Lily happily pulled me toward the car.
Before getting in, I stopped her and said seriously:
“Auntie. I’m an orphan with no family background I’m not worthy of Jason”
12:25 PM
Before getting in, I stopped her and said seriously:
“Auntie, I’m an orphan with no family background. I’m not worthy of Jason.”
Three years ago’s reality had made me clear–headed.
“Sorry, Lily…”
Of course…
I smiled.
Just as I was about to say something, Mrs. Jenkins suddenly held my hand, speaking tenderly:
“I investigated you without asking, and I know everything. But don’t worry, from now on, I’m your mother. After you marry Jason, I’ll love you more than him!”
I froze. In a moment, Mrs. Jenkins had pulled me into the car.
“Jason never told me much about you, but I was curious, so I looked into it myself. Sorry, Lily.
“You’re amazing–top university here, top school abroad. I heard your research team won first place at a world competition recently? Jason just makes some money; honestly, he doesn’t deserve you…”
Mrs. Jenkins said so much, and my eyes finally welled up.
W
That day, Mrs. Jenkins took me to get a custom wedding dress. The next day, invitations were sent.
The third and fourth days were for shopping.
By the fifth day, the dress was rushed and finished overnight.
Wedding preparations were exhausting.
Only after the bridal photoshoot did I finally relax.
I realized I hadn’t checked my phone for days.
When I did, I found many calls and messages.
Most were from Kevin.
He sent a photo of a hand–Jason’s hand caught when he hung up on Kevin’s brother’s video call. “Whose hand is this? A man’s?”
www
“Wow, Lily, now you’ve learned to find men to act? You think if a suspicious man shows up, I’ll care about you like before? Are you trying to test me? Grow up!”
R 11
“Lily, my patience is limited. If you behave, I might still consider you my sister. If you keep acting out…”
So many messages, so annoying.
I didn’t read further and exited the chat.
Mrs. King also sent a few messages:
“Lily, I was harsh that day, but you know, Kevin is my only son and will take over the family business.”
“Mom means well, but you’ve been her daughter for ten years. She still cares deeply. Be good and put away those feelings. Mom will still love you like before.”
Mrs. King’s words left me silent.
My finger hovered over the phone for a few seconds before I exited the chat.
There was nothing left to say.
Some messages came from mutual friends of Kevin and me.
But aside from my own friends, teachers, and classmates, I didn’t reply to anyone connected to the King family. After replying, I scrolled through social media.
Normally I wouldn’t look, but when I did, Kevin had flooded his feed.
He posted many photos with Sally–birthday celebrations, trips abroad.
Kevin rarely posted, maybe once a year.
Now, many posts involved Sally.
Maybe he truly liked her.
I refreshed the feed and saw a new post from Jason.
No caption, just a photo of our hands wearing couple rings, fingers intertwined.
The comments exploded.
Kevin was the first to ask who Jason was.
Jason ignored him.
Others sent 99 likes; Jason replied with thanks.
Kevin sent 99 again; Jason still ignored him.
Kevin privately messaged Jason, asking what was wrong.
Jason didn’t reply but didn’t block him either.
Instead, Jason started posting two or three photos daily of us together, though none showed Taces clearly.
