Chapter 2
I felt a sharp pain in my ankle and let out a bitter laugh.
I'm cold-blooded? I'm petty?
Am I supposed to just sit back and watch my darling marry someone else without batting an eye, just to be considered generous?
They say it's a fake wedding, but they've already kissed on the lips.
Did she even consider my feelings?
Besides, I've always suspected that Alec's mother's fatal illness is fake.
Alec came up with this excuse for no other reason than to snatch Melody away from me.
He just wants Melody and himself, childhood sweethearts, to end up together.
But when I voiced these doubts before, all I got was Melody's scolding.
"Are you doubting them or doubting me? Blaine, I must have been blind to marry you!"
In her eyes, Alec and his mother could never deceive her.
In other words, she'd rather trust outsiders than her husband of five years.
Ignoring the wound on my ankle, I sat in the living room all night, reminiscing about the sweet memories I shared with Melody.
We were college classmates, meeting at the graduation party, falling in love, and becoming a couple.
She was stunned the first time she saw me, and after the party ended, we talked enthusiastically.
It was like that fated love at first sight, falling deeper with each encounter. After falling deeply for her unwavering inner strength, I quickly became enamored.
I had been orphaned at a young age, raised solely by my grandmother.
As I was about to graduate, my grandmother also passed away.
Leaving me all alone in this world.
You could say that was the darkest period of my life.
She was the one who stood by me, providing warmth and helping me handle my grandmother's funeral arrangements.
"Blaine, don't be sad. You still have me. I'll always be here for you..."
She held me tightly, like a ray of light illuminating my darkened heart.
From that moment on, I made her my entire world.
She became the closest person to me in this life.
We fell in love smoothly and got married, becoming the couple that made all our classmates envious.
However, this happiness and sweetness all changed when her childhood sweetheart Alec returned to the country.
She began to distance herself from me, intentionally or not, keeping her space in front of others.
"Can you not get so close to me? It's so annoying!"
When I had a persistent high fever and weakly asked her to take me to the hospital, she would impatiently scold me.
"Don't you have hands and feet? I'm exhausted from work all day. Don't bother me, just take a cab yourself!"
Is this really how it is? Why did I see her happily walking arm in arm with Alec after work while shopping?
Why would she drop everything and rush to his side without hesitation whenever Alec called, no matter how much I tried to make her stay?
These questions finally became clear the moment I saw Alec.
His eyes looked so much like mine.
No, it should be that my eyes looked so much like his.
If you covered our faces and only looked at our eyes, people might think we were the same person.
Thinking back to when I first met Melody.
A painful realization dawned on me.
I was probably just a substitute for Alec.
When the first rays of sunlight streamed into the living room in the early morning.
I took a deep breath and got up from the chair.
The light that once illuminated my dark heart was gone.
But I still had to keep going, becoming my own guiding light.
In the past, I loved too humbly, trying to win back Melody's heart.
This time, I don't want to shortchange myself anymore.
I gathered the broken dishes and debris from the floor into the trash can, throwing out the roses along with them.
Taking one last look at the tightly closed bedroom door, I turned and walked towards the exit.
I don't want to wait anymore.
Today, I'm going to divorce Melody! Just as I was about to turn the doorknob...
The apartment door suddenly swung open from the outside.
Alec arrived, and upon seeing me, he paused for a moment before saying with a half-smile:
"Blaine, you're in the apartment too. Perfect timing, help me bring my luggage in."