- Vince nodded and took me to his car.
- “Where to?”
- “Anywhere.” I just stared out the window. like
- a lifeless doll.
- The car stopped by the river. I walked toward
- the water, Vince following at a distance.
- “Vince.”
- “Yeah?”
- I smiled and asked, “What do you think it
- would feel like to jump from here?”
- Vince’s face changed, grabbing my arm
- tightly.
- “Wendy, don’t be silly.”
- I laughed harder. He thought I was suicidal.
- “What are you afraid of? I won’t die.”
- “It’s just Mark betraying me and using me.
- I’ve decided. I’m divorcing him.”
- Vince stared at me, his eyes flickering.
- “You’re serious?”
- I smiled wider, pulling him close. He was
- strong but acted like a well–behaved dog,
- letting me take control.
- “Vince do you like me?”
- The six–foot–tall man with the dragon tattoo, with his handsome, rough features, blushed. “How… how did you know?”
- Vince got nervous, sweat beading on his
- forehead.
- “So… after the divorce, will you consider
- me?”
- “Of course.”
- وو
- I nodded, and Vince’s eyes sparkled. His
- joyful expression mirrored mine the night
- Mark proposed.
- But I admit I was despicable.
- My only thought was-
- Mark used me to get to Holly?
- I’ll use his best friend to get back at him.
- After lunch, I took some more fever reducers
- and felt slightly better.
- I was about to take a cab to the lawyer’s
- office when Holly and Mark blocked my way.
- Holly excitedly rushed over, holding a teddy
- <
- bear taller than her.
- “Wendy, I won this for you! It took so many
- tries, I’m exhausted.”
- “Do you like it?”
- She’d played carnival games for me.
- She knew I loved plush toys.
- But after marriage, because Mark called them
- childish, there were none in the house.
- I forced a smile. “I like it, but I don’t need it.
- You keep it.
- “”
- I’d be moving soon.
- Holly looked disappointed. “Why not? Wendy,
- I got this especially for you…
- “”
- Before she finished, Mark frowned, staring
- coldly at me.
- “It’s your best friend’s kindness. Holly wants
- you to have it, so take it.”
- He put the bear in the room.
- He pretended to be relaxed.
- “My wife is just shy. I’ll take it for her. What
- “”
- do you want to eat? I’ll get it for you.‘
- Before Holly could answer, Mark opened the fridge and grabbed a Coke for her.
- Holly smiled sweetly. “Wendy, your husband
- is well–trained. Your fridge is full of my
- favorite Coke.”
- My heart ached. She didn’t know love didn’t
- need training.
- Neither Mark nor I liked Coke.
- But the fridge was always full of Coke
- because Holly loved it.
- I mustered the courage to ask Holly if she
- liked Mark too.
- If so, I’d gladly step aside.
- I turned to ask, but Holly curiously asked me,
- “Hey Wendy, where’s your wedding photo?
- Didn’t you say you’d hang it forever?”
- I lied, “Oh, the photo is old. I got a nice wall
- painting to hang instead.”
- Holly happily offered to help me hang it.
- <
- As I got up to help her, Mark was already
- there,
- His eyes full of affection on her.
- “Holly, slowly.”
- “Hold it steady! If you drop me, I’ll have your
- wife punish you.”
- Holly focused on hanging the painting,
- confidently leaning on Mark.
- The sunlight created a dappled shadow on
- them.
- Suddenly, I felt relieved.
- They were meant to be.
- My phone rang, the lawyer urging me:
- “Ms. Wendy, I’m at the cafe. When are you
- coming?”
- “Coming right away.”
- I said I was going downstairs to buy
- something and took a cab to the cafe.
- But at a corner,
- The driver, in a hurry, didn’t see an oncoming
- truck and hit the roadside barrier.
- I don’t know where my head hit, but a sharp
- pain shot through me, and I heard people
- shouting:
- “Car accident! Call an ambulance!”
- When I woke up in the hospital, my head was
- bandaged.
- Vince, with dark circles under his eyes, stood
- by my bedside.
- Seeing me awake, he excitedly approached
- me.
- “Wendy, how are you feeling?”
- He checked my brain function, following
- doctor’s orders.
- I looked around, my vision and hearing were
- fine.
- Vince breathed a sigh of relief, taking out his
- phone.
- “You’re okay! I was scared when I heard
- about your accident. I’ll call your husband,
- Mark, to let him know.”
- I looked up at him, confused.
- “Husband? Whose husband?”
- Vince froze, looking up sharply.
- “Your husband, Mark. Don’t you remember?”
- I thought for a moment and shook my head. “I
- only remember promising you by the river to
- date you after I finish something important, to
- be your girlfriend.”
- I scratched my head. “I forgot what it was.
- And I have no memory of the man you said
- was my husband.”
- Vince couldn’t believe it and asked the
- doctor, who examined me and sighed.
- “She seems to have amnesia, a consequence
- of the accident.
