Chapter 4
Jason was the one who bought the first medicine cabinet.
Inside, it was neatly stocked with all kinds of everyday meds.
"You're always getting scraped up, so I made sure to keep plenty of antiseptic and band-aids," he'd say.
"And when you're on your period, you should drink some brown sugar water. This painkiller has no side effects," he added.
But then, the man who used to carefully explain every medicine to me wasn't the same anymore. "Lila's got a stomachache and I can't find any medicine. Can you bring me some from home?
"Lila fell down the stairs and got hurt. I'm taking some first aid supplies. You should restock later."
Now, the medicine cabinet was covered in dust.
He seemed to finally remember everything he'd done and coughed awkwardly. "I'll have someone pick it up for you. Eat first, I packed this up for you."
He helped me to the dining room, and for a second, I froze when I saw the logo on the takeout bag.
This was the place I'd wanted to hold my wedding banquet.
Jason had always known about it, but he kept putting it off. "Why do you have to chase after these trendy spots? Even after booking, you have to wait three months, and the price isn't worth it."
And a week ago, he was still complaining to me about how business was bad.
It hit me. These were leftovers from his wedding with another woman.
I clutched my stomach, couldn't stop myself from dry heaving.
Jason snapped: "Come on, you can't expect everyone to stand out in the rain for you, can you?
"I went out of my way to help you rehearse, and now you're making a scene?
"Lila made sure to order all your favorite dishes, thinking about you the whole meal. Can't you stop nitpicking for once?"
Here we go again.
When Lila lost the files, he said it was my fault for not marking them properly.
When Lila was all over the place during her business trip, he blamed me because I wanted him to bring back something local.
Every single time, he always found some perfect excuse to turn it around and make it my fault.
I was so done with standing up for myself, only to end up looking pathetic every time. "No, I'm not feeling well. I'll sleep on the couch tonight."
Jason hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Fine, cool off if you want."
He turned and walked into the bedroom.
By the time I finished packing, it was already past midnight.
As I walked past the bedroom, I overheard Jason on the phone. "Her parents keep pushing us to get married. She won't back down."
He knew it all.
He knew I'd waited for him for seven years.
He knew my parents already saw him as family.
He knew I was the one who couldn't let go.
The next morning, he spotted the suitcase by the door and asked, "Where are you going?"
"I'll go to my hometown," I said. He froze for a moment before grabbing my wrist.
"Wow, you're really throwing a fit now, huh? Because I said a few words, you're running off to your parents to complain?"
I pulled my hand away, feeling drained.
"No, I..."
But he cut me off, not even letting me finish. "Alright, alright, I was wrong yesterday, okay? Today's our seventh anniversary. I've got a surprise for you."
I felt something inside me break.
I glanced at the time. There was still plenty of time before my flight.
In the end, I couldn't hold myself back. I still got in the car with him.
As soon as I opened the passenger door, the smart assistant blared another alert. Alert: "You let another girl sit in the front seat. Notifying Lila right away."
Jason stayed silent, watching as I opened the trunk.
A reminder popped up on the screen: "Hey, a reminder. The property transfer for Lila still isn't finished yet."
My heart sank, and before I could say a word, Jason quickly shut down the system and tried to steer the conversation elsewhere.
Jason quickly shut off the power and changed the topic. "I'll add your voice to the system later."
"No need," I replied.
He assumed I was still upset. Neither of us said another word.