Chapter 3

But I didn't expect that right after sending Ethan's mother away, when I woke up from an exhausted sleep, I would hear Ethan's voice outside.

Hearing his voice, I was somewhat surprised.

You have to understand, seven years ago, Ethan hated me to the core.

He had once stood outside my house for three days and three nights, just to grab my neck and demand to know why I betrayed him.

After I cried and said I didn't love him, he punched through the glass in the hallway.

That day, although he didn't lay a hand on me, he was thoroughly disgusted by me.

When we ran into each other in the hallway, he would turn around and go back the way he came. Even passing by my front door, he would furrow his brows in disgust.

He even stopped going to the convenience store we used to frequent together.

He was so disgusted that whenever he heard my name, he would scold whoever mentioned it with a cold face. "Why bring up Jenny? If you don't find it disgusting, I do."

Even the day he left for the airport to go abroad, I braved heavy rain wanting to see him one last time.

When he saw me appear, he only disgustedly smashed the couple's ring we had bought together and the phone filled with all our photos together at my feet with a mocking laugh, then left without looking at me once.

But I didn't expect that seven years later, he would voluntarily come to my home.

However, in just a moment, through the open door crack, I understood the whole situation.

Ethan was tightly holding his fiancée's hand.

"Are you bothered by what happened seven years ago? Is that why you won't let Jenny take us to choose a wedding planning company and pick out rings?"

"I stopped liking Jenny a long time ago, and I've already let it go. We grew up together after all — if we can't be lovers, we can still be friends."

As soon as Ethan finished speaking, the girl standing beside him also chimed in:

"Mrs. Hayes, Ethan already told me about him and Jenny. Seven years ago, Jenny was the one who cheated, but they were young back then. It takes two to tango — our Ethan must have had problems too."

"Besides, I should be thanking Jenny. If she hadn't given up on Ethan, I wouldn't have met such a good man."

"So Mrs. Hayes, there's really no need to still hold onto what happened seven years ago. And it was my idea to have Jenny help us choose the wedding planning company. After all, Ethan and I haven't been back to the country for seven years and really aren't familiar with things here. Having older people make decisions — their aesthetic is honestly a bit hard for me to handle."

Seven years ago, when I was first diagnosed with cancer, my greatest wish was for Ethan to be able to forget me, to let me go.

But now, hearing Ethan mention seven years ago so calmly, mention me so calmly, and even tell his current girlfriend about me without any concealment — my heart still ached densely.

And my mom, hearing Sophia's repeated mentions of cheating and her passive-aggressive words, instantly turned red with anger.

Her lips trembled several times before she finally shouted at Ethan:

"You and your mother are both the same — shameless."

Hearing my mom's words, my heart tightened sharply. I propped myself up to sit up and called toward the door: "Mom, come into the room and help me into the wheelchair. I'll talk to Ethan myself."