Chapter 3
“Why not just save the trouble? I don’t need you to marry me!“.
For six years of dating. Herman had all the freedom he wanted.
When he wanted to drink, I quietly stayed with him without urging him. to stop.
If I wasn’t meant to be there, I waited for his message and picked him up right away.
When he got drunk, I took care of him without complaint.
If he wanted to travel with his friends, I bought their tickets and planned everything.
Even when he voluntarily handed me his phone to check, I never actually did.
I loved him, but I didn’t want to repeat my mother’s tragedy of driving my father to divorce because of her controlling nature.
I believed I had always maintained the right distance in our relationship.
At least before his “illness“, things had been great between us.
But now, I finally realized that my love had suffocated him.
Was this why he faked illness to chase after some thrill?
Our eyes met, but I couldn’t see even a trace of affection in his gaze.
I swallowed all the questions that almost slipped from my lips.
Herman frowned under my stare, then grabbed a bouquet of lilies from his friend and shoved them into my arms. “Alright, stop acting all high and mighty. Take the flowers and leave!”
He still thought I was the same girl who used to be satisfied with the smallest gifts.
He was still convinced that I loved him too much to let him go.
I handed the flowers back to his friend. “These are for your girlfriend. It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to take them.”
I continued, “Donating blood was my choice. You don’t have to force yourself to marry me.”
A strange panic crept into Herman’s heart.
He wondered, “Shouldn’t Hollie be overjoyed?
“Why does she keep saying that I don’t have to marry her?
“Is she actually mad?”
A flash of anxiety crossed his eyes. “Hollie, I—”
His friends cleared their throats, making him correct himself. “Hollie, I’m a man of my word.”
But I just smiled, “Go be with your girlfriend!
“I’m heading to discharge myself now.”
Herman’s heart skipped a beat.
Something about me today felt different.
But he couldn’t quite figure out what.
Chapter 3
His friends, noticing his hesitation, slung their arms around his shoulders. and dragged him away.
“Alright, stop staring. If you keep this up, Bethany is gonna get jealous! First, it was a pity act, and now she’s playing hard to get. Women always do this. You’re just too naïve and easy to fool!”
“Exactly! Look at the mess you made! You’re not some teenage boy
anymore. How could you make a girl bleed out like that? Lucky for you, Bethany doesn’t hold it against you. Not like someone who donates a little blood and starts forcing a wedding…”
Those words were clearly meant for me, but they didn’t sting as much as I expected. I just felt cold.
Even with the sun shining brightly, it couldn’t warm me.
Watching them leave, I went ahead with my discharge.
While Herman wasn’t home, I hired a housekeeper to help me pack.
The housekeeper paused when she saw the room decorated for newlyweds. “Miss, these are all brand–new wedding items. You’re really throwing them away?”
“Yeah. The groom’s dead, so I don’t need them anymore.”
She immediately apologized and tried to comfort me.
To spare me from painful memories, she got rid of our wedding photos and dozens of albums first.
In a couple of hours, the home I had carefully decorated lost all signs of celebration.
I glanced around the empty house, feeling nothing at all.
At the door, the housekeeper looked at the ten–odd bags filled with tokens of love, shaking her head and sighing
“Miss, try to move on.”
I smiled and nodded.
After she left. I made sure not a single trace of me remained in the
apartment before I deleted my fingerprints from the door and left with my
suitcase.
