That night, Sinead opened the ticketing app and searched for a direct flight from the city of Lunacoast to the city of Aragon, a major city in the country of Espada.

As soon as she was done purchasing the ticket, Nelson walked in with Irene. "Sinead, I've got good news. Irene has agreed to be with me. You're the first person I'm telling. I'm a pretty good friend, right?"

Looking at their tightly clasped hands, Sinead nodded, her tone calm. "Congratulations."

Irene's eyes were full of happiness as she gave a shy smile. "Thanks for the good wishes. Liana said you were badly hurt. Are you feeling any better? I brought you something to eat. Why don't you give it a try?"

As she spoke, she urged Nelson to hurry up and pour the seafood stew.

Sinead froze for a moment before she reacted as she watched him obey her every word, "Thank you, but I'll have to pass."

Nelson's expression instantly went cold as he looked at Sinead with displeasure. "Irene cooked this herself. I originally didn't want to share it with you, but she was worried about your injury. That's the only reason I even agreed to bring you a bowl. How could you be so ungrateful?"

As he spoke, he filled a bowl and shoved it into her hands, insisting she eat it on the spot.

Sinead wanted to explain, but he clamped down hard on her wrist. In the struggle, the bowl tipped, and the hot stew splashed straight onto her wound.

"Ah!" Sinead let out a sharp cry.

The pain was so intense that cold sweat broke out on her forehead as her whole face twisted and paled. Irene jolted in surprise, guilt flooding her expression as she quickly got some paper towels to try to wipe them off.

Worried Irene would get burned, Nelson quickly pulled her behind him to shield her. "This isn't your fault, Irene. She's been tough since forever, and this is nothing serious. Don't blame yourself."

Sinead's hand holding the tissue trembled again and again, her chest tightening.

The next moment, Jackson pushed the door open. When he saw his daughter's wound bleeding through the bandage again, he went pale and yelled for a nurse at once.

Liana's heart was aching, yet she still took the seafood stew with forced patience and explained to Irene, "She's allergic to seafood and can't have the stew. We appreciate the thought, so thank you."

Nelson stood there in a daze, his expression going stiff. "Why didn't you say so earlier?"

Staring at the gauze soaked red with blood, there was only bitterness in his throat. He had always remembered what she could not eat in the past. Every time they went to a restaurant, he would remind the servers repeatedly. No seafood. No scallions. No cilantro.

Now that he had Irene, his heart was full of her. Of course, he no longer remembered these small things. A heart only had room for one person after all—the one he loved the most.

After a long silence, she forced a smile and answered, "You never even gave me a chance to speak."

The ward went dead quiet. Irene looked so guilty that she was on the verge of tears. Nelson's heart ached for her, but he said nothing and simply left with her.

-

Sinead had to stay in the hospital for three more days before she was discharged because the wound became infected.

As the date of their relocation drew closer, everyone in the Green family was busy packing. Jackson and Liana did not have the time, so they prepared a generous gift and asked Sinead to make a trip to the Lane family home.

As soon as she walked in, Nelson's parents, Kenny and Opal, took her hands and kept apologizing. "We're so sorry, Sinead! Despite the years between you and Nelson, he only looked out for Irene in that dangerous car crash, and you ended up getting so seriously hurt. We really feel awful. We'll make him apologize to you."

Sinead shook her head and spoke gently to calm them down. "Ms. Johnson is Nelson's girlfriend, so it's only right for him to protect her. I'm fine now. Nothing really happened, so please don't worry."

Seeing that she truly did not seem to mind, Kenny and Opal finally let go of some of their guilt.

After the three of them chatted for a while, Sinead brought up the real reason she had come and told them that the Green family was moving abroad.

Kenny and Opal stared at her in shock, caught off guard by the news. "Why so sudden?"

"Because of the recent changes in the company, we actually started preparing half a year ago. We only confirmed the move recently. My parents asked me to come tell you in person," Sinead said.

Kenny and Opal were sad to see their long-time friends go. Their voices were full of reluctance as they asked, "Will you come back in the future?"

Sinead smiled, and in the quiet living room, her voice sounded especially clear. "We won't be coming back once we leave."

Just then, Nelson came home and pushed the door open, frowning as he looked over. "Who's not coming back?"

Just as Kenny and Opal were about to speak, Sinead answered first. "No one. You misheard."

The two elders looked at her in surprise.

Nelson did not notice his parents' strange looks and pulled Sinead out to the car. "Since you're here and done talking, come with me somewhere."

They rode in silence the whole way.

When the car finally stopped, Sinead realized he had brought her to a luxury store. He told the staff to bring out a huge pile of clothes, shoes, and bags, and had her try them on one by one.

She frowned, baffled. "Why am I trying all of these on?"

Nelson pushed her into the fitting room, his tone clear that it was not up for discussion. "Just try them."

Sinead was about to refuse, but the staff had already closed the door and started unboxing everything.

Every time she finished trying on one outfit, Nelson would take a picture, and then she would be pushed back into the fitting room again.

Sinead tried on more than a hundred outfits over and over until she was exhausted and the high heels had rubbed her feet sore to the point of bleeding.

Finally, she could not hold back anymore. She shoved the staff away, hobbled over to Nelson, and spoke in a low voice. "I don't need you to buy all this to make up for what you did..."

"Wrap up everything except that burgundy evening gown and send it to Ms. Irene Thompson at the Mount Zion villa," Nelson said. When Sinead heard what he had said, she couldn't finish what she was about to say.

She watched him swipe the card without hesitation and asked in a hoarse voice, "You asked me to try all these things on just so you could give them to your girlfriend?"

Nelson nodded nonchalantly, his lips forming a faint smile.

"That's right. I want to give my girlfriend some presents, but I'm afraid they won't suit her taste. You two are about the same size. If you model them for me, things should go fine. Later on, you'll come with me to the dessert shop, jewelry store, and cosmetics stores upstairs. You can try all of them for me. I only want the best things for Irene."

Listening to him map out all of this without asking her, Sinead could no longer suppress the anger in her heart. "Nelson Lane! I'm not your tool for pleasing your girlfriend!"

Nelson had never seen Sinead lose her temper like this. He looked up in shock and saw her eyes bright red.

"Do you know I've never treated you as some kind of buddy? When I hug you, when I kiss you, and even when I sleep with you, I'm serious! You don't have to like me, but you can't treat me like this!" Sinead's voice was trembling as she sobbed.

Nelson froze, feeling a whirlwind of emotions inside. He wanted to explain, but Sinead had already turned and walked away. His gaze flickered slightly as he watched her disappear into the crowd. However, he recovered quickly enough in the next second.

Back home, Sinead took out her suitcase and began to pack.

At the dining table, she kept hearing Jackson and Liana mention Nelson from time to time. "I heard Nelson booked Globe Studios for three days to celebrate Irene's birthday. The roses were even air shipped in from Western Evria. He's really putting his heart into this."

"A few days ago, he even took her back to the family residence to meet his grandfather. He paid out of his own pocket for several sets of antiques and said they were from Irene. The old man was overjoyed and kept praising her."

Whenever the Lane family was mentioned, Sinead stayed silent.

From time to time, faint ripples still stirred in her heart, but there was no pain anymore. She shut everything else out and turned down every invitation to gatherings and dinners where she might run into Nelson.

On a few late nights, Nelson got drunk and messaged her to come pick him up, pretending nothing was wrong between them, but she never went.

When people in their circle drank too much, they would sometimes bring this up, curiosity in their voices. "Nelson, what's going on with that childhood friend of yours? Why isn't she following you around lately?"

Nelson did not take it seriously at all, and his tone was indifferent. "She's just throwing a tantrum. Ignore it, she'll be fine after a while."

But after a long while, there was still no sign of Sinead. In the end, she stopped replying to his messages altogether.

On the day before Nelson's birthday, he finally could not stay calm and sent her an electronic invitation for the party.

This time, Sinead finally replied.

Two words.

[Not going.]

Early next morning, as soon as Sinead came downstairs, she ran into Nelson. He was sitting on the sofa with a dark expression on his face, his voice hard and cold. "Sinead!"

She could tell from his tone that he was in a very bad mood. She still had no intention of calming him down, though, and her attitude was anything but warm. "Oh. Morning. I'm just about to go out on a date with my boyfriend, so I won't be keeping you company. Make yourself at home."

The anger Nelson had been holding back for days finally snapped. He rose to his feet and grabbed her wrist, his eyes stormy. "Since when did you get a boyfriend?"

Sinead did not answer, and there was no fear on her face.

His temper flared, his grip tightening without him noticing. "Are you a mute now? Say something!"

Sinead tried to pull her wrist free, the skin already red under his fingers as her tone remained cold. "How's that your business? Aren't you being a little too intrusive?"

Just as the fight was about to blow up, Liana came downstairs and quickly pulled them apart. "Oh, she's just sulking. She's swamped with work right now, so how could she find the time to date anyone? If she's going to fall in love, that can wait till later. You two grew up together, so there's nothing you can't talk about. Stop arguing, alright?"

With Sinead's mother there, they both calmed down and sat down.

After Liana left, Nelson realized he had gone a little too far. Once he had cooled off, he thought back over what had just happened and frowned. Had Liana just said Sinead was too busy right now? What was going on? What was she so busy with that it had to wait until later?

He had no idea, so he asked Sinead. "So… You were lying to me just now?"

Sinead glanced at him and went to sit in the corner. "Do you need something?"

Seeing her dodge the question, Nelson knew she was trying to mess with him. He let out a slow sigh and moved on to what really bothered him. "It's my birthday tomorrow. Why aren't you coming?"

"I'm busy, and I can't find the time," Sinead said nonchalantly.

Her coldness made Nelson's anger surge again, and he raised his voice. "What are you so busy with? What could be more important than my birthday? You used to be more eager than anyone else to celebrate with me."

Sinead took a sip of water, her voice still calm. "Things are different now. You already have a girlfriend. You should be saying that to Irene, not me. I'm just an outsider."

For some reason, Nelson felt a sharp pang of discomfort when he heard the word 'outsider'. He crossed one leg over the other and laced his fingers together. "I don't care. You have to come this year. Do you remember a few years ago, you promised me three wishes? First, you'd knit me a scarf. Second, you'd climb that snowy mountain with me. You've already done both. Now, I'm using the third wish. You have to come to my birthday."

This time, Sinead did not snap back at him. Instead, she lowered her head. Her silence made Nelson feel even more stifled, and his voice turned colder. "Have you forgotten why you agreed to those three wishes in the first place?"

Of course, she remembered.

Three years ago, they had gone to the seaside, and they had been caught in the rising tide. She had gotten a cramp in her leg and had been swept out into the deep waters.

Nelson had jumped in after her without a second thought, dragging her back to shore. By the time they had made it to safety, he was so exhausted that he had almost drowned himself. She had cried herself almost unconscious at his bedside and had even thought about wanting to die with him.

When he finally woke up, he had gently wiped away her tears, his tone soft. "You're crying so much, someone might think I'm really dead."

"Despite how much I care about you, you're still talking like that!" Sinead was so angry that she had hit him once, and he had begged for mercy while trying to comfort her.

"Alright, alright… If you really care about me that much, then grant me three wishes…"

Sinead became quiet again as she reminisced about the past. The room stayed quiet for a long time before she finally gave him an answer. "Alright. After I fulfill the third wish..."

A phone's ringing cut her off.

Nelson picked up the call as he stood up and walked out. "So long as you agree, that's enough. You have to come tomorrow."

Watching him disappear through the doorway, Sinead finished the rest of her sentence. "Then we can stop contacting each other."