After the Misery, I Found My Smile

"I won't eat it then," Tracy cooed playfully.

"You're so greedy. Can you really resist it?" Frank disagreed, snatching the menu and starting to order.

Tracy propped her chin with her hands, smiling sweetly at him.

I sat beside them like a transparent person, watching their harmonious and intimate interaction.

I felt like I was in an ice cellar. The air around me seemed to turn bitter and unusually heavy.

When Tracy first joined Frank's research group earlier this year, he would complain to me every day about how careless and clumsy she was.

At first, I advised him not to be too hard on her.

But later, Tracy's name gradually filled our lives.

He mentioned her name three times in every five sentences he spoke to me.

He went from scolding her to admiring her.

He said she was very much like I used to be, passionate about life, enjoying it, lively, cheerful, and very ambitious.

As I reminisced about the past, Tracy's words pulled me back to reality.

"Eve, I was wrong before, and I apologize. Please forgive me."

She said the words of apology but showed no sign of guilt. Instead, there was a strange sense of superiority.

Her gaze at me was challenging, yet Frank couldn't see it through.

Seeing that I didn't speak, he wanted to hold my hand to remind me.

I avoided it, laughed out loud, and then calmly said, "I'm not angry. In fact, I want to thank you."

"Thank you for waking me up and for making me realize how foolish I was for trying so hard to hold on." However, I didn't say the latter half.

Frank was taken aback, looking at me with confusion. "Why would you thank her?"

"Thanking her for helping me cut my losses in time."

I said with a smile, slowly standing up. "I suddenly find watching you two quite nauseating. Enjoy your meal, I'm out."

Tracy's smile instantly disappeared, replaced by tears in her eyes, looking pitifully at me.

"Eve, have I offended you? Why are you so mean to me in front of Frank?"

Before I could respond, Frank angrily demanded, "Evelyn Felton, what exactly do you want? She's apologized, yet you're still being aggressive. Is this fun for you?"

I looked up into his angry eyes and calmly said, "Seeing you two cornered like dogs is quite entertaining."

After saying that, I ignored their anger and left the restaurant with my bag.

As I walked out onto the street outside the restaurant, I glanced back unintentionally.

Tracy had thrown herself into his arms.

Frank stood there and didn't push her away. He was saying something, probably comforting her.

I smiled bitterly, my eyes reddening.

In a daze, I remembered our past.

Frank and I met in college. We had known each other for four years and had been in love for five.

After graduation, he joined his professor's research institute while I found a job.

When I first started working, I didn't understand the intricacies of human relationships and faced a lot of difficulties.

To cheer me up, he bought a costume and played the clown in front of me.

He said, "As long as you're happy, I'll be happy too, but if you're sad, I'll be sad with you, so you should smile more."

I didn't know why, but such a good man like me had changed, too. I raised my hand to wipe away the tears, suppressing all the bitterness.

Without the so-called love, I threw myself entirely into work.

I didn't have the spare time to indulge in self-pity.