Chapter 2
Victor typed: [Don't be so petty, okay? If I was into Melissa, we would have kids by now. I wouldn't be with you instead.
[Please trust me, alright? We can't be together without trust. I swear, you're the only one I love. Please believe me.]
I didn't respond. I only thought it was ridiculous, and my chest felt more and more suffocated.
Not long after, he sent another message. [If you're still worried, how about you look after Melissa instead, alright?]
But then I saw Melissa posting lovey-dovey stuff on her feed.
She shared a cozy pic of herself snuggled up in bed, with Victor massaging her belly.
Her caption said: [Having a husband is awesome. Even when it's just my time of the month, he gets all worried.
[Childhood friends really are the best. No matter what, he'll always put me first.]
Suddenly, it all felt pointless to me.
Right then, it hit me: guys are a dime a dozen. Victor wasn't some rare treasure. He was definitely not worth me falling apart or feeling miserable over.
The next day, I went to the mall to pick up a customized birthday gift for my dad, and bumped into Melissa.
She was talking to the sales assistant.
"I'll wait for my husband to choose. He's got a better eye for these things," Melissa said.
When she saw me, her smile widened, and there was a provocative glint in her eyes.
"Hey Jillian, fancy seeing you here," Melissa said.
I ignored her and kept walking.
But Melissa blocked my way, her smile growing even more smug.
"Seriously, you followed us all the way here? Was that really necessary?" she sneered. "You can stalk us during the day, but what about at night?
"Come on, Victor and I are legally married now. What do you think married couples get up to after dark?
"And just so you know, last night was our wedding night."
I didn't show any emotion. My gaze simply turned icy and my voice was steely.
"You're overthinking it. He's married to you now, so he belongs to you," I said. "I'm not like you. I don't have the nasty habit of going after what belongs to someone else."
Melissa gave a disdainful smirk.
There were several obvious hickeys scattered across her slender, pale neck.
"Since you already know Victor is mine, you'd better have some self-awareness and stop pestering Victor. Don't get in the way of our 'married first, love later' life," Melissa said.
She made sure to stress the words "married first, love later."
She deliberately lifted her hand, swept her bangs back, and flashed the lucky charm on her wrist.
All at once, my heart felt like it had been stabbed with a needle.
The lucky charm on her wrist was the one I got for Victor five years ago. I had gone all the way to Mount Nava for it.
That year, he caught the flu, which turned into severe pneumonia. He had to be rushed to the hospital several times.
The doctors said even if he recovered, his health would never be the same, that his immune system would be shot, and he'd be getting sick all the time.
Back then, I'd always been a total science person, but for the first time in my life, I actually started believing in God.
For him, I prayed for days in the church on top of Mount Nava.
It took three whole months of devout praying before I finally got that lucky charm.
Victor was overwhelmed with emotion and made me a promise.
He said, "This is the most precious gift you've ever given me. I'll wear it on my wrist for the rest of my life, and won't remove it even if I die. Your love means everything to me, and I won't betray it."
But now, that lucky charm was on Melissa's wrist.
Melissa caught me staring at the lucky charm and said, "Victor gave this to me. I thought it was something special, but he said it wasn't, so he simply gave it to me."
A faint, cold smirk crossed my face.
"It's really nothing special. He's not worth the trouble," I said.
As I spoke, Victor walked in from behind Melissa.
She changed her expression in a heartbeat, like an actress switching masks.
She came right up to me, all smiles, and linked her arm with mine.
"Jillian, my maid just got back from abroad to take care of me. Victor wants to thank her with a piece of jewelry. Can you help us pick something out?" Melissa said.
A wave of disgust washed over me.
"Jillian, you're here too?" Victor said.
He acted like there was zero tension between us.
He even seemed surprised to see me there with them.
He'd totally forgotten that half a month ago, I'd told him that we were getting our marriage license on May 20th, and that my dad's birthday was on the 21st.
I'd said, "You've always wanted to get him a birthday present, so show me what you can do this year."
Back then, he promised he'd find the perfect gift for my dad.
But now, he was busy picking out a gift for Melissa's maid, like he'd totally forgotten his promise to get my dad a birthday present.