Chapter 2

And the sender of that message was Simon.

Sharon immediately snatched the phone away, her guilt evident as she frantically pressed the screen.

“Don’t look at it! Why are you still standing there like an idiot?” she said, her discomfort palpable.

After a moment, she stood up angrily. “Okay, so you want to be stubborn today, right? If you won’t leave, then I will!”

With that, she put on her coat, slammed the door, and stormed out.

It was midsummer, but I felt like I had fallen into an icy cave.

How did Sharon and I get to this point?

I didn’t know Simon well, but I knew enough about him. He was Sharon’s first love. The only time I had met him was at a class reunion dinner when he returned to China a year ago.

At that time, Sharon had enthusiastically introduced us: “Luke, this is Simon. We’re friends now. Let’s have a drink together later.”

I was so jealous that I pulled Sharon over and glared at Simon, as if to declare my territory.

Simon just smiled faintly, adjusted his collar, and said in a low voice, “No need, buddy. No matter how much you cherish her, Sharon is still someone I used to play with, isn’t she?”

I was furious and wanted to teach Simon a lesson.

Unexpectedly, Sharon pushed me away and said sternly, “Luke, today is a class reunion. There are so many important people here. Can you please not embarrass yourself?”

I looked at her in disbelief, not understanding why she was so unconditionally biased towards Simon.

Simon seemed to have anticipated Sharon's reaction. He paused, smiled, and pulled her away.

As he turned, he said loudly, “Is it really too much for me to have a drink with my good friend?”

Whether they were friends or something more was self-evident.

Later, after Simon went abroad, Sharon spent every day getting drunk at the bar.

On several occasions, I had to pick her up when she was too intoxicated to stand.

One night, as I was about to leave, Sharon hooked her finger around my neck and pleaded, “Don’t go, don’t go…”

I admit that I am selfish.

I had a crush on Sharon back in college.

When a man and a woman are alone in a room, things are bound to happen.

Even though Sharon still had feelings for Simon, he was far away, and they had no chance to be together.

I stubbornly wanted to keep Sharon by my side.

The next day, we naturally established a relationship.

But the good times didn’t last long. A year later, during a trip, Sharon's mother was involved in a car accident and fell into a coma. She became a vegetative state, with extremely low chances of waking up. She needed daily ICU care to stay alive.

She cried as she hugged me, saying in despair, “What should I do? I don’t think I can save my mother... I’ll be alone from now on.”

Coming from a single-parent family, Sharon was raised by her mother, so I can’t imagine how devastating it would be for her if her mother died.

Without hesitation, I sold the RV and transferred five million directly into Sharon's account.

With that money, her mother stayed in the ICU for six months and underwent four major and minor surgeries.

Perhaps it was God's blessing that Sharon's mother finally woke up.

I was genuinely happy for her.

I naively believed that we had overcome all obstacles and that Sharon and I would continue to live happily ever after.

But with Simon's return, all of that became a distant dream.

It was time to end this humble relationship.

I could accept everything about Sharon, but I would never tolerate her betrayal.

The chicken soup I had made was ready, but I poured it into the trash can.

After packing my things, I broke up with Sharon on WeChat.

She didn’t even try to keep me. Her response was direct and decisive: “Okay! Then get out of my house!”

For our final breakup, I didn’t want to cause a scene.

Respectability was my last gift to her.

Before leaving, I swapped out the lubricant for super glue.