Chapter 4

Our hopes in the past could no longer be realized.

After leaving the ward, I went to visit my mother.

She was sound asleep, but her cheeks were noticeably more hollow.

Ever since my father had committed suicide, she had lost her spark. As if that wasn't bad enough, we were often harassed by debt collectors.

The perpetrator of these attacks lurked in the dark, so I brought her with me to seek refuge abroad.

Five years later, the murderer remained at large while my mother was diagnosed with brain cancer.

The door of the room clicked open.

I quickly wiped the tears from my face.

It was Henry. He noticed my red eyes and frowned.

"Are you crying?"

Without waiting for a reply, he sighed.

"You're not allowed to visit your mother again without my permission."

My eyes widened, and I stared up at him in disbelief, silently questioning 'why?'.

As if he could hear my question, Henry shot me a contemptuous smile.

"Because I'm paying for your mother's treatment," he said.

I withdrew my gaze. Soon, that would change.

Henry made many requests for his wedding. Whether it was the scene, the ring, or the wedding dress, he kept changing his mind.

However, when the decisions were finalized at last, something felt oddly familiar to me.

It wasn't until I saw the wedding dress that I finally reacted.

This was my ideal wedding that I had described to Henry back then.

The wedding dress was the one I had fallen in love with at first sight when we once passed by a bridal boutique when we were still college students.

I still remember I had pointed at the wedding dress and said to Henry, "When we get married in the future, I want to wear this dress. It's so beautiful and classy! But, it is a little expensive."

Henry had happily agreed. He had said, "No matter the price, I will work my hardest to buy it for you."

He hadn't lied. He had indeed bought the wedding dress in the end.

However, it was not for me.

The wedding dress fit Nina just right. She was smiling excitedly in the mirror, eager to show me how happy she was.

I forced a smile.

She threw a floral blouse at me and said, "You can wear this to our wedding. I've seen many bridesmaids wearing this while dancing at weddings."

I sensed the wicked intention in her eyes.

Henry glared at me coldly.

"It's just a shirt, don't make a fuss about it."

I nodded subserviently, ignoring the strange feeling in my heart.

Henry scoffed. He leaned toward me and whispered into my ear, "Are you feeling bad now? If you hadn't abandoned me, the one wearing this dress today would've been you."

His words pierced my heart like a sharp thorn. However, I could neither pull it out nor ignore it, so I fell into complete despair.

Soon, their wedding day arrived.

In the dressing room, Nina ordered my favorite coffee for me.

She held my hand and asked for forgiveness, just like back then whenever we fought.

"Julia, do you remember every time we fought, no matter how serious things got, we would forgive each other over a cup of coffee?"

I had no intention of reminiscing about our past.

"Nina, do we really need to talk about the past?"

Nina's eyes welled up with tears, her face etched with loneliness.

"I knew you wouldn't forgive me. Today should have been the happiest day in my life, but I guess that's too much to ask for.

"Julia, do you know how sad Henry was after you left? He missed you so much that he almost went crazy. Every night, he would drink himself to sleep. Do you even know how many times he got hospitalized because of his drinking problem? If it weren't for me, he would've died a long time ago.

"I love Henry, but I also care about you as a friend, Julia.

"I'm sure you can understand me, right? I've been by his side, looking after him. What right do you have to take him away from me the moment you came back?!"

She questioned me with tears in her eyes.

I sighed. "Don't worry, I won't take Henry from you. In fact, you won't be seeing me again soon."

Nina didn't believe what I said. All I could do was sip my coffee silently.

At one point, she started smiling and wiped the tears from her face.

"Alright, I'm relieved now."

As soon as she said that, several men entered the dressing room.

I was confused. In the next moment, I felt my body burning up before I crumpled to the floor.

I looked at Nina in disbelief as her smile grew even more distorted.

"Five years ago, I thought I'd never see you again, but here you are.

"Although I appreciate you as a friend, I don't appreciate my husband thinking of another woman.

"I'm sorry. I'll take the blame for this."

As the emcee began talking, Nina left the dressing room without looking back.