Chapter 1

Sandra Raines and I had been happily discussing plans for our anniversary getaway when her phone chimed. She glanced at the message, and her smile instantly froze.

I nudged her with my elbow. "What's wrong?"

She didn't answer. She simply stared at her phone, lost in thought.

"Sandy?"

When I called her again, she finally looked up at me. Her eyes were already swimming with tears.

"Sh-Shawn has cancer. He… He's dying..." she said, her voice trembling.

I froze at the sound of that name.

Before I could even react, Sandra had already rushed off, leaving me behind.

By the time I caught up with her at the hospital, she had already found Shawn Moore's room.

She was standing beside his bed, having finished reading his test results.

"How long have you known?"

Shawn's cheeks were so thin that they had sunken in, and his lips were pale.

"Three months. It's terminal. The doctor says I have a month at most."

After saying that, he looked over at me standing in the doorway.

"Theo, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to disrupt your lives. I just don't have anyone else to turn to, and I'm so scared..."

Sandra suddenly turned to me, her eyes filled with nothing but coldness.

"What are you doing here?"

The message in her eyes was clear. What right did I have to be there?

I smiled bitterly to myself.

This really wasn't the time to bring up our trip. The man was dying, after all.

"I came to help."

"What could you possibly help with? Just go home. I'll be back soon." Sandra spoke warily, as though she was afraid I might hurt Shawn.

As I left, I glanced back.

Sandra was already in Shawn's arms, comforting him. "Don't be afraid. I'm here."

With reddened eyes, Shawn wrapped his thin, bony arms tightly around her.

"Sandy, you're all I have. Please don't leave me..."

Sandra stroked his hair. "I won't leave you."

My wife was embracing another man. An endless bitterness churned inside me as I watched them, but there was nothing I could do.

Shawn was right. The living could never compete with the dead.

......

Sandra and I grew up together. Everyone said we were perfect for each other, and we felt the same way.

We started dating in high school.

But after graduation, my parents insisted that I study abroad.

I didn't want to go, because I didn't want to leave Sandra.

But under pressure from my parents, I had no choice but to tell her.

I would never forget that day. She held me tightly, reluctant to let go, and said through her tears, "I don't want you to leave, but I'll wait for you, no matter how long it takes.

"Theo, I'm still waiting for you to come home and marry me."

And so, we began a long-distance relationship.

She talked to me and encouraged me every day.

She was what kept me going while I was abroad, pushing me to work hard without ever letting up.

During the hardest period, much of my hair suddenly turned gray, but I still thought it was worth it.

Then, a year after I left, I saw a photo of her with another man on social media.

He was tall and slender, with a refined, scholarly air. His name was Shawn Moore, an upperclassman at her college.

I asked a friend about him and learned that Shawn had pursued Sandra relentlessly at school.

After spending an entire year fawning over her, he finally convinced Sandra to date him.

My friend also said, "I always thought you and Sandra would get married. I never expected you two to suddenly break up. A year after you left, she found someone new."

Breakup...

I stared at that word in stunned silence for a long time.

Yet Sandra continued sharing her life with me as usual, whether she was getting boba, going out to eat, or visiting an amusement park.