Chapter 2
There used to be a viral topic online: [No one can check their boyfriend's phone and end up happy.]
I never bought it back then, but I had no choice but to believe it now.
At the top of Adam's WhatsApp chat list was a girl with a cartoon profile picture. He had only added her a few hours earlier.
She must be the twenty-year-old undergraduate student Easton introduced him to.
In a few hours, they'd sent over a hundred messages and made plans to enjoy the night view at Westbrook Valley tomorrow night.
I'd been wanting to go there for ages, but he always said he was too busy. Now, he was happily making plans to go with someone else.
When they chatted, the girl would send a ton of cute stickers, and he'd reply seriously, always finding new topics to keep the conversation going.
If I hadn't seen him typing out those long messages, I would've almost forgotten that he used to be as chatty with me.
Now, most of the time, I was the one sharing, and he'd reply with [Yeah,] [Oh,] [Busy,] or nothing.
It turned out that love didn't fade away. It only moved on.
I spent the whole night out on the balcony, admiring the moon.
At breakfast, Adam kept glancing at the dark circles under my eyes and then finally said in a flat voice, "I've got another work dinner tonight. Don't wait up for me."
If I hadn't gone through his WhatsApp the night before, I would've felt sorry for him right then.
He hurriedly ate a spoonful of oatmeal, snatched up his coat, and headed for the door.
"Adam, do you remember what day it is today?" I asked.
He paused with his hand on the doorknob, turned back, and said impatiently, "Yeah, I know. But I really have plans tonight. Don't make a fuss."
The door closed behind him.
Right then, my phone buzzed with a reminder: [9th anniversary. Don't forget to pick up the gift.]
It looked like I wouldn't be giving that gift after all.
That line, "Don't make a fuss," kept replaying in my mind.
Yeah. We'd been through so many anniversaries together, but today was the first time he was dating that girl.
I pulled myself together and bought a ticket to Brightmane.
I suddenly wanted to see his reaction when the truth came out.
When I arrived, Adam was squatting down, snapping tourist photos for the girl.
She wore a white puffer jacket and a bright red scarf, flashing a peace sign at the camera with her cute little toothy smile.
As they looked through the photos together, she burst out laughing, gave him a playful smack, and teased him for making her look bad in the pictures.
They looked like two lovebirds, totally smitten with each other.
An ice cream truck rolled by, and Adam bought two cones. The girl leaned over and took a bite from his cone.
"Yours tastes better. Can we swap ours?" She giggled. "You won't mind that I've had a couple of bites, right?"
Adam didn't hesitate. He took her ice cream and took a big bite, his eyes full of tender affection. "I don't mind at all."
The soft look he gave her was the same way he'd looked at me years ago.
Once, I'd been craving something sweet while on my cycle. I'd only taken a few bites of my ice cream when he snatched it away and ate most of it.
He told me seriously that eating too many cold treats would mess up my body when I was on my period.
I smacked his shoulder as she did, and he dragged me over and kissed me hard.
The breeze on the soccer field was extra soft that night, and the sky was full of twinkling stars.
He said in a husky voice that he'd only care about me for the rest of his life.
But now, he was giving that same tenderness to someone else.
"Adam, when are you gonna break up with her?" the girl asked, tilting her head, looking all innocent. "Easton told me you two aren't getting along."
Adam froze for a moment and then said he hadn't decided.
"Adam, you need to think it through. Dating is whatever, but choosing a mate is serious business. If you end up with someone you don't love, the rest of your life is gonna suck," she said.
Adam tilted his head and gave her a playful flick on the forehead. "Who taught you that, little kid?"
She yelped, rubbing her forehead. Then she laughed, "Isn't it true? Mates share a bed every night."
Adam remained quiet for a long time before he said, "There is no chemistry between us."
"Adam, can you tell me about you two?" She blinked those wide eyes at Adam, her face full of eager anticipation.
He lit a cigarette and told her calmly how he'd rescued me, trembling with fear, from a rogue all those years ago.
She rested her chin in her hands, listening intently. Now and then, she'd gush about how heroic he was.
"No wonder Amelia is head over heels for you. If it were me, I'd totally want to be your mate too," she said.
Adam chuckled and teased, "Don't be silly. You really don't want to go through something like that. You have no idea how disgusting it was."
He blew out a slow ring of smoke, his voice cold. "Even after all these years, I still can't get that image out of my mind.
"It killed the mood instantly."
The girl gasped, covering her mouth in shock. "Oh my god, that's so gross.
"Hearing you talk about it makes my skin crawl. I totally get where you're coming from. Any guy would toss and turn all night, feeling disgusted after seeing something like that."
Adam smiled and said, "Yeah."
I clenched my fists so hard my nails dug into my palms, but I didn't feel a thing.
Was I really that disgusting to him?
Then how did he manage to stay with me for nine years if he was so disgusted?
How could he claim he loved me more than anything, yet calmly spill my shameful secret to someone else?
The hero who saved me from hell was now the one tearing away my last bit of dignity, letting my pride get trampled by others' words.
My heart broke, and a tidal wave of salty tears and emotions came crashing out.
In the end, I couldn't hold back the flood of sadness anymore.