Chapter 3
But after Yumiko appeared, everything changed. The cakes they made for her were from expired ingredients; they refused to take her to the hospital when she needed it; they expected her, the patient, to bring them gifts.
Such childhood friends, she no longer wanted them.
“Just drink one cup and let this go,” Jacob said, picking up the drink that Winona had pushed away and holding it out to her again.
Wino, today is Miko’s birthday, just have one drink,” Felix chimed in as well.
Winona never imagined that one day, her childhood friends would be so indifferent toward her.
She had food poisoning and had just come back from getting an IV drip.
And now, what they were handing her wasn’t a drink, but poison that could take her life.
She pulled out her medical report and looked at the two childhood friends. “Do you still want me to
drink this?”
They both took the report and, after confirming that she had truly had food poisoning and had gone to the hospital for an IV, their faces shifted to one of awkwardness.
“I thought you were faking it this morning…” Jacob started, but was interrupted by Felix, who pulled
him aside.
Felix held out a glass of orange juice to Winona. “Wino, drink this.”
“No need. You guys enjoy yourselves,” she said, standing up to leave. But before she could walk away, Jacob grabbed her arm.
“Wino, are you really angry? We truly didn’t know you were really food poisoned this morning.
Plus, with Miko’s birthday party starting soon, we were busy making the cake and the card. We didn’t mean to ignore you.” Jacob tried to explain earnestly.
She didn’t want to listen anymore. Pushing his hand away, she stood up and left the party.
Felix instinctively stepped forward to follow her, but a voice from behind stopped him.
A Love Left Behind: Embracing a Better Future
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It was Yumiko, saying, “Felix, Jacob, I’m sorry, I didn’t know Wino was in the hospital this morning. I just wanted to invite her to celebrate my birthday.”
Her tone carried a helpless, pitiful kind of grievance.
Felix paused in his steps. Turning to Yumiko, he said, “This has nothing to do with you.”
“But Wino seems angry.” Yumiko’s voice was full of confusion.
Before she could say more, an irritable Jacob interrupted, “She’s definitely angry about the cake. Don’t worry, we’ll talk when we get back.”
This was their confidence built from twenty–plus years of being childhood friends.
But it wouldn’t be okay now. She had already made her choice.
She wasn’t unaware of Felix and Jacob’s feelings for her, but with the three of them being childhood friends, no matter who she chose, someone would be hurt.
She had always been torn, but now, it was clear that Felix and Jacob cared more about Yumiko.
The priority had shifted, and there was no need for her to worry about hurting anyone anymore.
She didn’t want any of them.
When she got home, she stared at the password lock at the door. With determination, she accessed the management program and deleted Felix’s and Jacob’s fingerprints.
At first, she was determined to build her career in B city.
Felix and Jacob had followed her without hesitation.
They had said it was because they were childhood friends, and that they would always be together.
She designed architectural blueprints, entered competitions, and worked on construction projects.
The two of them handled interior design and helped find companies. They created art design galleries and aesthetic sculptures.
As they gained recognition in B city, she bought two apartments across the hall from each other. She lived in one, and the other was for the two childhood friends.
They had said it would be perfect, so they could all live together forever. None of them would ever be left behind.
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They ate meals together, celebrated victories, and threw parties.
Wnfortunately, such moments would never come again.
After deleting their fingerprints from her apartment, she moved to the other apartment across the hall and deleted her own fingerprint there as well.
She was resolute–if she was going to cut ties, it would be thorough.
Just as she finished, Felix and Jacob returned, supporting Yumiko, laughing and chatting,
But when they saw her standing at the door, the once warm atmosphere immediately turned cold, as
if ice water had been poured onto a boiling pot of oil.
The atmosphere became eerily silent.
