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."

The next day.

Halfway through the birthday party, Nelson and Irene announced the date for their wedding. Only then did Sinead realize that today was not just Nelson's birthday, but it was also their engagement party.

Thunderous applause filled the hall as everyone offered their congratulations.

Sinead sat alone in a corner as she watched them kiss with faces glowing with happiness, and she felt nothing at all.

When it was time for the toasts, Irene walked over with her arm around Nelson's, smiling as she raised her glass. "Ms. Green, since you and Nelson are so close, will you be my bridesmaid on the day of our marriage?"

"Sorry, I already have plans for that day. I can't make it to the wedding," Sinead said.

Sinead's clean refusal made Nelson's expression change on the spot. He gave her a cold look, his tone especially stiff. "Doesn't matter if she comes or not, as long as the gift shows up."

Sinead gave a small nod, her voice light. "Don't worry. With our history, I'll definitely send a big gift."

Her tone was sincere, almost as if she were truly giving them her blessing.

Thinking of what he had heard in the store a few days earlier, something complicated flickered through Nelson's eyes.

Just then, a joyful tune played by the piano began, and Nelson led Irene onto the dance floor since he didn't know what else to say.

The spotlight followed their graceful figures as they danced, light as butterflies dancing through the crowd.

Watching how affectionate they were, the guests around them murmured in envy and praised them endlessly.

"They really are a perfect match for each other, but getting engaged after just over a month... Isn't that a little rushed?"

"What do you know? Nelson has liked Irene for years. Now that he has finally won her over, of course, he wants to make it official as soon as he can."

Sinead leaned back against the sofa and watched in silence, her thoughts in chaos.

Nelson had been the one to teach her ballroom dancing. Back then, they had no rhythm together as she kept stepping on his feet in high heels.

He never got mad. Instead, he had simply leaned in with a wicked grin and murmured in her ear, "Every time you step on me, you owe me a kiss."

That day, Sinead had learned how to dance.

By the end, his feet were painted in bruises, and her lips were swollen from his kisses.

She had thought he liked her too, that she already stood where a girlfriend should be in his heart. But after Irene came back, Sinead finally saw how ridiculous her assumptions had been as she watched with her own eyes how he had bent over backward to please another woman.

Just as she was lost in her thoughts, someone came over and bowed with his hand extended, asking her for a dance. She didn't want to, but the man kept insisting. With everyone else already on the floor, coupled with the fact that she did not want to spoil the mood, she agreed in the end.

The two strangers matched each other surprisingly well, their steps slow and smooth to the gentle music. The warmth of the man's palm seemed to carry a quiet spell, and she relaxed and let herself enjoy the dance little by little.

It was the first time Nelson had seen Sinead smile that night.

His expression darkened at once.

His eyes, filled with clear displeasure, drifted to her repeatedly to the point he missed several beats during the dance. Noticing his distraction, Irene glanced sideways at him, something flickering in her gaze.

When the music shifted, everyone on the floor switched partners.

Sinead froze for a moment when she suddenly realized that the hand taking hers belonged to Nelson, and she lowered her eyes. They had only just completed a spin when everything went wrong.

The crystal chandelier overhead came loose and crashed down with a sharp snap.

Nelson instinctively let go of Sinead's hand and lunged toward Irene, wrapping her in his arms and pulling her out of the danger zone.

Sinead barely managed to steady herself as she was left where she stood, and the falling chandelier barely skimmed past her shoulder and sliced a long gash across her hand.

Blood flowed out immediately, soaking her white dress a vivid, scarlet red.

It felt like fire in her every nerve. She could not help but let out a cry as her face grew paler.

In just a few steps away, Nelson held Irene close, comforting her as he escorted her out.

He did not even look at Sinead even once…

Sinead finally relaxed when the doctor said it was just a flesh wound and that her bone was fine, and that the falling chandelier had pretty much missed her.

After they were done bandaging her hand, she went home.

As the day of the Green family's departure drew near, the living room was filled with suitcases of every size.

She rested for two days, then told a few close friends she was moving abroad.

They put together a farewell dinner just for her, and the mood at the table was heavy. Everyone was sad to see her go and kept telling her to stay in touch after she left.

It was nearly dawn by the time the gathering finally broke up.

After seeing everyone off, Sinead paid the bill and went back to the private room for her purse before heading out.

As she walked past the next room, a few familiar voices drifted out.

"Nelson, how does it feel to finally get the girl you've had a crush on for years?"

The door was half-open, and she could hear Nelson's amused tone clearly. "Feels like I would be fine with it even if I dropped dead right now."

Laughter exploded inside, mixed with a tease. "Then what about that little childhood friend of yours?"

After about ten seconds of silence, Nelson finally spoke lazily. "Her? She's pretty good in bed."

"We're so jealous, Nelson. None of us has a partner who comes to your every beck and call, then leaves when you wave her off, and you don't even have to own up to it."

The room then roared with laughter. Nelson only raised his eyebrow and said nothing.

"But now that you're engaged to Irene, what are you going to do with her?"

"End it cleanly, of course. Irene's the only one for me. I don't want anyone else."

He sounded so sure that the others started praising how devoted he was.

Sinead dug her nails into her palms so deeply that her knuckles went white. She had thought she was already over this, but hearing it with her own ears still felt like someone was tearing her heart open.

So… Their twenty years of friendship… All those years of late-night calls, holding hands, kissing, and sleeping together...

It all came down to one line.

Pretty good in bed.

She bit her lip hard to hold back the ache in her heart and then walked away on heavy feet.

It was raining outside. She lowered her head and stepped into the rain, but someone blocked her path. Irene stood there with four or five young women, shoulder to shoulder, staring straight at her.

Sinead stayed silent. Just as she raised a hand to hail a cab, Irene grabbed her. "I knew there was something off between you two. Now, I finally understand. So, this is how cheap you are, throwing yourself at my boyfriend and sleeping with him for so long."

The hatred in her voice made Sinead's face go a shade paler.

Sinead wanted to explain, but Irene did not give her the chance as she looked her over with open contempt. "I will let what happened before slide, but now that Nelson and I are engaged, you're still coming looking for him… Do you really like being a homewrecker that much?"

Sinead's heart skipped a beat as she drew a deep breath. "I'm not a homewrecker, and I didn't come to see Nelson today..."

Before she could finish, Irene cut her off with a glance at the young woman beside her. "Drag her inside and go find a few beggars."

The young woman understood at once. They closed in on Sinead, shoving and pushing her up the stairs. "What are you doing?!"

Fear jolted through her. She struggled with everything she had, but there were too many of them. They forced her into the innermost private room and locked the door.

Before long, one of the young women came back with a beggar in tow.

Irene clapped her hands as she let out a cold laugh and stepped aside. "This woman is quite desperate. She'll let you have her for free. You had better make sure she's satisfied."

As Irene laughed, she had someone else close the door.

In the cramped room, the ragged man lunged at her, his eyes gleaming.

Sinead clawed at him again and again, fighting as hard as she could, but it did not help. He was far stronger than she was, and her dress was ripped open, revealing the skin underneath. He pressed his mouth against her, and a foul sewer stench spread through the room.

Filled with rage and terror, Sinead's hand wrapped around an ashtray, and she swung it hard at the man's head without thinking.

With a heavy thud, he crumpled to the floor.

Barely believing she had gotten away, Sinead grabbed her phone and ran out, only to run straight into Irene in the hallway. She had not gone far at all.

Seeing her escape, Irene's expression changed, and she grabbed Sinead's hand again. "How did you get out?!"

Irene was about to drag Sinead back into the room when she caught sight of a figure from the corner of her eye. In an instant, her expression shifted. She let herself fall backward and tumbled down the stairs.

Nelson happened to come out just then and saw it. Shock shot through his eyes as he rushed over and scooped Irene into his arms.

Seeing the blue and purple marks on Irene, he immediately turned on Sinead in a blaze of fury. "Sinead! Why did you push Irene?!"