After the Class Reunion, My First Love Became My Husband

Locke and I weren't just classmates. We sat next to each other for three years.

Back then, he was introverted and didn't talk much.

Because of a little secret I had, I didn't dare talk to him either.

Although we were deskmates, we hardly ever spoke.

During our school days, even though we sat together every day, we didn't really know each other.

Before graduation, our seats were reassigned.

There was no reason for me to keep sitting with Locke.

Just like that, our seats were separated.

Although we were no longer deskmates, I couldn't help but keep an eye on him.

After we stopped sitting together, he seemed more cheerful.

His new deskmate was a lively girl who often asked him for help with her studies. Locke always patiently assisted her.

She liked to joke around, and she could always make Locke laugh.

I felt a pang of disappointment. Locke had never smiled at me like that.

I didn't know why, but I felt a sourness in my heart.

After the midterm exams, the school held a parent-teacher meeting.

When my mom saw my report card, she was furious.

After the meeting, she pulled me aside and scolded me harshly.

"Kristina, what are you doing? I work so hard to support your education, and this is how you repay me.

"If I had known you'd turn out like this, I wouldn't have let the doctors save you. I should have saved your brother instead and let you die."

I didn't dare argue. My mom always said such things when she was angry.

I felt guilty about the brother I never got to meet. After all, my mom had always told me that if I hadn't taken all the nutrients in her womb, maybe he could have survived until the doctors could save him. It was all my fault.

Seeing me remain silent, my mom got even angrier.

"Why aren't you saying anything? Are you secretly cursing me in your heart? Now that you're grown up, you've become rebellious. Are you hiding a boyfriend from me? I have read your diary.

"You even wrote, 'He smells so good, like the scent of gardenias carried by the wind.' How could you write such things? Have you no shame?"

Hearing my secret exposed, I quickly raised my head, only to see Locke standing nearby.

I realized he had overheard my mother's words.

A wave of embarrassment and shame washed over me.

I ran away without looking back.

I never expected the secret I'd hidden in my heart for so many years to be exposed in such a humiliating way.

I felt my crush had become a joke.

Tears blurred my vision. Suddenly, a hand offered me a tissue.

It was Locke.

The embarrassment and shame in my heart surged once again.

As if I'd found an outlet for all my pent-up anger, I yelled furiously, "Get lost! Can't you just leave me alone? Don't you know how much I hate you?"