Chapter 2

Feeling groggy, the memories I had tried so hard to bury came flooding back.

The first time Shawn and I met was on a rainy, slippery day. His driver couldn't stop in time and hit me with the car.

I injured my left calf and needed two or three months to recover.

I was a freshman then, while Shawn was a junior.

We happened to go to the same college. He felt guilty about the accident and pushed me to class in a wheelchair every day. He even brought me meals. After a while, we became close.

He was two years older than me. We were in the same age group, but very different from each other.

I hung out with friends and went for dinners, shopping, and trips together with them.

Shawn, on the other hand, would go back to the company to learn how to run the business. Apart from classes, he went to plays and concerts, rode horses, shot arrows, and played golf.

Our worlds were completely different, yet from the start, we grew very close.

Shawn didn't understand why people wasted time on video games, why anyone would like the foul-smelling cheese, or why someone would haggle for thirty minutes over twenty bucks, but he would do those things with me.

I didn't understand why some people enjoyed such exaggerated, dull theatrical performances, or how they could hear a few syllables and read a whole stormy plot, but I went along gladly every time.

I always thought we were just good friends, like my other friends.

Until the day Shawn got drunk, kissed me, and confessed.

Everything fell apart.

We became a couple.

"Fred, I like you," Shawn said. "I can't live without you. You won't regret choosing me!"

He said it so firmly that I thought we would be together forever.

But then, it happened…

-

Clang!

The sound of something heavy dropping snapped me awake. When I opened my eyes and saw the hospital ward, the color drained from my face.

I was lying in a hospital bed. Shawn sat next to me with furrowed brows.

At the doorway, Chris stood with a dark expression. There was a food container at his feet, but the food inside had spilled all over the floor.

"Why do you seem so surprised? You and Fred planned this. Have him cozy up to me and take my money, right? You don't mind your boyfriend being dirty, but that doesn't mean others don't feel disgusted. Seeing him makes me sick!"

Shawn kicked the food container hard and stormed past Chris.

I had heard worse, but what he said cut deep, leaving me aching inside.

Chris came up to me. He sounded furious. "Look what he's done to you! Fred, don't tell me you still want to be with him! Think about your mom and dad—"

"Get out!" I snapped at him.

We used to be inseparable friends. Now, just the sight of him made me afraid and had my stomach churning.

It had been five years, but he still wouldn't leave me alone.

Chris looked hurt but didn't leave.

In the end, I shoved him out.

The doctor called and told me Chris had paid my mother's medical bills.

At first, I wanted to throw the money back in Chris's face and tell him I didn't want his filthy cash. But at the thought of my lost commission on the company's project, my anger deflated like a punctured balloon.

I went to my mother's ward, but didn't dare go in. I just stood at the door and looked inside.

She was in bed. Despite still being in her forties, she already had a head full of gray hair.

She had gotten thinner since I last saw her two weeks ago. She was skin and bones, looking like a soulless puppet.

Now, she didn't react to anyone except me. When she saw me, she spat the vilest, cruelest curses and said she wished I were dead.

I felt I deserved it.

But if I died, nobody would take care of her.

"Why are you sneaking around? Which sugar daddy are you cozying up to this time?"

Suddenly, a familiar voice asked from behind.

Turning, I saw Shawn's mocking expression and froze.

He reached out and pushed the ward door open.

If he went in, everything would be exposed!