Just the mere mention of the wedding decorations sent my fiancée’s “true love” running out in tears. Ashley slapped me so hard I fell to the ground, her eyes burning with hatred. "Liam, are you that desperate to get married? Are you so afraid you'll never find another girl that you're trying to force me into this?!" "The wedding is postponed again - for another week!" I held my cheek, but I felt nothing. This was the eighth time she'd pushed the wedding back. I'd been waiting for her since I was twenty-eight, and now, well into my thirties, I was still waiting for an answer. So, this time, I calmly packed my bags and decided to leave. Maybe this wedding wasn't meant to happen. ... I held my throbbing cheek, a searing pain spreading through me. My body trembled, shaking uncontrollably. The woman who was supposed to be my fiancée glared at me with disgust. She disgustedly wiped the hand she used to hit me with a tissue. "Liam, you know perfectly well that Jason isn't feeling well, so what are you trying to pull mentioning our wedding in front of him?" "Yes, I said I would marry you. Does that mean you have to be so impatient? Are you afraid that no one else will ever want you?" "Can't you just wait a little longer?" Her face was etched with frustration, and her eyes held a deep disdain. My mind flashed back to Ashley's passionate proposal three years ago. "Liam, I really want to marry you soon so we can be together forever!" Not long after that, I had brought up the subject of marriage. Ashley promised me a grand and lavish wedding. But I'd been waiting for that wedding for three years, and it still hadn't happened. The first time, she said it was too early, that we were still young and there was no need to rush. I thought she had pre-wedding jitters and tried to reassure her. Shortly after the second date, she made another excuse, saying the company had something come up, requiring that she go on an indefinite business trip, pushing it back once again. Over and over again, it had been put off, and now we were at the eighth occasion. Every time, I would excitedly book the venue, hire the DJ, and prepare the party favors. But Ashley would always find an excuse to back out. Until today, I couldn't take it anymore. We weren't getting any younger, and our careers were stable. I gathered my courage and asked her when we were going to get married. I never expected to be slapped for it. After a long silence, I bit my lip tightly, my ear ringing from the blow, my cheek swelling. Ashley sighed and turned to leave. I instinctively grabbed her hand and asked quietly, "Where are you going?" She jerked her hand away as if she'd been electrocuted, taking a step back. I froze, my hand awkwardly suspended in mid-air, staring at her in disbelief. "I'm sorry, Liam. I was impulsive. I'll go get some ointment for your cheek." Ashley quickly offered an excuse, her voice low and apologetic. This time, I just bit my lip and said nothing. Three years of love. Suddenly, I felt like I didn't know her at all. She could hit me without hesitation, and then immediately apologize? After Ashley left, she didn't come back for a long time. Worried, I decided to go look for her. But under the lamppost in front of the hotel, I saw two figures embracing. The woman looked up and whispered in the man's ear. "Don't worry, Jason. If you don't want me to, I definitely won't marry him." "After all you've done for me, I'll agree to whatever you say!" I suppressed the sadness and pain in my heart, covered my mouth, and tried not to cry out. I wanted to confront them, but my legs felt like lead. 2 After a long time, Ashley reluctantly pulled away from Jason and headed back towards me. I quickly ran home. Before I even got there, Ashley called. Her voice was sharp, scolding me. "Liam, I told you to wait for me at the hotel. Where did you run off to?" My throat tightened, and tears welled up in my eyes. I was about to question her, but the words that came out were full of hurt. "I waited for you at home since you didn't come back." Ashley paused, then spoke softly, trying to soothe me. "I'm sorry, I got stuck in traffic." I had barely sat down on the couch when Ashley got back. She acted like someone whose date had been interrupted and who had no choice but to go home. She tossed the ointment at me. "Here's the medicine. Rub it on yourself." I clutched the ointment in my hand, staring blankly at her back, and gritted my teeth. "You hit me in the face. Could you please put the ointment on for me?" A flash of disgust and contempt crossed Ashley's eyes. She looked away, scoffed, and said coldly, "You asked for it!" "Besides, do you not have hands? You’re a big adult now, can’t you think of a way to do this yourself, or do you need someone to teach you?" A string of questions left me feeling ashamed. She wasn't like this before. Whenever I got a tiny cut while cooking, she would panic, get a bandage, and stick it on me. I would laugh at how serious she was. She said that if she was any slower, the wound would heal on its own. She would cover my mouth, her eyes red with concern, telling me not to say such things. I took the ointment to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. I overheard her talking on the phone. The call was loud, and I heard everything clearly. My heart grew cold. "I'm going to the hospital to see Grandpa tomorrow, Jason, want to come?" "Would I be okay to see Grandpa with you?" "Of course. Grandpa's met you before. If it weren't for you saving him, he wouldn't be here now. Plus, he already sees you as his grandson-in-law!" "Don't say that, you’ll make me blush. You already have a fiancé. I guess I'm not that lucky!" Then her voice became firm and decisive. "No, I'll only marry you!" Crash! The ointment fell into the sink, making a loud noise. Ashley quickly hung up and appeared in the bathroom, frowning. Seeing me rubbing ointment on my face, she tried to probe. "Liam, I'm going to the hospital to see Grandpa tomorrow. Want to come?" I already knew the truth, but my heart felt like it was full of holes. Looking at myself in the mirror, my swollen face looked like a monster. "Do you think it's appropriate for me to see Grandpa like this? Would you even want me to see him?" Over the years, every time I asked to see her grandfather, Ashley would always find a hundred reasons to refuse. Just like she refused our wedding. So, to this day, I still don't even know what her grandfather looks like. I only know that Ashley was raised by her grandfather and that he was the person closest to her. But she had taken Jason to see her closest family many times. I suppressed the pain in my chest and asked her again. "If I wanted to go, would you take me?" Ashley didn't answer. She grabbed the ointment from my hand and gently rubbed it on my face, saying. "It's okay, Liam. Once your cheek heals, I'll take you to see Grandpa. He'll love your handsome face!" I didn't say anything. But I had a big question mark in my mind. She had made similar promises countless times over the past three years. I used to think she was really thinking of me, so I never pushed her. But now I suddenly realized that I couldn't swallow her lies anymore. The reason she wasn't taking me to see her grandfather was simple: she didn't see me as her fiancé. 3 The next morning, Ashley left early. As expected, she was picking up Jason to take him to the hospital to see her grandfather. I washed my face, put on a mask, and went to find a rental apartment. This house belonged to Ashley. I was going to move out. While waiting to meet the landlord, I clicked on Jason's social media. There was a photo of him, Ashley, and an old man. The caption read "Family photo." The comments were full of blessings. Even though I knew about this last night, my chest still felt like it was being crushed by a rock. I stared blankly at the photo until the taxi driver told me to get out. Before logging out, I liked their photo and left a comment with a blessing. The apartment search went smoothly. The location was great. It was right next to a hospital. I had recently passed my nursing exam and had been accepted to work at the hospital. I was going to share the good news with Ashley today, but now it didn't seem necessary. After paying the deposit, I went back to pack my bags. But as I passed in front of the hospital, I saw Ashley and Jason. They were holding hands, their fingers intertwined. It was Jason who saw me. He boldly pulled Ashley forward and spoke to me sarcastically. "Liam, you're here too? Did you come with Ashley? Why don't you go up and see Grandpa? "You didn't even tell Ashley you were coming!" Ashley's eyes flickered with worry. She took a half-step forward to hide their joined hands, quickly letting go. But at Jason's reminder, that worry turned into anger, and her eyes flashed. "What are you doing here? I don't think I told you where I was going!" She frowned, her expression changed, and she glared at me. "Liam, are you stalking me?!" She took another step forward, forcing me back. Her face was scary. She grabbed my arm and ripped off my mask. "You look like hell. Why are you stalking me instead of resting at home?" "Didn't I tell you I'd take you once your face healed? What are you trying to pull by stalking me now!" Ashley was reprimanding me. She didn't bother to ask for an explanation. Passersby stared at my swollen face. I felt ashamed and tried to cover it with my hand, arguing with her. "I'm not stalking you!" "You're not stalking me? Then why are you here?" Ashley scolded angrily. "Don't tell me you came to the hospital for your cheek. Or are you dying of some terminal illness?" My chest felt heavy. But I wasn't going to tell her anything. I wasn't going to tell her that I rented an apartment here, or that I had been hired to work at this hospital. In the end, I just remained silent, letting Ashley scold me. "Can't talk? Liam, I'm impressed. If you had said you wanted to see Grandpa, would I have refused? You're stalking me now!" "Next time, do I need to let you know where I'm going?" I was stunned. I didn't know how to respond. She had never allowed me to come with her, always making excuses. Now it was my fault. I took a deep breath and suppressed the sadness in my heart. I looked at Ashley. "Whether you believe me or not, I wasn't stalking you." After saying that, I ignored Ashley's surprised look, hailed a taxi, and left. As soon as I got in the car, tears started streaming down my face. That's it, I'll just let them have each other. 4 As soon as I got home, my phone rang. It was Ashley. "Liam, are you home?" She spoke softly, as if nothing had happened. But her voice sounded insincere. I wanted to hang up, but I needed to settle things with her. She was the one who had messed up this relationship. I shouldn't run away. "What's up?" "I'm at a hotel. I sent you the location. I think the decoration style is nice. Come check it out." I hung up, confused. A hotel? Was it for our wedding? This wasn't like Ashley. I used to push her, but she would never get involved. Now she was bringing it up on her own. I washed the tears off my face and went to the hotel. When I got there, I realized that it was nowhere near the level of the hotels I had picked out for the other eight attempts. I looked at Ashley, confused. "Didn't you say we should keep the wedding simple? Why are we picking such a nice hotel?" Just then, Jason came down the stairs. He pointed at things with the hotel manager. "Liam, you think this hotel is great too, right? Ashley said she's going to have a birthday party for me here." My face froze. Ashley welcomed Jason and gave me a disgusted look, scolding me. "Don't talk nonsense. I just wanted you to see the hotel. You're still fantasizing about the wedding!" I felt embarrassed. I bit my teeth and nodded. I hid my hands in my sleeves, trembling, and said, "Great, it's great." Jason grabbed my arm. "You have to come to my birthday, Liam! I want your blessing!" Then, where only we could see, Jason smirked at me. She knew that I had fought with Ashley about the wedding venue. Today, she was provoking me with her birthday party. I couldn't contain the anger in my chest and pushed Jason to the ground. She screamed, burst into tears, and half-collapsed. "Liam, I just wanted your blessing. If you don't like me, that's fine, but why would you push me!" "Liam, are you sick?" Ashley felt sorry for her and helped Jason up. After comforting her, she turned to yell at me. "Go get treated if you're sick. Don't be crazy here. You can't afford to hurt Jason!" My heart was breaking, and I could barely breathe. But I looked her in the eye, tears in my eyes. "Yes, I'll go get treated. I wish you and Jason a happy marriage and may you have children soon." I turned and left the hotel. Back home, my makeup was ruined. I packed my bags and moved to the rental apartment. I left Ashley with a letter to terminate our engagement. For the next two days, Ashley and I had no contact. She didn't come home. I saw on Jason's social media that they had been all over the city. [This is the best birthday gift ever!] The last photo was of them embracing and kissing in the decorated ballroom. I habitually liked and commented with a blessing. Then I logged out, smiling bitterly. After being with Ashley for so many years, she had never made time to travel with me. Now she was having fun! On the day of Jason's birthday party, I was starting my first day at the hospital. After two days, Ashley sent me a message. [It's Jason's birthday today. You have to come, or you'll regret it!] I didn't reply and focused on work. The nurse station rang, and I ran to room 18. An old man had lost consciousness. The machine was beeping. The doctor asked me to call the family. "Notify the family, prepare for surgery!" I used the phone to call the patient's family. "Is this the family of Shaun Baldwin?" The voice on the other end laughed. "Liam? When did you become a nurse? You're scheming. You think I'd fall for that?" "Don't you know that I hate you chasing me?" I didn't expect it to be her. I suppressed my anger and said coldly, "The patient has heart failure and liver failure. He needs surgery. Please come to the hospital." "I've delivered the message. Believe it or not. I hope you don't regret it!"
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