Chapter 3

[Susanna's POV]

It wasn't until the day of a hiking activity organized by a student club that things changed. Because of my period cramps, I fell behind before ending up completely lost.

I was left alone, stuck in a dark forest teeming with animals, with no reception on my phone. I waited the entire afternoon until I almost lost hope.

Then Robert appeared before me like a knight in shining armor. I was too weak to even walk, so he carried me on his back as we left that terrifying mountain.

Since then, we abandoned any negative impressions we had of one another. As we gradually got to know one another from scratch, we grew closer and closer.

The year we graduated from college was when we became official, and we became a golden couple that everyone admired.

That was the happiest time of my life. But it was a pity that it did not last long.

The year we graduated from college, Mom was diagnosed with end-stage pancreatic cancer. She could no longer be cured.

Ever since Dad passed, Mom was the only family member I had left.

That year was the darkest year of my life.

Right after work each day, Robert rushed straight to the hospital to keep Mom and me company. He walked with me through those times when it felt like life was falling apart and hopeless. He accompanied me through those six months—the most difficult time of my life.

After Mom died, I became quiet and withdrawn, barely saying anything the entire day.

Instead of being put off by my coldness, Robert kept trying relentlessly to reach out to me, ignoring my protests.

He pulled me out of hell.

He couldn't even sleep soundly at night because he was worried I'd make the impulsive decision to take my own life to join Mom in the afterlife.

Even though I was the one who had lost my mother, he lost more weight than I did. At the same time, it was also because he was by my side that I managed to get through that.

I was once grateful to have him walk into my life. I felt so blessed.

Thanks to his encouragement, I pulled myself together. I decided on a new direction for my future and started going for job interviews.

Eventually, I got my life back together, but that only lasted until last year when Daisy showed up.

She was just a regular florist. Robert had only bought a bouquet from her as a gift for me when I worked overtime.

When I first heard her name from Robert, he had only mentioned her in passing. He told me her mother had passed away and that her father was an alcoholic. He had also said that she skipped high school so she could make a living for her family out in the real world.

All I felt was sympathy for this poor woman.

But during my subsequent conversations with Robert, all he would talk about was her.

When a lightbulb at her place went out, he flagged down a cab in the wee hours of the morning to fix it for her. When she was on her period, he'd take time off work to make and deliver chicken soup to her place personally.

He always said he sympathized with her because she lived alone.

Because Valentine's Day coincided with Daisy's birthday, he'd cancel our dates so he could celebrate her birthday with her.

Despite being someone who hated troubling himself over things, he'd move again and again just because she mentioned she didn't like the hustle and bustle of the city.

Over countless arguments, I'd ask him if he had fallen for Daisy. However, he always said they were just friends, that they had never done anything that crossed the line.

Even though he hadn't cheated on me physically, he had strayed mentally and emotionally. As time passed, Robert and I could barely even connect.

Even something as simple as having a civil conversation had become the greatest challenge between the two of us.

Robert drove me up the wall, yet he pointed his finger at me, questioning why I lost my mind. On countless occasions, Robert and I fought, gave one another the silent treatment, broke up, and reconciled.

I once hated myself for being so useless. Why couldn't I just leave him?

At times like these, I'd think of that version of Robert who walked through the most challenging time of my life with me. The toughest days were clearly over, but how did we even end up the way we were now?

I had no idea.

I gradually became quiet and compliant. I eventually grew used to his absence from every celebration we should have shared, and to the way he gave Daisy all the devotion that had once been mine.

I became used to the fact that there was a third party in our relationship.

When I regained consciousness, I was struck by the sharp smell of disinfectant. Upon noticing I was awake, Robert hurriedly pressed the call bell to summon a doctor.

A doctor quickly came over and gave me a full physical examination. As my mind drifted in and out, I heard the doctor say, "The patient has just had a miscarriage and lost a significant amount of blood. She's physically drained, so do make sure she eats foods high in iron and nutrients to help with her recovery."