Chapter 2

"Stop looking. She's Dominic's wife now. She's got nothing to do with you anymore," Mom said, looking like she couldn't stand the sight of me.

"You know, if a woman's heart isn't with you, not even killing yourself will make her stay. Besides…"

She hesitated, the dark circles beneath her eyes making her look even more haggard. "Dominic has a tumor in his brain. He could die at any time. Just give him a chance to live."

I stared at Mom. "When did they get together?"

"Thanksgiving four years ago. They got their marriage certificate then. They were afraid you'd find out, so they had to put off the wedding ceremony."

She looked away. "If you ask me, you brought this on yourself. If you hadn't gone digging and had instead turned a blind eye, you could've gone on living together just fine."

My stiff, sluggish mind slowly began to spin, and then I remembered.

Four years ago, on Thanksgiving, Mom had been held at a poker club for alleged cheating. I rode my motorcycle there alone and rammed straight through their corrugated metal gate.

Then, I scraped together 7,000 dollars to buy her way out.

At the same time, Tiffany had been calling me, telling me to wait for her. Little did I know, she went to the city hall with Dominic and registered their marriage.

Mom knew perfectly well that Tiffany and I were dating, yet because she favored Dominic, she helped them deceive me.

Outside the window, the interrupted wedding music started playing again. The guests' cheers drifted in. "Kiss the bride! Kiss the bride!"

I pulled the blanket over my face. I suddenly felt too drained to fight anymore. I didn't want to either.

As I drifted into a daze, fragments of memories from one of my past hospital stays surfaced in my mind.

It was our second year together. I had surgery for appendicitis. When I woke up from the anesthesia, I found Tiffany lying in the hospital bed next to mine.

The doctor came in and chewed her out, calling her hopelessly lovesick. She had lied about having abdominal pain just so she could get part of her appendix removed, too.

She was terrified of pain, yet she forced a smile. "My boyfriend faints when he sees blood. You guys don't allow overnight visitors. If I don't stay here, how am I supposed to keep an eye on him?"

In everyone's eyes, Tiffany was also a lunatic who loved me to the bone. And yet, that same woman held Dominic in my presence and sobbed that the three of us should bear the consequences of our sins.

I quietly got out of bed and took the box from the drawer.

By the time Dominic found me, I was on the rooftop terrace, tossing our photos into a fire pit one by one.

The flames engulfed the photo of us with our arms slung around each other's shoulders on the basketball court.

They swallowed the photo of Tiffany sneaking a kiss onto my cheek, smiling like she had gotten away with something.

They disintegrated the three of us, throwing our graduation caps into the air.

Dominic's body went rigid. His voice tightened. "Zachary, stay away from the fire."

I propped my jaw on my hand. Two of my back teeth were missing.

Back when Dominic had taken a part-time job at a factory, his supervisor falsely accused him of stealing equipment. I went to confront the workers who had caused him trouble, and two of my teeth got knocked out in the fight.

I turned to him. "Three years ago, when I found out Tiffany had gone to the hospital for a fertility checkup, I rushed over to catch her in the act. Then, you suddenly called and told me you'd been in a car accident.

"By then, you two had already gotten married and were planning to have a baby through IVF, weren't you?"

He looked away, guilt flickering across his face. "Tiffany knew how much I wanted children. She was afraid I couldn't afford to wait. I just didn't expect you to be so crazy.

"You pulled surveillance footage from every convenience store around the area. Tiffany and I had no choice but to leave the hospital and come back."

I laughed bitterly. "I was crazy because I thought you were my best friend."

Then, I shrugged. "Not anymore."

A sudden gust of wind picked up, and Dominic stepped closer. The flames curled toward him.

Out of nowhere, Tiffany yanked him back and checked the singed threads on his sweater. "I told you to stay away from him and not provoke him. Why won't you listen?"

She shielded him before glaring at me in frustration. "I don't care if you want to set the place on fire or jump off a building, but can you just make it about me? Don't hurt Dominic. I'm begging you."

I laughed. "I don't want to die with you anymore, Tiffany. I'm trying to let you two have each other. Why won't you believe me?"

I opened my palm. The blister on my hand, caused by the burn, had burst after Dominic had accidentally shoved me earlier. She saw it but didn't come any closer.

Sophia came running up and sneered. "You're really hopelessly stubborn, aren't you? You'll never let Tiffany go, even until you die."

At that, I turned around and climbed over the railing.