In order to force me to break off the marriage, my fiancée made my father's company bankrupt. She then left him with tens of millions of dollars in debt.
My father suffered a heart attack due to the shock. He was sent to the emergency room.
When I was kneeling down and begging my fiancée to help with the operation, my childhood friend Esmeralda Rosendale suddenly returned to our country, Luksemburg.
Esmeralda helped my father arrange for a doctor. She also stayed with me at my father's bedside day and night.
But a week later, my father suffered another heart attack. In order to let my father leave with peace of mind, I knelt in front of the hospital bed and swore that I would marry Esmeralda and love her for the rest of my life.
After the funeral, I was disheartened and cancelled my engagement with my fiancée. Instead, I married Esmeralda Rosendale, my childhood sweetheart. But five years later, I overheard my ex-fiancée's conversation with Esmeralda.
“Oh, Gosh. Your trick is very good and smooth. You made Euharrell Givenlee, the dog's skin, willingly give up on me. Do you think he would want to kill you if he knew that you were the one who killed his dad back then?”
***
My hand paused as I pushed open the box's door, which lurched. My ex-fiancée's teasing voice continued to ring out from the box.
“I don’t know that you can be really cruel. Euharrell grew up with you and treated you as his own real sister. I guess he would never have thought that the person who made his father's company go bankrupt would be you.”
“If it wasn't for Raymond Fletcher, I wouldn't have been blackballed for you for so many years. Although I hated him, I can't do anything to make his father angry to death.”
The wine glass was heavily placed on the table. Esmeralda said with a drunken look, “I will spend my whole life to make up for what I owe to Euharrell. Back then I will help you also because I want Raymond to be happy. If you dare to let Raymond Down and let him shed a single tear, I will take your life.”
The woman on the other side smiled and sighed. “You are so infatuated. It's a pity that a person like Raymond Fletcher met me first. You'd better protect your Euharrell Givenlee well. After all, you killed his father. Be careful not to be killed in your dreams at midnight.”
“Bang” The glass hit the door hard and shattered all over the place. The footsteps approached. It made me take a deep breath and run to the downstairs bar. I raised the glass and drank it all in one gulp. I choked out tears that filled my eyes from never drinking like that before.
The words I had just heard echoed in my head over and over again. The person who made my dad's company go bankrupt back then wasn't even my fiancée, but Esmeralda Rosendale, who also paid for his surgery.
When my dad had a heart attack a week later, it was also because of what Esmeralda said. No wonder my dad was staring at Esmeralda before he died.
At that moment, I was naive enough to think that. It was my dad's gratitude and testament to her.
The wife who slept with me for five years and was held in my palm was the one who indirectly killed my dad. All those years of marriage and false love were just the so-called compensation for her guilt. It was really ridiculous for me. Sadness and anger rolled in my heart.
My eyes had just fallen on the wine glass in my hand when Esmeralda suddenly hugged me gently from behind. Her head buried into my neck. Esmeralda’s drunken voice was full of tenderness.
“Euharrell Givenlee, why did you leave for so long? I miss you so much. Let's go home, Euharrell. I really love you so much. I can’t live without you.”
In recent years, every time Esmeralda got drunk, she would murmur her love for me. Her sisters all said that the truth came out after drinking. It made me believe that Esmeralda really loved me. But now, all of this seems extraordinarily ridiculous to me.
I didn't move at all. I just pushed her away calmly. Then I helped her into the car. Esmeralda collapsed on my lap. Her brows stretched out breathing evenly like she was asleep.
“Raymond Fletcher! Raymond, why didn’t you choose me? Why?”
This time I finally heard it clearly, the name that appeared in her dreams countless times.
The name Raymond Fletcher was very familiar to my ears. I paused for a moment to try to remember the name again. I then remembered that he was the man who stole my fiancée and Esmeralda's sweetheart. It turned out that Esmeralda never forgot about him. She even pretended to be affectionate for him and me to marry. It was me who underestimated her love for Raymond Fletcher.
The phone clanked out of the woman's pants pocket. I bent down to pick it up just as a message popped up on the screen.
[Esmeralda, thank you for helping me block the wine tonight, but I’m sorry. I can't take the necklace you gave me. It's too expensive.]
The next second, I saw Raymond's circle of friends named ‘Love is priceless’. The accompanying picture was a necklace that shone like nothing else. It was the only one in the world that was auctioned off by the mysterious tycoon in the news at a cost of one hundred million dollars. I knew Raymond had sent it to me specifically to see.
This week Esmeralda was so busy that she didn't have time to eat. She was sent to the emergency room with a sudden stomach disease.
But as soon as she opened her eyes, she flew to England.
I was furious and heartbroken that she didn't even want to lose her life for the sake of her work. Later I realized that she was going to an auction.
Even though she was in pain and couldn't stand up straight, she was going to auction for the world's most precious necklace. Esmeralda dedicated it to her sweetheart.
I entered the lock screen password for some reason. After entering the last number, the lock was successfully unlocked. It was Raymond’s birthday. Esmeralda never let me look at her cell phone. She wanted us to leave personal space for each other.
Just after unlocking it, Raymond's bright and handsome smiling face came into my eyes. No wonder Esmeralda's eyes were inexplicably gentle whenever she unlocked her phone. I then opened her photo album in the phone gallery.
I then realized all the names were the same. It was about Raymond Fletcher. I saw Raymond’s pictures when he was ten years old, eleven years old and twenty-five years old.
Each album recorded Raymond's smiling face at different times. None of the thousands of photos belonged to me, not even herself. It was only Raymond Fletcher. Just like her heart, there was only Raymond from the beginning to the end.
When I opened the memo, it was Esmeralda's diary.
[2018, Raymond cut his leg by a branch today. It's all my fault, I shouldn't have planted a tree in the yard.]
[2024, Raymond got married today, as long as he's happy anything I do is worth it. I love to make her happy].
[2024, I got married. The moment I saw Raymond on the stage. I wished that the person standing beside me was him.]
The car pulled right into the yard. Looking up at the bare yard, my hands and feet were cold. There were originally two peach trees in the courtyard. Esmeralda transplanted them from the old house of the Givenlee family's old mansion. They were planted by my father when I was ten years old. Whenever I saw them, I felt that my father had never left. He was still with me until now. But suddenly one day, the two trees that were originally full of peaches rooted inexplicably.
Esmeralda hugged and coaxed me for three days and three nights. Now I realized that it was also her who destroyed the only thought my father left me. The message from her assistant popped up.
[Mrs. Esmeralda, according to your order, your will is ready. All the property is left to Mr. Raymond Fletcher. It will take effect as long as you sign it.]
I seemed to see in the misty tears. The woman who held me in her arms at the funeral that year and made me a promise was a traitor.
Esmeralda said to me, “Euharrell, I will give you a home. Everything I have belongs to you.”
I put Esmeralda on the bed slowly. I didn't take off her shoes like I did in the past. I turned around and went directly to the guest room. When I closed my eyes, my mind was full of the way she loved me all these years. The early morning sunlight sprinkled on me. When I opened my eyes, I met Esmeralda's gentle eyes.
She leaned over herself. Esmeralda gently drops a kiss on my forehead.
“Euharrell, were you angry last night? I'm sorry. I drank a little too much at the social gathering last night. I promise you I won't do it next time.”
I looked at her eyes. Her look was just like before. I gently hummed and pushed her away. I went into the bathroom to wash out the remaining warmth on my forehead. The table was filled with breakfast. If it was before I would have been very happy. But after reading Esmeralda's memo, I could no longer be happy.
All the dishes on the table were Raymond's favourite food. The sound of a key opening the door came from the foyer. Then I saw Raymond was wearing a clean suit. Naturally, he walked in and sat down at the table.
Raymond smiled at me and explained deliberately, “Euharrell, I’m sorry, if I am disturbing you. I had a shoot with Esmeralda this morning. That's why she asked me to come for breakfast.”
I didn't say anything but just looked at the keychain in his hand, which was the same as mine. Esmeralda keenly sensed my emotions.
She then came closer to me to explain in a low voice, “Raymond Fletcher is our best friend, Honey. It's normal for him to have the key to our house.”
Before she could finish her words, her voice changed abruptly. Esmeralda anxiously stood up and snatched the soy milk from Raymond's hands across her side.
Esmeralda said, “Raymond, you can't drink soy milk. After so many years, how come you still can't remember it yourself?”
Raymond pursed his lips and smiled. His tone filled with laughter.
“Yes, it's fortunate to have you around all these years.”
They looked deep into each other's eyes as if they were a pair of lovers for many years. I wasn't interested in watching their intense love anymore. I was about to go out when Raymond called out to me.
“Hold on, Euharrell. I remember you studied photography. Can you help me with today's shoot? I don't trust the new photographer.”
I haven't touched a camera since my father died. As soon as I pick up the camera, I think of my father, who taught me photography since I was a child.
My mind was filled with his reluctant and fragile appearance when he left. It made me no longer have the courage to press the shutter.
Esmeralda Rosendale knew about that. So she locked all my cameras in a cabinet and told me that I shouldn't force myself. She also would accompany me to walk out slowly until I was willing to pick up a camera again. But at that moment, she didn't wait for me to say anything and directly pushed me into the back seat of the car.
“Euharrell, you know Raymond gets carsick. So, I'll ask you to sit in the back, please.”
But she forgot that the one with worse motion sickness was me. I hadn't eaten two bites of breakfast. My stomach turned over on the way.
When we arrived at the location, Esmeralda carefully organized Raymond's suit. She held his arm to enter the shooting room. On the other side, I leaned against the side of the car and gasped for fresh air.
“Euharrell, the photo shoot is about to start. Don't be willful and take good photos. This photo shoot is very important to both Raymond and us.”
Esmeralda suddenly and vigorously dragged me in with great force. I didn't stand still and almost fell on the ground. I picked up the camera again after five years. I actually felt unfamiliar and fearful. My hands couldn't help but tremble slightly. I tried to restrain the sadness surging in my heart and pressed the shutter again and again.
During the intermission, only Raymond and I were left in the shooting room. He flipped through the photos with a mocking smile at the corner of his mouth.
“Euharrell Givenlee, you are really as useless as your father. You can't do anything right. It's true that like father, like son.”
My fingernails embedded hard into my palms. My body trembled slightly. I felt that my anger was about to spurt out.
“Snap!”
A burning pain suddenly came from my face. Raymond shook off his hand condescendingly. He then looked down at me with contempt.
“Euharrell, you should know that you're really shameless. I really didn't expect that after you were withdrawn from the marriage, you immediately climbed up to Esmeralda. What part of you is worthy of her? Let me tell you, whether it's your ex-fiancée or Esmeralda Rosendale, it's all mine.”
