Chapter 9
A flicker of anger flashed across Daniel’s face, but he quickly suppressed it.
“Don’t mention her,” he said, his voice tight. “You‘ re different from her.”
I was indeed different from Abigail. She needed Daniel to save her, but I didn‘ t.
“Where‘ s Abigail? Didn’t she come with you?” I asked, not intending to provoke him, but simply out of concern. After all, Abigail wasn’t in a good place right now- suffering from depression and an infectious disease. If something happened to her, who would be responsible?
What if, in the future, Daniel came to me and said he couldn’t go back to care for Abigail because he’d come to see me? Wouldn’t that leave me feeling terribly wronged?
“Don’t mention her,” Daniel snapped, his face twisted in disgust. “Abigail and I have
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nothing to do with each other.”
I took a few steps back, my eyes never leaving him.
I hadn’t realized it before, but now it was clear: Daniel was an incredibly selfish person. He didn’t love Abigail the most- he loved himself the most. If he truly loved her, he wouldn’t have said that he didn’t want to wrong himself before the wedding, leaving me behind while he chased the
idealized version of first love in his mind.
Unfortunately, that first love had already soured. He couldn’t save it.
Later, Daniel looked back and realized that I was actually doing well, and suddenly wanted to win me back.
“Daniel, you‘ re so boring,” I said, unable to hide my disappointment.
“I really overestimated you.”
“I thought you didn’t keep Abigail when you met her in college because you thought
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Chapter 9
you weren’t worthy of her,” I continued, “But actually, it wasn‘ t that. You just couldn’t handle the hit to your self- esteem, so you pretended to be generous.”
Before I could finish, Daniel interrupted. me, his urgency apparent.
He stepped closer, just like in the past when we argued, intending to pick me up and take me away, dealing with me coldly. afterward.
But I didn’t obey Daniel anymore. Not this time.
Since he had come all this way to perform his dramatic “win–back” routine, I felt it was time to finally vent.
I used the self–defense techniques I‘ d learned recently, breaking free from his grasp with a sharp elbow strike.
I stood in front of him, watching his shocked expression, as though he had just met me for the first time.
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“I learned self–defense skills in Chicago,” I said, “but I never thought I’d use them on
you.”
It took him a while to regain his
composure.
“Lily, we’ve been together for so many years. My feelings for you haven’t changed,” he said, trying to pull me back
- in.
I used to love looking into Daniel’s eyes. Every time I did, I saw my own reflection, and I could deceive myself into believing he cared about me, that he loved me.
But now, when I looked into his eyes, all I saw were lies and the years I had wasted.
He pulled out a ring from his pocket and knelt on one knee.
“Lily, let’s forget Abigail. Just treat her as a small chapter before we get married. I‘ 11 give you the best life-”
I didn’t even hear the rest of his words.
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When I saw the ring, it felt as though all my strength drained out of me.
I never imagined that the proposal I had waited for so long would come on a beach in Chicago at dusk–no flowers, no fancy venue, just me in a simple shirt and jeans, standing in this casual place. If this had happened before, I would‘ ve been thrilled. I would‘ ve accepted the ring, ignoring everything else.
But now, all I wanted to do was throw that ring and box right back in Daniel’s face.
“So what?” I snapped. “Do I really deserve to have waited for you all these years? Deserve to be your backup?”
“Just like when you were dumped by Abigail, I just happened to show up, right?”
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