Chapter 4

But just then, I heard someone call out to me from behind, their voice full of excitement and disbelief.

"Helen?" David called.

"It really is you, Helen," David said.

I turned around and saw David standing across the street, holding Sophie's hand.

He looked like he hadn't shaved in days, with dark circles under his eyes, and his suit hung off him like he'd lost a lot of weight.

I was a little surprised, but then I thought, 'We're all in the same city, of course we'd run into each other sooner or later.'

I glanced behind him, but Emily was nowhere to be seen.

I had a pretty good idea what was going on.

"Is Emily's leg still not better? Are you here to buy her some supplements?" I asked.

David froze for a moment.

But Sophie had already thrown herself into my arms.

Tears and snot streamed down her face. "Mom, where have you been? Dad and I have been looking everywhere for you."

I felt a little guilty, I really hadn't expected them to come looking for me.

Once I was on the train, I texted them to let them know I just needed some time away and told them not to look for me.

I gently patted Sophie's head.

Then I turned to David and asked, "Is Emily's leg better?"

David looked bitter.

'It's not like I actually want to ask about Emily,' I thought.

'But ever since she hurt her leg, that's all David and I ever seem to talk about,' I sighed to myself.

I told him I'd just made a new bag today, it's just right for spring.

He said spring's the best time to get outside, but Emily's leg still hasn't healed.

I said this dish is still good, and he replied that Emily's still stuck in the hospital, wondering if she gets lonely eating by herself.

I always thought I met David because I saved him when he was drunk and passed out on the street.

But I had no idea that day was actually the day Emily married someone else.

On our wedding night, Emily called him while she was drunk, and without a second thought, he changed his clothes and went to her.

Back then, I thought we were truly in love, so I angrily pointed right at his nose.

"David, if you leave now, I'll divorce you," I said.

But he still went.

But I just couldn't bring myself to divorce him, so I made him promise me something.

"From now on, if anything happens with Emily, we'll reach out to her husband first," I told him.

He agreed, but her chat was still pinned at the top of his WhatsApp, and it never got unpinned.

Whenever Emily craved those classic ravioli from their old school, he'd buy them and drop them off at her office.

David's voice was a little hoarse. "Helen, don't be mad. Come home with me. Emily..." he said, struggling. "I've already called her husband to look after her."

'Did he really come all this way just for me?' I wondered.

I thought for a moment, then asked, "But what if her husband doesn't do a good job taking care of her?"

"Don't worry, that won't happen," he said urgently. "Helen, I know I messed up. From now on, it's just the three of us, me, you, and Sophie. Emily won't be in our lives anymore."

But when I heard that, my heart just felt numb.

David always said Emily was like a little sister to him, he'd gotten so used to looking after her, it was almost automatic for him now.

Whenever she needed something, he always stepped up, no questions asked.

But what about me?

When Emily's kid was sick, mine was too.

When Emily couldn't get a cab after work, I couldn't either.

I was always second to Emily.

Life was supposed to be sweet and wonderful, but with David, every day just dragged on, and I never had anything to look forward to.

He didn't even notice I was gone until a whole month had passed.

When David tried to pull me back, he said he had regretted it since the day after I left.

He admitted he never should've made me go out alone to buy the cake for the family dinner.

He said he tracked me down to Cloudridge and spent ages looking for me there.

And as soon as he found out I was still in Riverside City, he came running back.

I asked him, "Do you even know why I left?"

He grabbed onto it like a lifeline. "It's because of Emily, isn't it? I swear, I'll keep my distance from her from now on."

He spoke urgently, "Helen, after you left, I realized I'd already gotten used to having you by my side. I've loved you for, "

I cut him off. "You know, even random people on the street, the cake shop staff, and strangers at the train station could tell I was miserable.

"But the two people I'm closest to, the ones I see every single day, didn't even notice.

"Or maybe it's not that you couldn't see it, but you just didn't bother to care.

"You can't force something that's not meant to be. If the two of you like Emily so much, then go live with her.

"Her husband cheated on her, didn't he?"

David's face went stiff. "Helen, I was wrong."

I continued, "I've been thinking a lot lately. Life's too short, you've got to be with someone who really gets you if you want to be happy.

"I love making crafts, but you always complain about all the bits and pieces everywhere, saying the house is messy.

"The lacquer bracelets I made, you said even the housekeeper wouldn't care for them. But when Chloe and my coworkers saw the pictures, they kept begging me to make some for them.

"So, David, you don't really love me.

"I don't want to spend my birthday listening to you guys plotting how to leave me behind and go out without me."