I Never Should've Saved You

"Justin, I really wish you'd never been saved when you were nine. You should've just been left to die."The moment Simone Scott said that, the private room exploded with noise."Holy shit! Sim, that's brutal!""Next time, when Justin's hearing is fully fixed, you should lean right into his ear and say it again. I'm dying to see if he'll cry when he hears it. Bet he'd look all meek and pitiful, like some goody-two-shoes pretending to be innocent.""Why would it matter if he heard it? Who would want a cripple anyway? Sim's the only one charitable enough to keep him around."I froze where I stood.My fingers clamp tight around the hearing recovery report stuffed in my bag, my mind completely blank.After the college entrance exams ended, my parents took me out of town to see specialists. My hearing was cured, and I no longer needed a hearing aid.Today was my birthday.I'd planned to surprise Simone.I wanted to tell her my hearing was healed, that I wouldn't be her burden anymo

Simone froze in place for a long moment before finally lowering her arm. Her arm was numb, and annoyance crept into her voice as she snapped, "What the hell is wrong with you today?"You were tearing up when you agreed to my confession. And now you're turning on me like this? Justin, do you even remember how obedient and well-behaved you used to be?"My chest tightened, and I couldn't even bring myself to respond.I'd been living in a dream, believing she only cared about me. I imagined us going to college together in Movaia, sharing meals and living side by side. Then, we would get engaged, married, and start a family after graduation.But today, the truth hit me like a knife.I finally understood that she never loved me.To her, I was just the child she owed her life to, a nuisance she could easily ignore.I took a deep breath and repeated calmly, "I'm not joking. The breakup is real. Don't contact me again."Simone suddenly lost it. She threw the jewelry box onto the floor,

Ralph wiped at his eyes, though there weren't really any tears. "I felt guilty as hell about yesterday. I really did. I just didn't expect you to have such a bad temper. I treat Simone like one of the guys."Don't be mad, okay? It's all my fault."If I'd watched my boundaries, you wouldn't have left. Mrs. Gale, I was so overwhelmed with guilt that I nearly jumped off the roof, but please, don't blame—""Are you done?" My mom cut him off, her voice dripping with mockery. "Guys these days don't seem to know how to behave. Always acting like an innocent victim."My son didn't stoop to your level because we raised him to know his boundaries and not run his mouth. But what about your parents?"You spend all day hanging out with groups of ladies. Do you even understand that there are boundaries between men and women? If your parents didn't teach you, then I will."Behaving like that? People online would call you… a total fake."I laughed, then shoved him lightly and shot back, "You re

At that, my parents smiled right away. "He went out of town for treatment, and his hearing's fully recovered now."Amelia was overjoyed, but she still wasn't ready to give up. "Justin, why don't you wait until Sim gets back before deciding? She has a right to know, too."When you were little, you followed her around every day. You even saved her life. How could those feelings just disappear?"I lowered my gaze to the coffee table, watching the tea ripple faintly in the cup."Mrs. Scott, neither of us loves the other anymore. There's no point dragging this out and hurting each other."Lucas let out a long sigh. He clearly understood our family's stance. He stopped Amelia from continuing and instructed the housekeeper to bring out the old engagement papers from years ago.Watching both copies get torn up, burned, and reduced to ashes, I finally felt like I could breathe again.I made one last request. "Amelia, Lucas, please don't tell anyone about this yet. Let's deal with it slow

At the time, Simone's attention was on comforting Ralph. She never noticed that I wasn't wearing my hearing aid at all that day.I heard from mutual friends that she had been asking around for me.That didn't surprise me in the slightest.Maybe she'd finally learned that my hearing had been fixed and belatedly realized that I'd already heard every cutting word she said that day in the private room.But none of that mattered anymore.My days in Juville were full and busy. Even though military training wore me out like crazy and left me sunburned in places, I'd never felt this free or light before.I joined several clubs and made a lot of new friends. I even went to a few mixers hosted by the upperclassmen and added some people to my contacts.When I saw that familiar figure standing downstairs outside the men's dorm, I was genuinely caught off guard. I planned to take a detour and leave.But Simone spotted me first and walked over, her steps quick.Her tone carried a hint of pl