Chapter 5
I came back from the hospital to the apartment at 3 AM.
I opened the door and didn’t see Greg.
Clearly, he was still with Ayleen.
I got a message from Ayleen, bragging.
In the photo, Greg sat by a bed, reading a magazine and telling Ayleen stories.
His face looked very gentle, a way I’d never seen.
Greg usually acted caring towards me, but this photo made me realize the difference between love
and no love had been clear.
Ayleen messaged me.
“Everly, what should I do? Greg seems to really like me.”
I was tired, turned off my phone, and just wanted to sleep.
“Everly, just chill about this whole thing with Greg, okay?” I muttered to myself.
I hadn’t been in bed long when someone woke me.
I was banged up and hadn’t gotten any decent rest, so my whole body was throbbing with pain.
Greg asked, “Everly, Ayla’s hoping to see you. Think we should drop by and visit her today?”
Greg still wore yesterday’s clothes, with dark circles under his eyes.
He must have stayed up all night with Ayleen.
Noticing I stayed silent, Greg went on, “I understand you can’t stand Ayla. It’s fine, Everly. When
you become my wife, you won’t have to see anyone you dislike. Trust me, before we get married,
you won’t have to see her much.”
Greg looked at me gently, as if he cared about my feelings.
It made me want to give him an award for Best Actor.
Greg had not been marrying me to protect me. He had been doing it to protect Ayleen.
But Greg had been right about one thing. Ayleen and I wouldn’t have seen much of each other.
I was about to move abroad, after all.
I had returned to my family house with Greg and heard a scream coming from inside.
Chapter 5
1/3
“Murder!”
Before I could react, Greg broke the door open.
Inside, a thug was slowly advancing towards Ayleen with a knife.
Ayleen was in a corner, shaking.
Without hesitating, Greg rushed to shield Ayleen.
The thug didn’t dare to attack Greg, so he lunged at me with the knife.
“Help, Greg!” I shouted instinctively.
Before the thug could stab me, I saw Greg holding Ayleen tightly, terrified that she might get hurt.
Blood flowed down my body, and my vision blurred.
Before I lost consciousness, someone seemed to be running towards me.
