Chapter 3
The crowd's cheers were deafening. "Kiss. Kiss."
Jason looked at me.
My hands were trembling as I gripped the camera.
In the midst of all the commotion, I remembered that New Year's Eve, during the countdown, when he kissed me as the crowd cheered around us.
"If you kiss the one you love most in the middle of a crowd, you'll be happy forever," he once told me.
When Jason proposed, our friends were all teasing and cheering us on.
But in Jason's eyes, it was going through the motions.
He gave me a quick, perfunctory peck on the forehead, then pulled away immediately.
His future belonged to someone else now.
He leaned in slightly, pausing for a moment in front of Lila.
I couldn't take it anymore. I raised my camera, breaking up the party.
Lila looked like she was about to cry from fright. "Emily, isn't the rehearsal supposed to feel real?"
Jason moved protectively in front of her; the guilt in his eyes was gone, replaced by annoyance. "Why do you have to make such a big deal out of everything?"
Like that, it was all my fault again.
I dug my nails into my palm, turned on my heel, and walked away.
I could hear Lila moving to come after me.
Jason stopped her. "It's fine. She'll calm down if she's left alone.
"You've worked hard today. How about I treat you to a nice dinner?"
The laughter and teasing faded into the distance.
I sat by the lake I'd been longing for, but it felt empty.
Back then, even the slightest change in my mood would make Jason so anxious he couldn't eat.
"I can't let you go to bed upset. That would wear us down," he'd say.
When did things start to change?
I noticed that little charm hanging from his laptop bag.
The compact blush tucked in his suit pocket.
And those selfies on his social media, their faces pressed close together.
At first, when I asked, he'd brush me off with a few token replies.
But over time, it turned into me freaking out alone, and nobody even cared.
"Go to bed. I'm tired. We'll talk about it tomorrow," he'd say.
I felt bad for him, knowing how busy he was at work, so I swallowed all my feelings and kept them to myself.
But in the end, all I got was even more blatant disregard from him.
The rain began to patter down, soft and steady.
I hadn't even noticed when the last piece of clothing Jason bought me got a rip.
A tourist rushed over and called out to me. "Hurry up and get out of the rain."
Yeah, if I could step out of this rain that's held me captive for seven years, maybe I'd finally be free.
I opened the app and booked the earliest flight home for tomorrow.
By the time I got back to the camp, Jason and his group were already gone.
I called, and after a long wait, someone finally picked up.
It was Lila, letting out a panicked scream. "Oh no. We left Emily behind."
Jason took the phone. "Lila got caught in the rain and now she's got a headache. I'm going to take her to the hospital, so you'll have to make your own way back."
The next second, I heard the smart assistant's voice: "Sir, would you like to change the restaurant to the nearest hospital?"
I wanted to say something else, but my phone had already gone black from the rain.
The spot was thirty kilometers from the city.
It was pouring, and the roads were jammed.
Everyone was trying to hail a ride, and the demand was through the roof.
I couldn't get a ride, and I didn't have any cash, so I had no choice but to walk.
By the time I got home, it was already night.
My heels were rubbed raw and bloody by the high heels.
Jason got up from the couch, looking annoyed. "Where have you been? Why didn't you answer your phone?"
My phone was still dripping wet.
"My phone got soaked and broke. I couldn't get a ride, so I had to walk home," I said.
That's when he finally noticed my feet.
He drew in a sharp breath, frowning as he went to grab the first aid kit. "How old are you now? Why do you always have to make me worry?"
He opened the first aid kit, but it was completely empty.
He shot me a puzzled look.
"You gave all the meds to your assistant," I said.