Sean didn't look pleased when he came back from work.

I was trying to avoid him, but he called out to me.

"Daphne."

I had no choice but to face him, but the next words out of his mouth felt like a knife plunging into my heart.

"You went to her house, didn't you?"

I froze in place, but he didn't even wait for my response before he continued with an irritated expression, "I remember promising you that nothing would ever happen between Cynthia and me. She's not like you. She's easily frightened. Why did you hang around outside her house to scare her?"

I felt as if my blood had stopped flowing. All I could do was watch as Sean carried on with his rant.

"I know you're feeling insecure about me because you just returned to the country, but you're the one who insisted on going abroad back then. Can you not be so paranoid about everything? You're making life hard for all of us."

I could almost hear my heart crumbling into pieces. I tried to summon every ounce of strength in me to smile, but instead, my tears started flowing.

Once Sean saw the tears streaming down my face, he finally realized his reaction was a bit off. He tried to take my hand, but I avoided him, leaving his hand hanging mid-air.

"You're my boyfriend, yet you seem to know just how easily frightened she is without knowing what kind of person I am."

Sean avoided my gaze. The childish, immature boy I once knew had now learned how to weasel his way out of difficult situations. He deftly buried his head in the crook of my neck and said coaxingly, "I'm sorry, Daphne. I didn't mean that. I just don't want people to be saying bad things about you."

He continued apologizing to me, saying, "Can you please forgive me, Daphne?"

Wiping my tears away, I replied, "Sure. Cook me dinner, and I'll forgive you."

The moment I said that, I couldn't resist being disgusted with myself. What a fool I was.

It was such a simple request. However, Sean stiffened and said, "Well, you know me. I know nothing about cooking. I'll probably blow up the kitchen."

I had only just managed to stop myself from crying, but now, my tears started gushing out once more.

I was no longer the person who was special to him.

Sean gave me a bunch of jewelry, but he no longer paid any attention to my emotions.

Well, it wasn't surprising. He was a busy man.

Cynthia sent me a text.

"Thanks so much. Sean said this place wasn't safe, so he wanted to get me a safer place to live in. He doesn't seem satisfied with all the options he's seen so far, but I think it doesn't matter where we live, as long as we're living together."

Every word of hers dripped with the smug preening of someone who was cherished and adored—unlike me, who did everything in my power to come back to the person I love, only to realize someone else had replaced me.

I was even having a hard time getting a job. I kept encountering issues with every hospital and research facility I wanted to join.

Being most keen to join one of the hospitals, I kept approaching the hospital administration again and again. The hospital director, Michael Lowe, was so overwhelmed by my persistence that he finally revealed a secret to me.

"You meet all our requirements, but you need to think about whether you've gotten into someone's way. Someone spoke to me about you," Mr. Lowe said.

That explained why I was faced with rejection on all fronts, but even after much pondering, I couldn't think of anyone I had offended.

I got a friend to help me look into the matter, and she got back to me extremely quickly.

"Daphne, do you know who's working at the hospital you want to join?"

I had a guess, but I dared not admit to it.

"It's Cynthia. She's working at that hospital."

I was too afraid to hear what came next, too.

"And, the person who's been causing these obstacles for you is… Sean."

I had just finished my meeting with Mr. Lowe when I saw that message from my friend. I recognized every word she sent, but why couldn't I understand what that sentence meant?

I woodenly sent Sean a message.

"I just got rejected by the hospital I want to join the most. I'm so sad right now."

Sean texted me back in no time.

"It's fine. You're incredible. You can look for other places. There's no reason for you to stubbornly fixate on that hospital."

I touched my face, wetting my palm in the process.

It rained a lot during June. I stood on the side of the road, rooted to the spot. The passing cars ended up splashing dirty water all over me.

A scooter came too close and ended up running over my foot. Instantly, I felt the stinging pain shooting through my body.

Looking like a pathetic mess, I hobbled toward the nearest shelter from the rain. Just as I was thinking of someone I could call to pick me up, I looked through the window of the restaurant I was standing outside of and saw Sean.

He took out a ring.

I couldn't tell what was being said, but I watched as Sean put the ring on Cynthia's finger.