Chapter 2

"Stop staring. Jacob is now Ella's husband. He has nothing to do with you anymore." I was an eyesore to my mother in every aspect. "Summer, Jacob's heart doesn't belong to you. Even if you tried to kill yourself, he wouldn't stay with you."

Then, she changed the topic, and the dark circles under her eyes made her look feeble. "Ella has a tumor in her brain. She might die at any moment. Let her live her life."

I stared at her. "When did they get together?"

"Halloween, four years ago. They registered for marriage but were worried that you'd notice. So, Ella couldn't have her wedding reception." She then looked away.

"Honestly, you brought this on yourself. If you hadn't poked your nose into our business and remained clueless, you could've gone on living your life with Jacob."

My memories slowly came back to me.

During Halloween four years prior, my mother had been detained at a casino because she was accused of cheating.

I drove to the casino on my motorbike and crashed into the door. Then, I paid fifty thousand dollars to bring her back.

At that moment, Jacob had called me to tell me to wait for him while he brought Ella to the city hall.

Mother knew that I was dating Jacob, yet because she hated me, she helped them lie to me.

The interrupted music of the wedding started playing again outside.

The guests started cheering. "Kiss the bride!"

I covered my face with the blanket. Suddenly, I felt tired. I could no longer fight for Jacob, and I did not want to do it anymore.

As my thoughts drifted away, I suddenly remembered a time when I was hospitalized.

That was the second year we were together.

I'd just undergone surgery for appendicitis and woke up once the anesthetics wore off. Then, I noticed Jacob lying in the bed next to mine.

The doctor came in to yell at him for being crazy. Apparently, he had lied about his own stomach pain and got his appendix removed as well.

Jacob winced as he smiled. "My girlfriend doesn't like pain. I'd need to know how much it hurts to know how to comfort her."

In everyone's eyes, Jacob was a crazy person who loved me to bits.

Yet that same crazy person held Ella in his arms as he said hoarsely that the three of us had to bear our sins together.

I got out of bed quietly to grab a box from my drawer.

When Ella found me, I was on the rooftop and throwing our photos into a pan of burning coals.

The fire ate away at our held hands, Jacob kissing my cheek, and the three of us tossing our graduation caps into the air.

Ella said, "Summer, stay away from the fire."

I propped my cheek on my hand. I was missing a molar.

While Ella was working, her boss harassed her, so I went to confront him. I ended up losing two of my teeth when he slapped me. I asked her, "Ella, three years ago, I noticed Jacob going to the hospital for a fertility test.

"I went to the hospital to catch him cheating on me, but you suddenly told me that you got into an accident. Back then, you already finished marrying Jacob and wanted to get a test-tube baby, right?"

She choked up. "Jacob knows that I like children and was worried that I couldn't afford to wait any longer. I just wasn't expecting you to be crazy enough to retrieve the security footage from all the convenience stores.

"I was forced to run back from the hospital."

I laughed. "I always acted crazy because I treated you as the best sister ever."

Then, I shrugged. "Not anymore."

The wind suddenly blew stronger. Ella drew closer, and the fire went toward her.

Jacob dragged her back and examined her, only to find that some of the threads on her sweater had been burned. "I told you to stay away from Summer and not to trigger her. Why didn't you listen?"

He sent Ella to my mother and glared at me in frustration. "Summer, if you want to set things on fire or jump off a building, just target me alone. Don't hurt Ella, I'm begging you."

I laughed. "I don't want to die with you anymore. I'm giving you my blessings. Why won't you believe me?"

I spread my hands open. Just now, I had also shielded Ella from the fire, and the blisters that had formed due to the heat popped.

He saw it but did not come forward.

Ethan ran over and mocked me. "Summer, you're stubborn. You just won't go to the grave alone without Jacob."

Suddenly, I turned around and climbed on the balcony railing.