Chapter 2

I swallowed the bitterness and couldn't hold back anymore.

"There are plenty of firefighters. Why does it have to be you?" I asked. "Brandon picked today to jump, and insists on you being the one to save him. What's his game?

"Kathy, I'm not stupid."

After a long silence, Kathy held my cold hand, her voice hoarse with emotion. "Austin, in these seven years, I've never asked you for anything.

"Just this once, I'm begging you not to let this get out, and don't let it hurt Brandon. I'm afraid his condition can't take another hit."

I looked into her eyes, so earnest and sincere, and it was like someone had a fist around my heart. I could barely breathe.

She shouldn't be begging me. She should be apologizing.

She didn't even stop to think how humiliating it was for me, being left behind at the wedding.

She never once cared why I ended up in the hospital.

Whenever she spoke, it was always about Brandon.

Tears fell like beads off a broken string, splattering onto the white sheets and leaving dark, spreading stains.

It took every ounce of strength I had to force out, "Okay."

She visibly relaxed, then continued, "Brandon's been really unstable since he found out I was getting married. Maybe we should postpone the wedding for now.

"I'll stay with him while he goes through treatment, and once he's a little better. Maybe after three months, just three months, we could hold the wedding. Would that be okay with you?"

Kathy's voice was careful and tentative.

I'd waited seven years already. What was another three months? It was indeed nothing.

But I saw her eyes, filled with concern for Brandon, not me. Suddenly, even three months felt impossible to bear.

My body was falling apart, and I was sick as hell. The woman who used to panic over a single cough from me now seemed miles away from me.

I slowly pulled my hand away, my voice dead calm, like still water.

I said, "Kathy, I'm not someone with a great memory, but I remember when we were seventeen, you handed me that love letter out on the school field, so nervous you could barely walk straight.

"I remember the first time you held my hand. Your palms were sweaty, and you held on so tight. We walked three blocks and you never let go.

"I remember graduation day, when you hugged me and said you'd look after me for the rest of our lives, that you'd make me the happiest groom in the world.

"All these years, you remembered my food preferences, knew which medicine I needed whenever my stomach flared up, and every little thing about me. I always thought I was the one you loved most."

I looked up at her, and it was like the dam broke inside me. Tears just spilled out. "But today, I can't feel your love for me anymore."

Seven years of memories crashed through her mind, and Kathy's eyes brimmed with tears. She swallowed hard, and a single tear slipped down her cheek.

"But Austin, Brandon can't do without me right now," she said.

Her words crushed whatever hope I had left.

I looked at her and suddenly laughed, with tears in my eyes. "Then go."

She was stunned for a moment, clearly not expecting me to say that.

But in the end, she didn't say anything. She simply turned around and left the hospital room.

The next day, I packed up my things and was about to leave the hospital. As I turned the corner in the hallway, I bumped into Kathy.

She didn't even look at me. All her focus was on the guy next to her.

Brandon Davisson was dressed in a hospital gown, face pale as a ghost. Kathy was holding him up, almost cradling him, like he was a frightened little deer.

So this was the guy who made her walk out on me at the wedding.

Maybe it was the heaviness in my gaze, but Brandon spotted me first. He instinctively shrank behind Kathy, gripping her sleeve tight like a scared kid.

Only then did Kathy turn to me, her brows furrowing with clear impatience.

"Austin, Brandon's really unstable right now. If you have something to say, wait till we get home. Don't start anything here and freak him out," she said, her tone sharp.

Brandon nervously poked his head out from behind her, his voice so soft one could barely hear him. "Austin, there's really nothing between me and Kathy. It's not what you think."

I squeezed the checkup slip in my hand, my fingertips turning white, but I forced a weak smile. "You guys are overthinking. I'm here to get discharged."

I didn't bother with them anymore, just turned and went to pay.

Kathy's expression turned odd for a second, like she hadn't expected me to be so calm. She looked a little lost for a moment.

She tried to reach for me, and I instinctively turned my head. That was when I noticed a stain on her coat.

Her gaze followed me as I took off my coat. She took off her own jacket too, trying to put it on me, but I dodged her.