Chapter 3

I got up and threw the cochlear implant from the table into the trash, then looked around this modest apartment.

After Wesley and I officially got together following graduation, she had me move into this place. It was close to the subway station, convenient for commuting to work.

Whenever I asked about the origin of this apartment, Wesley would brush it off: "It was left by my family."

But what family would buy a newly renovated European-style apartment in the city center? It clearly had been personally designed by someone.

But back then, my heart and mind were full of Wesley. I hadn't noticed these odd details at all.

No wonder Wesley could easily land an internship at a big company right after graduation despite her disability, not even needing an interview.

No wonder Wesley rarely wore her cochlear implant—it wasn't that she didn't treasure it, but that she didn't need it at all.

So all of her experiences were fake. The hearing impairment was fake, the impoverished family background was fake, even her love for me and wanting to marry me were all fake!

I closed my eyes, struggling to process the grief in my heart, thinking back to what she had said during that phone call.

"Ronald is mine now. I'm not done playing yet!"

"When William returns home, I'll naturally marry him!"

Wesley, you really hid it well!

At seven in the evening, I packed up all my belongings in the house. Since I had decided to leave, I needed to leave cleanly.

My gaze swept over every corner of the apartment—the matching couple's dinnerware we bought together, the couple's slippers, the potted plant we spent two hours picking out...

Memories were like a merciless hand, gripping my throat tightly, making it hard to breathe.

Just then, the door was pushed open directly, and William's handsome features appeared before my eyes.

"Who are you, and why are you in our home!"

'Our home'—it took me several seconds to process that.

William quickly sneered, his slender finger pointing right at my face: "I remember now. You're that little lover Wesley mentioned out of spite, saying she wanted to marry you?"

"Looks like her taste really is mediocre!"

I ignored William's mockery and grabbed his provocative finger, flinging it down.

"I'm not her secret lover. I'm her boyfriend. You're the one who's the homewrecker now."

At these words, William's brow furrowed sharply, his eyes taking on a vicious edge.

He smiled lightly, then suddenly his foot twisted and he crashed hard into the nearby shoe cabinet, groaning in pain.

Wesley entered carrying shopping bags just in time to see this scene.

William was clutching his waist, barely propping himself up on the floor, his features twisted in pain.

I instinctively tried to explain, but Wesley slapped me across the face.

My mouth burned with pain. I thought it might split open.

"William just got back to the country—do you really have to target him like this!"

"Don't you know William injured his knee and can't handle any impact? You're trying to cripple him completely!"

Wesley's words were extremely harsh, as if I were some kind of irredeemable villain.

But she knew full well I had never thought such things about anyone, never hurt anyone. Yet she only believed William's one-sided story.

"I didn't—I never even touched him!"

William immediately spoke up, cutting off my explanation:

"Maybe your boyfriend doesn't want me here. I should just go stay elsewhere and not disturb you two..."

"And about helping me with work when I return—you don't need to worry about that anymore. I shouldn't have come to you!"

Hearing this, Wesley's heart immediately clenched. She quickly embraced William to comfort him, her eyes overflowing with tenderness.

"William, we bought this apartment together. It's your home too. How can you not want me, not want this place..."

After saying this, Wesley suddenly looked at me and issued an eviction order:

"Ronald, you don't need to live here anymore. Move to a hotel—my treat!"

I pulled at the corner of my mouth. So with just one word from William, I didn't even have the right to live here anymore.

Perfect. I had no intention of staying anyway!

I straightened my spine and dragged two suitcases toward the exit.

As I passed, Wesley frowned at me, seeming to want to say something, but was interrupted by William's cry of pain.