Chapter 3
Patrice didn't even remember this phone was a gift from my grandma.
Sophie and I were twins.
She was born frail, so our parents took her to the city.
I stayed behind and grew up with my grandma in a poor village.
I didn't look good, and I was timid, so my parents never liked me.
After I got a huge scar on my right cheek from saving someone, they despised me even more.
Only my grandma still loved me the same.
She'd always gently stroke the scar on my face, her eyes soft and full of warmth.
She'd always say, "Beauty isn't about looks. It's about what's in your heart.
"Emma, you're the prettiest girl in the whole world."
Ever since my grandma passed away, this phone was the only thing I had left of her.
Her photos were still on it, and whenever I missed her, I could open it up and look at them.
Now, it was all gone.
I held the shattered phone in my hands, my heart shriveling up.
Patrice's disgusted face kept flashing through my mind, cutting into my heart like a knife.
He really was good to me once.
Whenever I felt insecure about the scar on my face, he'd look at me seriously, cup my cheeks, and tell me I was always the most beautiful girl in his heart.
When some brat called me ugly and threw stones at me, he'd grab them by the ear and force them to apologize.
He never raised his voice at me or lost his temper.
We were always holding hands, like any couple in love.
When did things start to change?
It all started after he met Sophie.
After my grandma passed away, my parents brought me back to the city.
The first time Patrice saw Sophie, he was clearly amazed by her beauty.
Sophie was stunning, with fair skin, slender figure, like a princess out of a fairy tale.
Standing next to her, I looked like a homeless stray dog.
At first, when my parents showed favoritism, Patrice would still stand by me.
But then, one day, I was working late.
My parents were out traveling, and Sophie was home alone with a fever.
Patrice took her to the hospital and was gone all night.
I have no clue what went down between them that night.
All I remember was that the next day, Patrice looked at me with a chill I'd never seen before.
After that, whenever Sophie and I argued, Patrice wouldn't even hesitate to take her side.
I was jealous and hurt.
But Patrice gave me that snarky attitude.
He sneered, "Emma, you're such a phony. What right do you have to feel wronged?
"If it weren't for that accident, I was supposed to be Sophie's."
I'd already lost my parents' love. I couldn't lose Patrice, too.
So I decided to move out.
I thought that would finally cut Patrice and Sophie off from each other.
But Patrice constantly ran over to Sophie's place.
Whenever I ran into him, he'd look at me with pure disgust.
He sneered, "Emma, don't think you can trap me with these dirty tricks.
"You'll never have me, not my body or my heart.
"Both my body and my heart belong to Sophie."
He wouldn't even let me hold his hand, wouldn't hug me.
We couldn't even walk side by side on the street.
I was living like a widow.
I was tearing myself up inside, couldn't understand how Patrice could turn on me so quickly.
I kept pressing him for answers, desperate to know why.
Patrice's eyes were icy, completely devoid of warmth.
He said, "Emma, you're only a broke, tacky country bumpkin who can't stop lying. You're beneath me.
"No wonder even your parents don't love you. Who could ever love a liar like you? I regret being your mate."
His words cut me to pieces.
When I bought him, I promised I'd give him a good life.
But later, I spent almost all my savings on a proper burial plot for my grandma.
It was my fault I couldn't give him the life he deserved.
But wasn't he the one who begged me to buy him back then?