Chapter 7
Things don’t always go as planned. Not long after I got off the plane, I was robbed by a group of locals who were openly discriminating against Chinese people. My phone screen was shattered into pieces.
It took a long time for the police to retrieve my money.
I immediately bought a new phone and got a new SIM card, intending to give my new number to a few close people. But as I scrolled through my contacts, I realized that the only person I could give it to was my mom.
For six years with Ethan, I had spent all my time revolving around him and his friends, slowly losing my own social circle.
Well, I guess this is how fate wanted it.
Following the address my mom had given me; I joined a well–known design studio in the
city.
The pile of work piled on my desk temporarily helped me forget my sorrow.
That is, until the day of the wedding, when my mom sent me a message saying that Ethan had fled the wedding.
She wrote, “I don’t know what got into that kid. He was fine before the wedding–shopping with Miss White for wedding dresses, taking wedding photos, all of it. But when the officiant asked him repeatedly if he agreed to the marriage, he just stared at the door and then ran
off.”
She sighed. “The White family is furious, and James is livid too.”
I couldn’t help but open the old phone I had smashed earlier, the one that had been left in my bag. The messages inside were all from an unknown number.
But I knew, without a doubt, that they were from Ethan.
I swiped from the bottom up, and saw everything–from his initial insults and accusations,
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to the later, desperate pleas.
As I reached the very last message, I froze.
“Grace, I love you. As long as you show up at the wedding before I say my vows, I’ll leave with you. If we can’t be together here, we’ll go abroad. I’ll follow you to the ends of the
earth.”
My heart clenched painfully in my chest.
The voice that echoed in my ears was like a mocking echo of his: “Just hesitate for a second, and I’ll let go.”
I hesitated for only a moment, and then I threw the phone into the trash. It was garbage, and it belonged where it was.
That evening, my mom sent me numerous voice messages through WhatsApp, her voice trembling with distress.
She said, “Grace, Ethan has gone mad. He wrecked the house and demanded that I and James tell him where you are. He was beaten by his father, and now he’s locked himself in the basement.”
My mom’s voice choked. “Grace, tell me the truth. Is there something going on between you
and him?”
I sighed heavily and then briefly told her about the absurd six years I spent with Ethan.
There was silence on the other end of the line, followed by muffled sobbing.
I thought I wouldn’t have any emotional reaction, but when I looked up and saw the window in front of me, I suddenly realized my face was drenched in tears.
“Mom didn’t protect you well. Don’t worry, that kid may be wild, but he’s no match for his
life anymore.” your father. I’ll make sure he won’t disturb
I tried to sound lighthearted as I comforted my mom, even though I felt numb inside.
After hanging up, I sat by the window and drank alone through the night.
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D
The room was pitch black, with only the distant lights outside casting a dim glow.
I thought to myself: It’s time to start a new life.
