Chapter 3

When the tip of the knife was only a few inches from her heart, I suddenly gave in.

Natalie froze for a second, then turned and left.

When I turned back to gather my things, the tattoo artist looked deeply embarrassed. I only nodded at him calmly and walked out.

A few minutes later, thunder cracked outside, and rain poured from the sky.

I couldn't avoid it and got soaked through. Halfway home, I had to hail a cab.

By the time I got back, I sneezed three times in a row, and my stomach churned with nausea.

Before I could even change out of my wet clothes, my phone kept receiving messages.

I opened them. Ashton had sent a photo of Natalie asleep beside his hospital bed.

"She worked so hard, running around for me. Now she's exhausted."

"By the way, did she not get the tattoo removed in time?"

In that moment, I couldn't describe how I felt.

My screen reflected my face back at me. It was calm, almost cold.

In this contest of relationships, I had completely become the clown.

But so what? At least I was finally free.

I lay in the bathtub, soaking in the water, drifting in and out of sleep.

Suddenly, a sharp ringtone rang out.

I jolted awake. After a couple of seconds, I reached for my phone.

It was Ashton calling.

I answered. Before I could say anything, sounds that needed no explanation came through the line.

Ashton's usually low voice carried a coaxing edge.

"Natalie, just this once, okay? Asher won't know."

Natalie let out a soft sound, struggling weakly. "Ash, no. I'm married now."

Hearing that name, I stilled.

Two years ago, the parrot at home had suddenly learned to speak. Every now and then, it would say, "Ash, I love you."

I had always found it strange. Natalie was naturally reserved and had never said those words to me.

Besides, my family and Natalie always called me Asher. No one called me Ash.

I had wondered where the bird had learned it.

Now I had my answer. That Ash had never been me. It was Ashton.

So their relationship had started far earlier than I had imagined.

From the other end of the call came Natalie's broken moans, half pleasure, half release.

But I didn't feel the slightest fluctuation. Calmly, I recorded the audio for a while, then hung up.

After that, I began consulting a lawyer.

Around midnight, I got hungry and found half a sausage in the kitchen.

I had only taken two bites when nausea surged straight up my throat.

I vomited miserably beside the toilet until the world spun. When I finally stood up and took my temperature, it was 102.2 degrees.

I swallowed two pills and passed out.

When I woke up, Natalie was home.

She had skillfully tidied the living room I had messed up and tucked a blanket over me.

Now she was cooking in the kitchen.

All these years, she had always taken care of me like this.

We had grown up together. Our family backgrounds were similar.

There had never been anything earth-shattering between us, but we had once been close and inseparable.

I just didn't know when she and Ashton had begun. Was it when I introduced them at eighteen? Or earlier?

What was certain was that they had hidden it from me together.

As if sensing my gaze, Natalie, with her back to me, spoke slowly.

"You have everything, but Ashton is so pitiful. He gives in to you in everything. Why do you have to make things hard for him? Aren't you two best friends?"

My hand paused around my glass of water. The accusation in her words was too heavy.

It was as if I were some villain who couldn't stand seeing others happy.

But I didn't react. I only returned to the bedroom and quietly packed my luggage.

Both our parents had contributed to this house. When we split, it would be divided in half.

As for the furniture, I could sell it directly. I would also recover the sixty thousand dollars in wedding money.