Chapter 3

Natasha's POV

I didn't have a destination in mind after I got out of the cab with swollen eyes.

Eventually, my feet subconsciously brought me to the house that I used to live in when I was a child.

I climbed up the old and damp wooden stairs. I was just about to push the door open when I heard a voice that I was intimately familiar with.

"Why are you pushing me away, Vera? You know that the one I love is you!"

"What happened between us was just a mistake! I don't care about anything else except Natasha's happiness!"

"Is that so? Why did you sneakily come here if you didn't care?"

The sounds of Felix's and Vera's argument immediately died down.

I peeked through the gap in the door. Tears welled up in my eyes as I took in the scene within the house.

The windows were decorated with colorful banners and streamers. Brand new silk sheets covered the bed. Red rose petals were scattered all across the floorboards.

The entire place was decorated to celebrate a happy union between a loving couple and to usher in the eventual arrival of children.

If only I weren't the one who prepared all the decorations.

Mom had taught me how to make the banners and streamers before she passed away. She gifted the silk sheets to me when she was undergoing chemotherapy in the last two years. She had also personally selected each rose petal before she breathed her last breath.

"Felix… Vera… I'm sorry for the trouble, but I'll have to entrust Natasha to you from now on…"

As Mom lay on her deathbed, she mustered what little strength she had left and wrapped a string of beads around Felix's, Vera's, and my hands.

Felix and Vera had agreed to Mom's request while crying their eyes out, promising her that they would fulfill her dying wish.

However, at that moment, the man I loved the most and my best friend had become a married couple in front of Mom's portrait. The string of beads that had been hanging on the headboard was torn apart during an intense moment, leaving the beads scattered all across the floor.

"You claim that you only care about Natasha's happiness. But what about me? When I'm preparing a surprise for her, the only thing I can think about is how I'll get to see you again instead of how happy she'll be.

"I worry about her whenever she's bedridden in the hospital, but I'm more excited at the prospect of being able to spend some time alone with you. I look calm on the surface when I accompany her to your performances, but to be honest with you, I would spend the entire afternoon picking out flowers for you.

"You can think that what happened between us was a mistake, but in my heart, you're my actual wife," Felix said in a choked-up voice, his eyes reddening.

His image was clearly reflected in Vera's eyes. She couldn't hold herself back anymore and threw herself into his arms.

"What should we do? I don't know what to do…"

My vision had turned blurry from my tears. I pressed a hand over my mouth and ran away from that place as if I were the one who had committed a crime.

The whistling wind in my ears drowned out all other noises, but the throbbing pain in my chest was unbearable.

I kept running until my empty stomach twisted in pain because of my turbulent emotions. A light sheen of sweat had beaded across my forehead as I ducked into a diner and said, "I'd like to order a lasagna, please."

The boss of the diner made a noise of pleasant surprise when he served the lasagna to me.

"Oh? Well, if it isn't Natasha Winters. Your two caretakers aren't with you today?"

I weakly looked up and saw a familiar face.

The boss of the diner seemed to be oblivious to my distress. He was all smiles as he handed a set of cutlery to me.

"I still remember how the three of you would stop by every week to have some pasta back in the old shop. The two of them would always fight each other to give you some of their meat.

"One of them was worried that you'll never grow tall, and the other was worried that you'll stay as thin as a stick. It feels like you've grown up in the blink of an eye."

Another patron showed up at the entrance of the diner at that moment, prompting the boss to hurry over to them to serve them.

I kept my head lowered as I stuffed the lasagna into my mouth through tears, one spoonful at a time.

As the steam of the piping-hot lasagna surrounded me, I felt as if I could see the two kids who used to fuss over me all the time.

"Oh, my god. Slow down! What if you burn your tongue?"

Vera would shoot a reproachful look at me before snatching my lasagna away and patiently blowing on the dish until it cooled down.

"Why are you salting the dish with your tears when you already have a weak stomach? Who bullied you? Tell me. I'm going to beat them to a pulp!"

Felix always looked like he was on the verge of tears too whenever he wiped my tears for me with a heartbroken expression.

I stared forward in a daze, desperately wishing that time could stop at that moment. However, a chilly breeze blew past and dispersed the steam, taking the younger versions of Felix and Vera with it.

I placed the spoon down and sat at the table for a long time, only stirring when I received a message from my company's HR department.

"Your application to transfer to Enrio has been approved. You'll be leaving in two days. Pack your belongings as soon as possible."

"Okay," I replied before paying for my meal.

I didn't bother the boss of the diner again, not wanting to disturb the memories of the past.

I stood by myself at the intersection as I looked in the direction of my old house. The corners of my lips curled up into a sorrowful smile.