I Watched My Friend Get Disfigured

I just wondered whether Leon would be able to endure the coming hardships.

My family might have been neighbors with the Stanes, but as long as I did not take initiative, we would rarely meet.

I only saw Hedgar again a week later.

Leon was supporting her on a stroll around the area. We ran into each other when I was coming back with my mother from a grocery run.

…

“Ma’am, allow me to introduce you to my other half, Leon.”

Hedgar’s voice was full of joy, even though her face was still wrapped in bandages.

I could see the happiness in her eyes.

Both my mother and I gave them our blessings, but Leon discreetly stopped holding Hedgar’s hand.

“Don’t say that, Hedgar.” Leon shifted uneasily. “My parents don’t know about this yet.”

After so many years, I finally saw Hedgar smiling happily like she did when she was a teenager.

“Leon, as long as you want to, we can get married tonight. We’ve already promised to be together forever.”

When I saw how immersed Hedgar was in the cage of happiness she trapped herself in, I found myself not having the heart to break it.

When we got back, my mother lamented, “Hedgar sure has it rough. She was such a beautiful girl before, but now…”

I shook my head and gave a noncommittal remark. “This is the path she chose for herself.”

No matter which life it was, she always chose the same path.

My mother looked in the direction of the Stanes’ house and sighed nonstop.

“James is so pitiful too.”

I looked in the direction of her gaze, only to find James sitting alone in a wicker chair in his courtyard with an empty look in his eyes.

At some point, his temples had turned gray.

I remembered how Hedgar always complained that if I had not gotten in the way, she would have gotten married to Leon a long time ago.

I had retorted back then, “You’re the one who said that I got injured because of you and wanted to be responsible.”

Constantly doing good without getting anything back leads to resentment. I supposed that was the principle behind it.

She stared at my eyes with a horrifyingly dark look.

“Stop pretending, Henry! You like me and planned this to marry me! You worked together with my dad and used this method to force me to marry you!”

I said nothing.

I was a pretty good-looking man myself.

Why would I want to ruin my face for a delusional woman?

James hurriedly wiped away his tears and looked away.

I bowed my head.

Even at this point, Hedgar still naively believed that her meeting with Leon was a work of fate.

She did not know that I had looked into everything and found out that Leon just wanted to marry a rich girl to climb up the social ladder.

In order to meet Hedgar, Leon had waited by the road she took to go back home multiple times. Even him swooping in to save her in her moment of distress was only a show he orchestrated.

…

James came to deliver us an invitation to the engagement party.

There was pity in his eyes. “Henry, in truth…”

I smiled and handed the invitation to my mother before changing the topic. “James, I set up a restaurant with a friend in another city, and it’s opening the day after tomorrow. I have to be there.”

After I got disfigured in my previous life, Hedgar ignored me, and only my university roommate occasionally dropped by to visit.

Whenever I collapsed due to the pain of my scars, he was the one who carefully helped me up without being bothered by them.

But he was unfortunate himself and married a woman, who only cared about her brother. She gave away his entire salary to her brother, so he could build his business.

This time, I wanted to rise to great heights with him before he got married as thanks for him treating me so well.

James was stunned and said that I was rushing too much.

…

Someone knocked on my door at night.

It was Hedgar. Her face was covered in bandages, and only her eyes could be seen.

I scowled and wanted to shut the door, but she stopped me.

After a few seconds of silent staring, she gave me some door gifts from her handbag. “You’re going to go to your restaurant instead of attending my engagement party?”