- Chapter 4
- I decided to leave town.
- With the villa key in hand, I went to Jake’s
- headquarters one last time.
- No makeup, just jeans and Converse.
- When I walked in, many didn’t recognize me.
- But when I took off my hat, the guys who
- used to eagerly call me “Mrs. Peterson” fell
- silent.
- They probably knew about Jake moving on.
- One of the guys who was close to me piped
- up.
- “Sarah, we still think you and Jake are the
- く
- perfect match.”
- “Some college girl? What’s the point? Taking
- her out is embarrassing.”
- “Why don’t you go talk to the boss? He
- always listens to…”
- I laughed self–deprecatingly.
- Ten years with Jake.
- I looked innocent, but with makeup, I could be
- striking.
- Plenty of guys eyed me, but Jake was my
- protector.
- Anyone who dared touch a hair on my head
- ended up in some far–off labor camp.
- If I shed a single tear, Jake would drop
- everything to comfort me.
- That was a privilege once reserved for me.
- But this time, the guy couldn’t finish his
- sentence.
- A mug flew across the room, smashing
- against the wall.
- <
- Jake’s face was thunderous.
- “You think this is Sarah’s headquarters?”
- “This is how you run things when I’m not
- around?!”
- The large room fell silent.
- That was Jake’s power.
- Only now, it was directed at me.
- I tried to explain.
- But the girl behind him peeked out cautiously
- and said, seemingly innocently,
- “Jake, is this the Sarah you told me about?”
- “She dresses just like me!”
- Jake frowned, looking me up and down.
- Jeans and Converse. Just like Lily.
- He looked at me uncertainly.
- “Sarah, did you look into Lily?”
- Lily did resemble me at eighteen.
- Especially in jeans and Converse.
- I saw through the girl’s little game.
- But I didn’t want to say anything.
- <
- Wasn’t it more likely that someone had
- researched Jake’s preferences?
- Ten years together, and he didn’t even trust
- me…
- I pressed my lips together stubbornly.
- Jake scoffed, his voice laced with sarcasm.
- “Dressing the same doesn’t make you
- eighteen again.”
- “Sarah, what are you trying to prove?”
- I blinked, unable to believe what he’d just
- said.
- “Tell you what,” Jake said, licking his lips, his
- voice ruthless.
- “Ten years. Name your price.”
- I froze.
- I’d been with Jake for ten years.
- Taken bullets for him, faced knives for him.
- But no moment had ever hurt more than this
- one.
- My nails dug into my palms, my voice
- <
- trembling.
- “Jake, what did you say?!”
- “I said, for wasting ten years of your youth…”
- “Name your price.”
- Jake shoved his hands into his pockets.
- Even though his eyes were stormy, he gritted
- his teeth and finished his sentence.
- I could barely stand.
- Lily tugged at Jake’s sleeve, whispering,
- “Jake, don’t be so mean.”
- “Sarah didn’t do anything wrong.”
- Jake looked down and nuzzled her nose.
- “Be good. Listen to me.”
- He pulled her behind him. “I won’t let anyone
- bully you.”
- Jake used to protect me the same way.
- I couldn’t take it anymore, the acid churning
- in my stomach.
- I looked down and saw the silver bracelet on
- my wrist.
- L
- It had been tight when he first gave it to me.
- But the deeper I fell for Jake…
- The looser it became.
- Chapter 2: Happily Ever After
- I still remember the second year I was with
- Jake.
- A bad flu hit the city, 3% mortality rate.
- My immune system sucked, and I got
- quarantined.
- Burning up with fever, I saw Jake’s face
- hovering over me.
- I thought I was dreaming.
- I grabbed his hand, my voice hoarse.
- “Jake, I miss you so much.”
- “Am I never going to see you again?”
- I was only lucid for a few minutes each day.
- Jake had never cried in front of me.
- That day, he sobbed like a baby.
- Somehow, he managed to get himself
- assigned as a volunteer at the school, even
- <
- though he was a Shark.
- He went from building A to building C before
- he found my name on the quarantine list.
- I called him an idiot, risking his life to take
- care of a critical patient like me.
- But Jake wouldn’t listen. He slipped a silver
- bracelet onto my wrist.
- He said, “Sarah, happy birthday.”
- We were dirt poor back then.
- We would stare at a silver ring in a cheap
- jewelry store for ages.
- I thought I wouldn’t see another spring.
- But the day Jake wished me happy birthday,
- cherry blossoms drifted past the window of
- the isolation ward.
- Later, I found out the silver bracelet was
- melted down from Jake’s childhood ID
- bracelet.
- Jake said, “Sarah, I’m tough. I can handle
- anything. Your job is to be happy.”
- I wore that silver bracelet for nine years.
- It was a mark Jake had put on me, a symbol
- of our youth.
- Back then, I really believed our lives were
- intertwined because of that bracelet.
- Happily ever after.
- Jake, to me…
- Was like that bracelet, no longer fitting.
- I gritted my teeth, pulling at it until my wrist.
- was red.
- Jake panicked, stubbing out his cigarette.
- His eyes were bloodshot as he yelled, “Sarah,
- what the hell are you doing?!”
- I frowned, tears welling up.
- Hadn’t he asked me to name my price for ten
- years?
- I did, and now he couldn’t handle it.
- “Jake, let’s just pretend we…”
- “Don’t say it!”
- He lunged to cover my mouth, but Lily tripped
- <
- him.
- I smiled faintly, a tear rolling down my cheek.
- “Never happened…”
- With that, I tossed the mangled bracelet into
- the fishpond outside.
- Ripples spread across the water.
- Jake rushed to the pond, kneeling in the
- pouring rain, desperately searching for the
- glint of silver.
- Seeing his frantic search, I fought the urge to
- jump in and retrieve the bracelet, a sharp
- ache in my chest.
- What was this? Did it mean he still cared?
- The ten years with Jake flashed before my
- eyes.
- The pain numbed me, making it hard to
- breathe.
- Just for that “happy birthday,” it was almost
- worth it.
- But Jake and I, no matter how hard it was to
- <
- let go of the past….
- There would be no future.
- The rain softened to a drizzle.
- I walked out into it, feeling like I’d lost a part
- of myself.
- Jake chased after me, holding an umbrella.
- He reeked of cigarettes, but his hand on my
- shoulder was firm,不容拒绝.
- “Sarah, I’ll walk you out.”
- I didn’t turn around, but Lily splashed through
- a puddle.
- Her bangs were plastered to her pale, fragile
- face, looking utterly pathetic.
- “Jake, are you going to leave me here all
- alone?”
