I took out my phone and called my lawyer, instructing him to send the signed divorce papers to Zac. Then, I sent Zac a message, "I’m letting you go. Goodbye."What did Zac do wrong, really? He was just holding on to the love he believed in. It just so happened that he didn’t love me.If I had realized sooner that this marriage was a mistake and let him go, freeing both of us, maybe we could have gone back to the easy relationship we had as seatmates.But he had his convictions, and I had my stubbornness.In the end, he got what he fought for, while I had no choice but to let go.……I waited, expecting Eve to send me photos of her and Zac’s wedding, but even as I took my last breath and my soul floated above my body, the message never came.I watched as the villagers and children gathered around my coffin, sobbing uncontrollably. I wanted so badly to tell them, "Don’t cry. I wasn’t going to live much longer anyway."But it was as if some invisible force pulled me away, dragging
Seeing Zac stay silent, Sally sighed. "If you really want to make things right with Quinn, you need to go find her and live a good, honest life with her from now on."Zac's eyes darted around. He then looked up and asked Sally with a clueless expression, "Do you really think Quinn would forgive me and want to be with me again?"I shook my head. Of course, I wouldn’t. After all, I had no interest in used goods, especially after Eve had her hands on him.Sally smacked him on the back in frustration. "You won’t know until you try, right?"I nodded to myself in agreement. "Yeah, why not give it a shot and see?"Zac quickly got up, grabbed a jacket, and ran out the door. I followed him as he called around, using every contact he had and spending money to track me down. Eventually, he found my grave on a small hillside in the countryside.I watched the disbelief in his eyes as he grabbed the village chief’s arm and demanded to know if this was some elaborate trick to deceive him.The
But after they chose to accept Zac and Eve’s relationship, everyone in my life became insignificant to me.……Later, Zac went to the hospital and spoke with my doctor. He learnt that I had stomach cancer and had refused treatment. When he got home, he drank heavily, clutching a bottle, muttering to himself, "I didn’t know you only had three months left. If I had known, I would have..." But he passed out before finishing his sentence.What would he have done if he had known? Left Eve and stayed with me?The next day, he started watching videos to learn how to cook my favorite dishes. When he cut his fingers, he put on a band-aid and kept going. When he burned the food, he threw it all away and started over.As he chopped vegetables, he murmured, "Did you do the same thing? Over and over, just to learn how to cook for me."He even took classes on massage, baking cakes, and flower arranging. He signed up to learn how to arrange sunflowers, my favorite, saying he would keep them in
Sitting at the dining table, I stared at the food growing colder by the minute. I picked up my phone and typed a single word, "Okay," and hit send.Half an hour earlier, Zac had texted me, saying he had just left the office and would be home soon.I had eagerly set out his favorite dishes on the table when my phone lit up with another message. "Something urgent came up. I have to attend a meeting. You go ahead without me."My heart sank. There was no last-minute business meeting. It was just my dear 'sister,' his so-called one true love, Eve, who had just returned from overseas with her biracial child. Zac and their friends were busy throwing her a welcome-back party.How did I know? Of course, it was my lovely sister who posted something on her social media, visible only to me. In the photo, Zac was gazing at her with so much affection, smiling more like a goofy dog than an actual one.If she had any less shame, I bet she would have invited me to witness the whole thing in person
Before I had to face them, I quickly got up and rushed into the bathroom.In the living room, Zac called out for me several times, but I covered my mouth. Tears were streaming down my face and I was too afraid to respond.By the time I wiped my tears and composed myself enough to come out, I found them sitting at the dining table. They were eating the oats porridge I had made, chatting and laughing together.What a "happy little family" they were.I stormed over, stopping right in front of the table, and staring at them with a burning intensity.Zac looked up, confused. "Where’d you go? I’ve been calling you for a while."Eve smiled sweetly, but there was a hint of challenge in her eyes. "Quinn, come sit down and have breakfast with us!" Her tone was so casual, as if she were Mrs. Gibson and I was the guest begging for scraps.My expression must have been twisted with rage because I could feel my chest about to explode from the fury.I had not even had a bite of the food I made
Zac lifted his foot to chase after her, but I grabbed the corner of his shirt, stopping him.Clutching my stomach in pain, I asked in a trembling voice, "Zac, my stomach hurts so much. Can you please get me a glass of warm water?"He shoved me off with force, causing my head to hit the wall, and I was left dizzy from the impact. For a brief moment, I saw a flicker of regret in his eyes.However, he still coldly spat out, "Quinn, you're getting more and more pathetic. Now you can’t even get a glass of water on your own?" Then, without another word, he rushed out the door to chase after Eve.Of course, the allure of his "one true love" was stronger. What did I, his stand-in for the past eight years, even mean to him?Suddenly, the pain in my stomach did not feel as bad anymore. It was the stabbing pain in my heart that was unbearable.……My doctor kept urging me to undergo chemotherapy. He said, "You’re still so young. You can’t just give up on life."But what he did not know was
My mom fell ill from the shock, and though my dad was furious, he had to swallow his pride and go to the Gibson family to apologize. After all, if the wealthiest family in the city turned against us, my dad would not be able to handle it.Zac was devastated by the breakup and spiraled into drinking. Within a month, he was hospitalized twice for stomach bleeding.Sally was in tears every day, and Tom angrily berated him for being so weak, saying no woman was worth ruining his life over.Feeling indebted to the Gibson family, my parents decided that I should marry Zac. Zac’s parents eagerly agreed, as I had just begun to make a name for myself in the company. And since their son was not stepping up, they saw me as someone who could help keep Gibson Corporation afloat in the future.The only person who did not agree was Zac. He came to my house drunk, pointed at me, and yelled, "Quinn, don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to. Even if Eve’s gone, you’ll never marry me. The title of
That day, the rage in his bloodshot eyes terrified me. His hands gripped my throat so tightly that, for a moment, I thought I was going to die right there in his grasp.Finally, he let go and stood up. He put on his clothes and sneered, "If Eve hadn’t left, do you really think you’d be lying in my bed?"I clutched my neck, coughing for what felt like forever before I could catch my breath. But I wasn’t about to give in. "Yeah," I said, "but Eve didn’t want to sleep in your bed, did she?"His eyes flared with anger again as he glared at me.I smirked, my voice soft, "What? Want to choke me again?"He stormed out and slammed the door behind him.In that moment, I realized I would never have a place in his heart, even if I had the same face as Eve.……Eve and I were identical twins. I was born two minutes earlier, so I got the title of "elder sister."Most twins grew up inseparable, wearing the same clothes, styling their hair the same way, and carrying matching bags. But that wa