Chapter 3

If I didn't apologize, or if the way I apologized didn't satisfy Victor, I'd end up just like today—blocked.

I scrolled through all our chat logs, reading each message with care.

Tears slipped from the corners of my eyes before I could control them。

At some point, all Victor wanted was for me to reply to him instantly. He didn't even care about my messages, and wouldn't reply at all.

Three months ago, for instance, when I had appendicitis, the pain drained all my strength and I could barely move.

I reached out to Victor for help. He ignored me.

But two hours later, he started blowing up my phone with messages. [You haven't messaged me in two hours. Where did you go?

[Were you off jumping into bed with someone, or seducing some random guy?]

By that time, I had already passed out from the pain.

Helen, my neighbor, was the one who realized something was wrong.

She called the police, they broke down my door, and she took me to the hospital.

Afterwards, Victor blamed me for not replying to his messages and said I had to buy him the newest sneakers.

Another time, two months ago, I was stuck at work until midnight.

Walking home all by myself, I was scared out of my mind.

I asked Victor to call me, so I wouldn't feel so alone. But he just left me on read, like always.

When I finally got back to my apartment, Victor was waiting for me at the door, staring at me coldly. "You didn't text me for an hour and twenty-five minutes. Why?"

I ran out of battery on my phone. I couldn't borrow a charger, and there were no cabs around.

So I had to walk all the way back to my apartment by myself, feeling totally alone.

I had so much I wanted to get off my chest.

But instead, Victor just sent me a link to buy something for him.

He sent: [You didn't reply instantly. Just buy me this shirt and I'll let it go.]

Stuff like this just kept happening.

I couldn't even remember when it all started. Our chat logs were always full of Victor's accusations and suspicion.

And I was always the one apologizing with my tail between my legs.

I sniffled, trying to hold back my tears. Then I opened up my social media feed.

Sure enough, Victor had unblocked me.

He even posted something new: [Heard Eridos is the perfect place for a vacation right now. If anyone wants to make it up to me, better start booking those tickets.]

I kept staring at that post for ages.

Then I opened up our chat again with Victor. [Victor, my brother got into a car accident and broke his leg.

[I'm struggling to take care of him alone. Can you come to the hospital and help me?]

I wasn't being dramatic or pushing my luck.

I figured, whether he was a friend or a partner, it was only fair to treat each other with respect and return the favor.

Last month, Victor's cousin had her baby and he asked me to help out, so I did.

Now my brother's in the hospital with a broken leg, so I asked Victor to come help me. He should show up, right?

Whether it was because we were together or to return the favor, he really ought to come, right?

I came up with every reason why he should. I even made it easy for him to say yes.

If he just showed up, I could... let bygones be bygones.

The hallway was still cold. I wrapped my arms around myself and retreated to the stairwell to wait.

I stayed there until the sun rose in the east.

Mom stepped out of the hospital room. "Emily, honey, is your boyfriend actually coming? If he doesn't show up, I'll call your dad."

I was at a loss for words.

Yesterday, when William was having surgery, Mom had already dropped hints about it.

At that time, I swore up and down that Victor would show up.

But now, twenty-four hours had gone by. He still hadn't come, and he hadn't even bothered to text me back.

I sent another emoji, testing if he'd bother to reply. But all I got was that bright red exclamation mark again.

Victor had blocked me once more. He knew I needed help, yet he blocked me anyway.