Chapter 3

After the kiss, Jason sat down nonchalantly to Selina's left, looking completely unbothered. "I didn't break any rules. I'm right here on Selina's left, and the card never said when we had to start counting."

Edith's mind went completely blank, and a chill ran through her whole body.

She never expected Jason to kiss Selina right in front of her, without a second thought for her presence.

He didn't even spare a thought for how she might feel.

His expression was as cold as ever. Even when their eyes met for a split second, it was as if it meant nothing to him.

Even though Edith had already decided to let go for good, watching that scene unfold right before her eyes still felt like a thousand needles stabbing her heart, leaving it shredded and raw.

"Edith, you lost this round," someone next to Edith nudged her, snapping her out of it.

Only then did Edith realize the game had already moved on to the next round, and the bottle was now pointing right at her.

Edith took a deep breath, forcing herself to keep it together as she drew a card.

It read: [Say the name of your crush.]

Her roommates immediately perked up, eyes sparkling with gossip.

"Edith, we all remember you had a crush back in college. You were always buying him water, bringing him medicine, and even sending him gifts anonymously.

"No matter how much we asked, you never told us who he was. It's been years. Come on, you have to spill now."

"Seriously? Edith was always the top student, buried in her books. She actually had a secret crush? Who was it?"

Edith clenched the card tightly, and her gaze unconsciously landed on Jason.

But Jason only had eyes for Selina.

Edith forced a self-deprecating smile, almost as if she was torturing herself, and said, "My crush is..."

She was only halfway through her sentence when the glass chandelier overhead suddenly came crashing down.

The chandelier was about to fall right where Edith and Selina were sitting.

Before anyone could even blink, Jason reacted instantly, yanking Selina into his arms and shielding her protectively.

Edith's pupils contracted in terror. She tried to dodge, but it was already too late.

Glass shards burst everywhere, some embedding deep in Edith's shoulder. Blood ran down her arm, and the pain was so sharp that her face turned ghostly pale, cold sweat beading on her skin.

Even then, all Edith could hear was Jason fussing over Selina.

"Selina, are you alright? Did you get hurt?" Jason asked worriedly.

It was painfully obvious to everyone that Edith was the one who was bleeding, not Selina.

"I'm fine," Selina said, her cheeks turning rosy from Jason's obvious concern.

But realizing it wasn't the right time to be flustered, she quickly shifted the focus. "Edith's the one who's really hurt. We were right next to each other. Why didn't you try to protect her?"

Jason replied with a cold, careless tone, "I only care about you. Anyone else is irrelevant to me."

Edith froze, her whole body stiffening at Jason's words.

Jason used the word "irrelevant".

Five years of marriage, and that was all she was.

Edith dropped her gaze, a bitter laugh slipping out as tears streamed down her face. Clutching her bleeding shoulder, she gritted her teeth and tried to treat her wound with the first aid kit the waiter had brought over.

After such an incident, the class reunion quickly broke up and everyone started to leave.

After bandaging her wound, Edith hurried off to pick up Leo.

"Edith!" Selina's voice suddenly rang out behind her. Selina hurried over and grabbed Edith's hand. "Why are you rushing off like that? You didn't drive, did you? You're really hurt. Let me take you to the hospital."

"No, I'm fine," Edith refused kindly. "I have to pick up my child from the kindergarten."

Luckily, she was wearing black today, so the bloodstains barely showed. Her jacket hid the worst of it, so it was hard for anyone to notice she'd been hurt.

"Why don't you let your husband pick up your child? You're hurt so badly," Selina complained, clearly worried.

Edith's voice was icy. "I don't have a husband."

Honestly, whether she had a husband or not made no difference at all.

Right as Edith finished speaking, Jason stepped out from inside.

He gave Edith a deep, silent look, but said nothing.

Edith hailed a cab and made her way to Laylenia Royal Kindergarten.

To her surprise, as soon as she stepped out of the cab, she bumped right into the two people she'd just left behind.

"Edith? Your kid goes to Royal Kindergarten, too? Mine just transferred here. What are the odds? Come on, let's head in together," Selina said, grinning as she linked arms with Edith.

But she didn't notice that Jason looked a little awkward for a second.

Edith couldn't understand why Selina was suddenly acting so warm toward her. She remembered clearly how, back in school, Selina always acted like she was above everyone else, never even acknowledging them ordinary classmates.

But it was hard to say no to someone who was being so nice, so Edith kept quiet and let Selina link arms with her as they walked into the kindergarten together.

But as soon as they walked in, Edith could tell right away something wasn't right.

The playground was as noisy as ever, but this time, Edith heard a familiar crying mixed in.

It was Leo crying.