第4章

The next morning, I came off the night shift and went straight to bed.

I didn't wake up until the afternoon, hungry. I headed to the kitchen to find something to eat, passing through the living room on the way.

Diana was trying on clothes in front of the mirror when she called my name.

"Nat, look at the wedding dress I picked for you. Isn't it gorgeous? Too bad you don't want it.

"But it's fine. Vincent said I could have this one. I picked out another one for you. He says I look good in it too."

That was when I realized Vincent was also there.

He gazed at Diana with adoring eyes.

"Di has such great taste. Every dress she picks looks stunning."

I said nothing.

Two wedding dresses. I hadn't tried on either one.

He'd only seen Diana wear them and already decided they were beautiful.

It never crossed his mind whether they would actually suit me.

I choked down two slices of bread in the kitchen and headed back to my room for more sleep.

Diana suddenly blocked my path and shoved a dress into my arms.

"Nat, just look at it. The new one I picked for you. The design is so clever..."

I tried to push the dress away and repeated myself.

"I already told you. The wedding is canceled."

Vincent frowned, his voice sharp with irritation.

"All this because your birthday gift wasn't good enough? You'd throw a tantrum and cancel the wedding over that?"

My answer was firm.

"It is!"

He glared at me.

"Over something this trivial?"

I stared back, expressionless.

"It's not trivial to me.

"Six years, Vincent. It's not just six birthday gifts and six birthday cakes. That was six years of hope.

"In the beginning, you gave us matching gifts. One pair of pearl earrings each.

"Over six years, the gifts you gave Diana got more and more extravagant. Watches, designer bags, a car, a condo, jewelry...

"And the gifts you gave me? Do you even remember what they were? Last season's sunglasses. Shoes in the wrong size. You even gave me men's cologne once. Two years in a row, the same exact monogram scarf. And this year, an expired serum sample."

Vincent stared at me blankly. He had no memory of any of it.

Every one of my gifts was something he'd casually told his assistant to grab.

After a pause, he fell back on the same old trick, softening his voice.

"Nat, I promise. Next year, I'll make your birthday really special!"

I laughed.

I'd heard that promise every year for as long as I could remember.

When I was little, it came from my parents.

For the past six years, Vincent had been the one saying it.

I was sick of it. And I didn't believe it anymore.

My parents and their favoritism were something I couldn't change.

But I'd always believed that I would be the one Vincent put first.

In the beginning, his deep, dark eyes truly held only me.

That was the security I'd been craving since I was a child.

Six months into our relationship, I brought him home to meet my parents. That was the day he also met Diana.

Gerald and Patricia told us to bring Diana along whenever we went out.

Otherwise she'd be lonely.

Diana started turning up on my dates with Vincent more and more often.

And little by little, I was no longer the only one reflected in his eyes.

I looked Vincent squarely in the eye.

"I've decided to call off the engagement. Next week, I'm leaving to join Doctors Without Borders. I don't know when I'll be back.

"I have surgery tomorrow, so let me head back to my room and—achoo! Achoo!"

Before I could finish, I broke into a fit of sneezing, my eyes and nose streaming.

Vincent grabbed tissues, but within a minute I was gasping for air, my face turning red.

Then came a meow.

I turned toward the sound and pointed a trembling finger at the kitten in the corner.

A second later, I couldn't breathe and blacked out.

Before my eyes shut, I saw Diana collapse to the floor in shock.

Vincent rushed over to steady her.

He left me lying crumpled on the floor.

In the last moment of consciousness, I pressed the emergency call button on my phone.