บททั้งหมดของ My Girlfriend, My Best Friend, Their Secret Vows: บทที่ 1 - บทที่ 10

The next morning, I was jarred awake by the buzzing of my phone. Notifications kept popping up one after another. There were screenshots from social media posts and forwarded group messages, as if everyone was afraid I might miss them. The moment I tapped open the first photo, my breath hitched in my throat. Veronica and Ian stood outside the courthouse with their marriage certificates, grinning ear to ear. The comments below were a wall of well-wishes. I kept scrolling and came across a post from Bridget. "It's been a long journey. I wish you all the happiness you've dreamed of!"She'd attached photos of Veronica and Ian, along with pictures from last year's wedding. I tapped on the group photo, and my hands began to tremble uncontrollably. There were so many familiar faces in the photo. Bridget was there. Irene Miller was there. Even Ma and Pops were there. Pops had a smile on his face, while Ma stood beside him, handing out wine glasses. Everyone looked completely at ease

When I went inside, Julian was still awake. After hearing my footsteps, he slowly peeled his eyes open. The moment he saw it was me, tears pooled in his eyes. He grasped my hand. His grip was so weak that it felt like he might slip away at any moment. "Jesse." I hastily tightened my grip around his hand. "I'm here. Don't worry."He stared at me for a long time before tears trickled down his cheek. "Are you a homewrecker, Jesse?"My whole body went rigid. I wasn't afraid of what others said about me, nor did I care how much their words hurt me.Julian, however, was different. Had he not donated his kidney to save me back then, I would've died. Because of the complications from that surgery, he could no longer live like a normal person again. I shook my head frantically, my throat raw and aching. "No, I'm not."He wept even harder. "But everyone online says you're clinging to someone else's wife!"I bent down, pressed my cheek against his hand, and kept telling him over and

During my first month abroad, I hardly had a full night's sleep. Julian's condition was worse than the doctors had expected. During the day, he seemed relatively calm, but at night, problems always arose. Sometimes, he would cry with his eyes closed, repeating the same words. "It's not my brother... It's not my brother..." I sat by his bedside, holding his hand and repeatedly calling his name. Yet, no matter what I did, I couldn't wake him. During the day, I accompanied him through his checkups, and at night, I kept watch over him. I was afraid to waste even a minute to wash my face. When we first arrived abroad, I wasn't fluent enough in the local language to navigate the hospital on my own. The medical terminology was the hardest part. When the doctors spoke too quickly, I could only listen and take notes. Then, I'd go back and look everything up one word at a time. Once, after a consultation ended, I sat on a bench in the corridor with a stack of documents in my arms.

After receiving a full year of treatment abroad, Julian's condition finally stabilized. He still needed to continue with rehabilitation, and he still couldn't walk normally. However, he no longer woke up with a start in the middle of the night, and he no longer trembled whenever he heard certain names. On the day of his follow-up appointment, the doctor closed his medical chart and told me, "His body will heal in time, and so will his mind." I sat in the chair and breathed a sigh of relief. I'd been stretched thin all year. I could never sleep soundly the night before every follow-up appointment.Whenever I woke up in the middle of the night, I would check on Julian to make sure his breathing was steady, his forehead wasn't too warm, and he had taken his medication on the nightstand on time. Later, when he was gradually able to take care of some things on his own, I started taking on remote work. It didn't pay much, but at least we no longer had to rely solely on the money l

Veronica had lost a lot of weight. The poise she once had seemed to have been worn away in the last two years. When I didn't turn on my heel and walk away, she seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and asked, "How have you been?""Pretty good."Veronica gazed at me, as if she couldn't quite believe it. "Are you really doing well?" "I am."The wind blew in from the end of the street, stirring the fallen leaves scattered across the ground. She was silent for a long time before uttering, "I used to think you would never really leave. I thought that no matter what I did, you'd always stay put."I listened and didn't respond, because she was right. The old me was indeed far too forgiving. However, those days were over. Veronica lowered her head and rasped out, "Is there really no chance for us anymore?"I looked at her. "It's too late."She seemed to have expected that answer, but she still froze for a moment. It took her a long while before she nodded. "I know."She paused for