Chapter 3

I ran out of the residential complex and headed for the nearby park, hastily wiping away my tears with my sleeve.

I suddenly heard footsteps behind me. Ethan had followed me to the park. He crouched in front of me and gently wiped away the tears at the corner of my eye with his thumb, just like he used to whenever I was mistreated.

That time, after getting yelled at by Mom and hit with a belt by Dad, I hid alone in the stairwell, crying. He found me, crouched down the same way, and used his thumb to wipe my tears. "If they're going to play favorites with Ivy, then I'll play favorites with you. I'll make up for every bit of love you've missed out on, twice over!"

I snapped back to the present and heard his voice, just as gentle as it had been all those years ago. "Please don't cry, Violet…"

I looked at him, unable to understand when things had shifted. I asked the question that had been stuck in my mind, my voice choked with sobs. "W-Why, Ethan? Why did you abandon me to love someone else?"

And of all people, it was the one who had robbed me of all the love.

Ethan froze for a moment. He lowered his head and was silent for a while before replying, "Ivy is different from you."

He then raised his head and continued, "You're reserved and not much of a talker, while Ivy is cheerful and lively, always chattering beside me."

Ethan's expression brightened at the mention of Ivy. "I honestly found her irritating at first. I remembered how much she put you through, so I instinctively kept my distance.

"It's just that, after spending time with her, I ended up getting swept up in how warm and lively she was. I-It actually felt really good…"

He let out a sigh as he finished speaking. He looked like someone whose heart belonged to another, yet kept his true feelings buried out of a sense of responsibility.

"You have nothing to worry about, Violet. You gave me the best years of your life, so I'll do right by you. You can just think of the wedding as making her dream come true. I'll stay away from her starting today and focus entirely on being a good husband to you, Violet."

Upon hearing that, I couldn't help but laugh, though it quickly gave way to tears. "You want to be my husband now? Did you ever think of me as your wife when everyone was ganging up on me just now? You watched Mom slap me and watched them tear into me. Did you even say a single word in my defense?"

Ethan fell silent. He was just about to say something when his phone rang. He answered it, his expression shifting drastically. "W-What?"

Mom's voice roared through the phone, loud enough that I could hear it too. "Ivy says it's her fault your relationship fell apart and wants to make up for it! Get over here this instant, Ethan! She's on the rooftop right now, threatening to jump!"

Ethan's hand trembled violently. He looked up at me, eyes wide with panic. "I-Ivy—"

"You should head over."

He froze for a second, as if he couldn't believe what I'd just said.

I looked at him, calling out Ivy's bluff loud and clear. "Does she really want to jump—or does she just know you'll go running to her, Ethan?"

He tried to speak, but nothing came out.

"She never thought about making things right when you two betrayed me and developed feelings for each other behind my back.

"She never thought about it either when she wore my wedding dress and went around entertaining the guests with you yesterday. Yet, now that I'm leaving, she suddenly wants to make up for it."

Ethan stood there gripping the phone, sweat beading on his forehead.

Khloe's voice came from the other end of the line, growing more frantic with every single word. "What are you waiting for, Ethan? Ivy is actually about to jump! You actually fell out of love with Violet a long time ago, so why bother with her now?"

Ethan closed his eyes briefly, having finally made his decision. "I'm going to head over there, Violet. She's your sister, after all—"

I cut him off. "Ivy is not my sister. She stopped being my sister the day you both betrayed me. You're no longer someone I want to marry either, Ethan!"

Ethan looked at me, his eyes welling up with tears. "Please don't say that, Violet. We'll talk it through when I get back later."

I remained silent. I just watched him run off, the morning breeze pushing my skirt against my legs. I slowly sat down on the bench and reached up to touch the corner of my eye. It still felt warm where he had touched it, but my heart was already stone cold.