I never knew.
That Zach’s neglect, his rebukes, his
accusations,
Were all manifestations of his “love“!
Zach’s soothing words calmed me.
After wiping away my tears, I took the tablet.
Г
I pulled up a medical report and calmly
handed it to Zach.
“Zach, if this is love, you might be better off
with a robotic caregiver.”
I couldn’t unleash a flurry of insults like Kiki.
This was the most venomous thing I could
say.
But Zach trembled.
His eyes reddened.
He stared at me in astonishment, murmuring,
“This isn’t true, Chloe, please, tell me this
isn’t true!”
Г
Seeing my unchanging expression, Zach knelt
before me.
He crawled closer, clutching my blanket and
sobbing uncontrollably.
“Chloe, I beg you, tell me this is a lie, that
you’re deliberately hurting me, that this report
is fake, isn’t it? Tell me, Chloe!”
I just smiled, a tragic, despairing smile.
“Zach, you’re not mistaken.”
“The accident… took our child.”
The tablet fell to the ground, the screen
shattering.
Г
Zach’s eyes and nose were bloodshot.
He let out animalistic howls of pain.
But I calmly watched him and pressed the call
button.
Security arrived and took Zach away, who
was clinging to me.
I only learned the details later.
The baby, I hadn’t even realized its existence.
It was gone forever.
The doctor said the abdominal injuries
damaged my uterus.
I could never have children again.
Kiki held my hand, her face filled with pity.
“It’s okay, Chloe, I’ll always be with you. We
岛
won’t have kids, if we want kids, we’ll adopt
one together, today she’ll call you mom,
tomorrow she’ll call me mom…‘
Kiki’s silly words made me laugh.
But as I laughed, tears streamed down my
face.
I once held her hand, saying,
Kiki, don’t be afraid, let’s get married, let’s
face everything together.
But it was all in vain.
L
A message from Kiki popped up on my
phone.
[I found out, Chloe, Rhonda hired someone to
cause the accident.]
I felt a strange sense of relief knowing the
truth.
No wonder Rhonda managed to keep Zach
busy that day.
No wonder even Ethan was taken away by
Rhonda.
She had planned everything, to drag me to
hell on my happiest day.
And Zach be cut the last thread that held me
୮
I replied,
[Send this to the Zhao and Fu families, they
need this evidence more than we do.]
Kiki replied with an OK emoji.
After a long pause, she sent this:
[Chloe, I’m leaving, what about you?]
I smiled.
[If you leave, I’ll leave too.]
We were inseparable, whether getting
married, breaking up,
Leaving, or seeking revenge.
ᄀ
Soon, we heard
Rhonda had gone insane.
We didn’t know what Zach and Ethan did.
Rhonda wandered the streets, kneeling and
repenting, claiming to be a sinner.
Her actions terrified passersby.
She ended up in a mental hospital.
The day Rhonda was admitted,
Zach and Ethan, along with their parents and
wedding rings, came to apologize.
But they found
L
An empty bed.
Zach and Ethan searched frantically.
But Kiki and I disappeared, never to be seen
again.
Zach, eventually, due to excessive drinking,
made a mistake during a crucial surgery and
was dismissed from the hospital.
A once promising chief physician, he shut
himself in his room, consumed by despair.
Ethan, because of the video, lost popularity
and retired from the entertainment industry.
After retiring, he released a song.
It was called “For Kiki.”
Г
The song became an instant hit.
Even in our small county town, we could hear
- it.
But we just added more vegetables to our
shopping cart and left the supermarket.
“What bad luck,”
Kiki said.
I agreed.
“Let’s go home, the kids are hungry.”
Hand in hand,
We walked toward a free and bright future.
