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A month later, my mother managed to get my new number through someone she knew.When she called, I was in the middle of a meeting.When I saw her name on the caller ID, I silenced the call.She called seven times.I didn’t answer a single one.Later, she sent me a text.“Monica, Mom was wrong. Please come home, okay?”“The house just doesn’t feel the same without you. It feels like something is missing.”“Your dad hasn’t been feeling well lately. He keeps asking about you.”“I made your favorite pasta. Come home and have some, okay?”I didn’t reply.I simply blocked the number.Half a month later, my father called me from a new number too.He said he was in the hospital and asked me to come home and see him.He said he wanted to see me, even if it was only once.I told him, “If you’re in the hospital, then take good care of yourself,” and hung up.Then I blocked his new number as well.Later, I heard that Edward drank at home all day long, and whenever he got drunk, he would keep mumbl
Edward didn’t leave.He stood downstairs outside my studio, from the afternoon until nightfall.The security guards came to drive him away three times, but he refused to give up, insisting that he had to wait for me.The next morning, when I opened the door to my office, there was a bouquet of white roses waiting outside.The card read: I remember that you like white roses.The handwriting was Edward’s.I picked up the flowers and threw them into the trash can at the end of the hallway.On the third day, he stood downstairs holding a huge bouquet of red roses.People passing by couldn’t help but turn and stare.When I stepped out of the elevator after work, he immediately came toward me.“Monica, will you listen to me for a few minutes?”“Just a few.”I stopped and looked at him.“Say what you have to say.”A flicker of light appeared in Edward’s eyes, as if he had suddenly seen hope.“I know what I did before was horrible. What happened between Beth and me… I was the one who wronged y
Edward searched everywhere I could possibly have gone.But everyone told him they hadn’t seen me.It turned out that before I left, I had already cut off every possible path back.Cleanly and decisively, without leaving him even the slightest hope.A month later, he gave up.Not because he no longer wanted to look for me.But because the family elders said he had missed too many days of work and threatened to strip him of his position as Godfather.When he returned home, he found Beth sitting on the couch.A document lay on the coffee table.“You were fired?”Edward walked over and took a look.It was Beth’s dismissal notice.“The family says I’m not capable enough and wants me to leave the family.”Beth’s voice was calm, but the hand clutching the document was trembling.“Weren’t you the one who said that with my qualifications, I could definitely handle the position?”“Edward, is this how you were going to pave the way for me?”Edward opened his mouth, but not a single word came out.
Beth’s expression changed.She let go of him, taking a step back as she stared at him intently.“Edward, get a grip!”“You stopped loving her a long time ago, didn’t you?”“If you don’t love her, why are you still willing to sacrifice the rest of your life for her?”Edward couldn’t answer.His lips moved,but not a sound came out.Beth let out a cold laugh.“Edward, be honest with yourself.”“In the time you’ve been with her, have you ever been truly happy?”“Every time you saw a message from her, you felt annoyed. Whenever she called, you always refused to answer.”“You were only enduring it. Just trying to get through it.”“You treated her like a burden.”Every word cut like a knife.Edward’s breathing grew rapid.“Stop.”“Am I wrong?”“Edward, if she hadn’t left, you would never have admitted that you stopped loving her.”“Now that I’ve cleared the path for you, you should be thanking me!”Edward suddenly lifted his head.He looked at Beth.The face before him was exactly the same a
Beth walked out of the bedroom with a face mask on, speaking casually.“Let her block you. She’s just trying to scare you.”“She’ll come crawling back once she runs out of money in a couple of days.”My mother stared at the red notification on her phone screen.Suddenly, she felt as though there were an empty space in her chest.She remembered what I had said to her on the phone that day.“Mom, today is my wedding. I’m the bride.”What had she said to me back then?She had told me it was just a man, and that I didn’t have to make the whole family miserable over him.She had told me I had always been selfish since I was a child.Then she had raised her hand and slapped me across the face.Hard enough to make the corner of my mouth bleed.Yet I hadn’t shed a single tear.I had simply stared straight at her.As if I were looking at a stranger.My mother suddenly found it hard to breathe.She grabbed the armrest of the sofa and slowly sat down.Her palms were covered in sweat.“Go find her
After I left, the house became almost unnaturally quiet.At first, my mother actually enjoyed the peace and quiet.She no longer had to watch me wandering around in front of her, nor did she have to listen to all those questions and accusations.Beth naturally took over my bedroom.Her makeup covered my vanity.My closet was stuffed with all the clothes she had recently bought.Even the sheets had been replaced with the pale pink ones she liked.With her arm linked through Edward’s, she discussed moving into the manor Edward and I had shared, taking my place there.Edward nodded and agreed.But he never told the servants to move my belongings out, so Beth could only stay in the guest room.Gradually, my mother began to sense that something was wrong.The house was too quiet.So quiet that every now and then, she would instinctively call out,“Monica, come talk to me.”Only after calling my name would she remember that I was no longer there.And no one would answer.My father habitually







