Chapter 3

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 that both my stomach and my heart were already riddled with scars. I could not bear to go through any more torment.

In these last three months, I just wanted to spend my time quietly. I did not want to lose all my hair and end up waiting for death in a hospital bed.

Since that day Zac ran after Eve, he had not set foot in our house for four days.

Eve, however, made sure to give me daily updates via her social media, visible only to me.

"Today, we visited the spot where we first fell in love. It's amazing! Those little trees have all grown so much." The photo showed a small grove at Central High. I remembered standing behind one of those trees, watching as Zac knelt down on one knee to propose to Eve.

"Today, we watched The Ex-Files 3 together. I wonder if I still hold the same place in his heart as I once did?" The photo was of two movie tickets and a pair of hands, one large and one small, tightly intertwined.

"He said watching me eat makes him happy!" The photo showed a plate of spicy buffalo wings, even though Zac never ate anything spicy.

……

And so on, each post a thinly veiled attempt to rub salt in my wounds.

I made sure to like each one, displaying the grace and poise of a wife in her rightful place. Losing him did not matter, but I was not about to lose my dignity.

Eventually, Eve called, her voice seething with anger. "Quinn, if you know what's good for you, you'll give up the title of Mrs. Gibson sooner rather than later. It’s never been yours, and even after eight years, it still won’t be."

I let out a quiet laugh. Did I even have another eight years left to give?

After laughing, I replied calmly, "Eve, as soon as you can get Zac's mom to welcome you with open arms, I’ll head straight to the courthouse and finalize the divorce."

I could see she was typing, but no message came through.

She knew there was no way she could ever get the Gibson family’s approval. After all, it was she who had trampled all over their reputation in the first place.

Back then, both families had already sat down to discuss the wedding, and the media was buzzing about the upcoming grand event. It was supposed to be a huge celebration!

Zac’s mother, Sally Gibson, had gone out of her way to find the finest gifts for her soon-to-be daughter-in-law, and his father, Tom Gibson, had even generously given Eve 2% of Gibson Corporation’s shares to show how much they valued her.

Every woman in our circle was envious of Eve. Even I would hide away in empty corners, sneaking glances at Zac, wishing I could be the one standing by his side.

But that perfect happiness, so easily within her grasp, was destroyed by Eve herself.

---

One week before the wedding, Eve left a letter and disappeared.

It was not until my dad finished reading the letter that everyone realized Eve had flown halfway across the world to Frangelia to chase after her true love.

She wrote that when she met the tall and muscular John, she finally understood what true love really felt like. And since she had always dreamed of having a biracial child, all she could do was offer her apologies to Zac and the Gibson family.