I was shopping at the supermarket with my boyfriend.

When we were checking out, I teased him playfully.

"Sir, help me pay and I'll sleep with you tonight."

The people around us gave us incredulous looks.

Just as my boyfriend was about to pay...

A girl from behind patted my boyfriend's shoulder.

"Sir, help me pay, and I'll sleep with you too."

My boyfriend, after a few seconds of surprise, pushed the girl's cart forward.

"Include these as well."

My boyfriend had a deep-seated unrequited love, which I had always known about.

But I thought it posed no threat to me, after all, I heard she was already married.

Moreover, since I had been with my boyfriend, he had never shown any longing for his unrequited love.

It was not until this girl stood in front of me that I realized how much influence she had over my boyfriend.

Aston Jenkins was left stunned, and I too was shocked and unable to move.

It wasn't until the blurry face in my mind became clearer that I realized it wasn't a coincidence, it was really her.

The girl behind me suddenly pushed me aside, and I realized that my boyfriend had already absent-mindedly picked up two bags and walked out of the checkout area.

And the person behind him was squinting and smiling, following closely.

I was startled by the bump and my heart was pounding. Looking at the two figures ahead, I could still feel the way they were before they broke up, and I didn't know how many days and nights they spent together.

How could Aston's unrequited love be her?

At the supermarket entrance, the girl looked up at my boyfriend and smiled sweetly.

"Thank you, Aston."

Aston's fingers stiffly lifted up and handed the shopping bags to the girl.

"When did you come back?"

"The day before yesterday. You sent me a message saying you missed me, so I came back. I thought it would be a nice surprise for you."

The day before yesterday...

The day before yesterday was Valentine's Day, and it was also the second anniversary of my relationship with Aston.

Early in the morning, I pulled Aston out of bed to buy the ingredients for today's meal. I wanted to cook and celebrate our anniversary.

Aston was impatient and asked why we couldn't just go out and eat at a restaurant.

I was a bit upset with his attitude.

But I let it go, today was an important day.

I liked the warm and romantic feeling of cooking together at home, which no fancy meal outside could compare to.

Aston, who I dragged out of the house, was in a bad mood.

Eventually, he made up an excuse and left.

Despite this, I still bought the groceries and prepared a table full of his favorite dishes at home.

Unfortunately, Aston didn't show any signs of coming home until late at night.

The multiple calls I made were unanswered.

If he doesn't come back soon, his favorite seafood pot and spicy chicken will get cold.

An hour later, I finally received a call from his brother.

"Aston is drunk. Can you come and pick him up?"

When I hurriedly arrived, the room was in a mess, with several drunk men lying around.

The table was full of leftovers and bottles of alcohol scattered around.

How much did they drink?

Aston was sitting in a corner making a phone call, his voice was full of sorrow.

"Elise, I miss you. Three years ago, you left without saying a word and got married. You're so cruel, how could you be so heartless to me?"

The man in the corner was crying miserably, a sight I had never seen before.

I stood frozen at the door, unsure whether to go in or not.

"Aston, every year on this day you ask your brothers to come out for a drink. Today is Valentine's Day, and you're treating it like a breakup day. It's been three years, Elise is married now, you should let go. Besides, you should behave, it wouldn't be good if your girl friend heard this."

Aston suddenly covered the phone's microphone, his choked and hoarse voice sounded.

"I belong to her, is it not allowed for me to spend one day remembering my ex?"

The feeling at that moment was like falling into an ice cave.

It wasn't just because Aston had been missing his first love all along, it was also about the name of his first love.

Aston had never mentioned it in front of me. This was the first time I heard this name from his friend.

It should just be a coincidence. After all, she was not from here; how could she be in a relationship with Aston?

The conversation inside continued.

"Aston, didn't you say your girl friend would be cooking at home today? Are you sure you don't want to go back to check in?"

"Come on, the few dishes she makes, I can guess what they are without thinking, nothing more than spicy chicken, seafood vermicelli pot. Although they are delicious, I don't like these dishes at all."

The bitterness in my heart kept spreading. I stood outside the door for a long time until the topic inside changed.

After bringing Aston back home, a table of cold dishes went straight into the trash can.

The next day, a sober Aston acted as if nothing had happened, only apologizing to me.

"Sorry, Kyra, I drank too much last night because of my friend's hospitality. I will make it up to you by cooking for you in a few days."

I thought this perfunctory promise would never be fulfilled as before.

But today, Aston took the initiative to bring it up.

It seemed that his reunion with his ex-girlfriend was destined.

People were coming and going around, Aston's eyes were red, and the reflection in his eyes was only that of a person with a bright smile.

"Aston."

After a while, Aston spoke in a lost manner.

"Where do you live? I'll take you."

Elise James shook her head slightly.

"No place to live."

Aston tentatively asked, "Then, stay at my place first?"

"Okay."

"No."

Two voices sounded at the same time, and I frowned and refused indifferently.

It was May, but I only felt cold all over my body, frustrated and aggrieved.

Aston finally looked at me with his eyebrows furrowed.

"Kyra, don't make trouble. Elise is here without any relatives. She only knows me."

So what?

Despite my opposition, Aston picked up Elise's bag again and eventually brought Elise home.

The nervous and restrained look at Elise all the way showed how much he was afraid that the person in front of him would disappear again.

This was what it was like when he really loved someone...

He would be nervous and uneasy, excited and expectant, very vivid.

He couldn't even pretend to be like this with me.

Elise was loved wherever she went.

When we got home, Aston, who had never cooked before, went into the kitchen for the first time.

At the sight of the table full of mouth-watering dishes, I realized how good his cooking skills were.

Unfortunately, the table full of dishes that should have belonged to me did not have my favorite dish.

"Kyra, try this. It's the best dish Aston makes. It's better than any chef outside."

Compared with Elise's calmness, I was so stiff that I could hardly hold my fork.

I was really useless...

She was indeed good at pretending as always.

A dish of sweet and sour goose liver melted in my mouth.

It was delicious, not exaggerated at all.

Two years, the first time I ate the food cooked by my boyfriend, it was because of his ex-girlfriend.

There was no current girlfriend as miserable as me.

After dinner, I couldn't argue or refuse Aston's words about where a girl could go at this late hour.

But when Aston finished taking a shower and was about to walk into the room arranged for Elise, I still stopped him.

"Aston, it's too late. Don't disturb Elise's rest."

It was ridiculous that two years of being together didn't allow Aston to recognize the correct door, even though the muscle memory didn't belong to me.

After my reminder, Aston turned around with a look of loss.

"Kyra, you go to sleep first, I'll come after smoking a cigarette."

I closed the door with a feeling of loss, leaning against it, feeling somewhat powerless.

Aston had a heart transplant, he shouldn't be smoking.

It was just that he didn't want to enter my room in front of Elise.

Even the excuses were so perfunctory.

Now that the old love has returned, I, the current girlfriend, have become a person who makes Aston frown.

I should take the initiative to leave, to make room for their reunion.

But I didn't want to leave now.

At three in the morning, the space next to me was still empty.

Without having heard Aston's heartbeat, I simply couldn't sleep.

The sound of the next door opening in the silent night was particularly clear.

I should have been more tactful. I knew old feelings were easily ignited, yet I rushed forward, hurting myself in the process.

On the balcony, Aston was passionately kissing Elise.

The moonlight spilled on the two of them, and the madness, grievance, and the feeling of loss and recovery in Aston's eyes were all on display.

That's what love looked like at its peak, a feeling I was fortunate to experience.

I, the out-of-place official girlfriend, now felt like the third party.

I was destroying a loving couple to become a spouse.

"What are you doing?"

A sense of weightlessness sweeps over me, and I interrupt the scene in front of me with a hoarse voice.

Aston released Elise somewhat flustered, his eyes showing annoyance at my interruption, and then pulled her behind him to protect her.

What did this mean?

Did I look like I'm going to eat someone?

It was the one he was protecting behind him that seemed to be more aggressive.

Elise, with tears in her eyes, stepped out from behind Aston and tightly held his hand.

"Sister, I'm sorry, I love Aston, I can't leave him, can you let go?"

I laughed bitterly.

She always used her identity as a younger sister appropriately.

She took advantage of being loved, so she didn't reason.

Indeed, those who were favored had no reason to speak.

Unfortunately, the one who could make Kyra unreasonable was gone, his heart had eventually moved on to someone else.

"What about you, Aston?"

Aston was clearly more surprised by the relationship between me and Elise.

"Kyra, do you know Elise?"

"Yes, Aston, this is the sister I've mentioned to you before, what a coincidence."

Aston's expression became indescribable for a moment.

I could guess what Elise said without asking.

Elise and I were half-sisters.

When I was six years old, the grandmother who raised me died. I was taken to a new home by the only guardian who claimed to be my mother.

The new home had a lovely little sister who had been learning to paint since she was a child. She was so adorable that people couldn't help but like her. My uncle was also very good to me.

Until my sister turned ten, my mother signed her up for a world-class painting competition.

When we went out to sketch, my sister anxiously told me that she didn't actually like painting. Her teacher had said that she had no talent and advised her to find another interest.

My sister said she was sure she wouldn't win a big prize in this competition, but she didn't want to disappoint our mother.

She asked me what to do.

I couldn't understand her feelings because I loved painting, but my mother would never let me participate. She said it would be a waste of money if I learned.

In the end, I just told her not to worry too much. Our mother loved her so much that even if she didn't win a prize, our mother wouldn't blame her.

But my sister said I didn't understand.

Then she rolled down the hill from the sketching site.

I was scared out of my wits, and when I ran down to help her up, I was pushed away by my mother who had rushed over.

And my sister, she was sobbing, clutching her arm, looking at me.

"Sister, you want to participate in the competition, I can give you my spot. Since you came to this family, I've treated you like my real sister, how could you do this to me?"

Amid Elise's questioning, I received a loud slap and saw mom's uncontrollable disgust on her face.

Since then, I had to give way to whatever Elise wanted. Mom would always say that I owed her.

I didn't understand why Elise had to treat me like this, was it just because she wanted to avoid the competition?

But she said, "Sister, from the moment you stepped into this family, my dad said that you were nothing more than a parasite living in our house. How could you even think of being my sister?"

After this incident, my mom, who already thought I was a burden on her life, started to despise me even more.

Later, when I got into university, I finally had the chance to get away from them. I didn't hesitate to choose this city and never went back.

The door to my room was pushed open, and Elise walked in.

"Sister, I told Aston, it's been a long time since I saw you, I will sleep with you tonight."

Aston didn't respond directly to the recent drama, whether he wanted me or Elise.

I thought the answer was obvious, but he seemed hesitant.

"How did you get here?"

Elise naturally laid on my bed.

"Of course, it's for Aston. Can't you see that, sister?"

"Oh, by the way, there's another reason. Mom heard that you quit your job at the provincial hospital. She was angry for a long time. She asked me to ask you."

The word "mom" never appeared in my call history, how could she really miss me?

Elise looked at me in surprise.

"No way, sister, you really quit that good job, you don't think that by relying on Aston, you don't have to worry about anything, do you?"

"Sister, stop dreaming, Aston can only be mine."

It was ridiculous, she thought everyone liked to snatch things from others like she did.

I was just protecting what was mine.

With Aston's love, Elise fearlessly settled in.

She was so used to this house that even I, as the owner, had to step aside.

Congratulations to her, she succeeded. In the air where she was present, I didn't want to breathe for even a second more.

I made an excuse to go on a trip for a week, hoping that Aston could handle this messy love triangle.

After breathing fresh air for a week, it was a bit uncomfortable to return to this somewhat suffocating place.

But my most important things are still here, I have to come back.

I opened the door, the room was quiet, it seemed like there was no one, I breathed a sigh of relief.

"What are you doing?"

My angry voice scared the person who was sneaking around.

In the bedroom, Elise was focused on my computer, a picture of a couple embracing was on the screen.

The familiar yet strange face on the screen had been stuck in my mind for seven years, never forgotten but never dared to recall deliberately.