Our Love No Longer Remains Original

After days of relentless storms, a landslide swept through the mountains.

My parents were missing.

I asked Brad Watson to drive me home.

But halfway there, his lifesaver, Evelyn Smith, called him.

"Brad, the thunder's too loud. I'm so scared, where are you?"

Without a second thought, he kicked me out of the car.

In a blink, the storm soaked me to the bone.

Shivering, I clung to the car window. "Brad, please, just take me to see my parents first..."

Remote and blocked by the landslide, the roads were deserted.

It was deep into the night, and walking home would take until dawn.

But Brad, impatient, shrugged off my hand. "She has a heart condition. I owe her; I have to be there whenever she calls."

With those words, he drove away, leaving me in my most desperate moment to go to Evelyn.

Brad's car faded into the distance.

Standing in the pouring rain, I felt an unprecedented despair.

Once Brad makes up his mind, nothing can change it.

He wouldn't come back.

There was no signal on the mountain roads, and my phone was useless.

Anxiety burned inside me like wildfire.

All I could do was run forward in the cold rain, hoping to speed up my journey.

The road was slippery, and in my haste, I'd only worn slippers.

After countless falls, I staggered home to find it buried in mud.

The rescue team had already retrieved my parents' bodies.

Even though I had braced for the worst, seeing it tore my heart.

Just the day before, they had asked me to bring Brad home for dinner.

Now, they were just two cold bodies.

I could barely manage my grief, only mustering the strength to support my weary body with the help of nearby residents to organize their funerals.

It wasn't until my parents' ashes were buried that Brad finally called me.

"Don't make a scene. Evelyn is in the hospital right now, and I can't leave. I'll come for you and your parents when I'm free."

Even through the screen, I could feel the cold indifference on his face as he spoke.

That night, as I kept vigil for my parents, I had intended to call him over.

Instead, I saw a post on Instagram from Evelyn.

Brad and she were in the same hospital bed.

Even in sleep, he clutched Evelyn's hand tightly as if fearing she might slip away the next second.

The caption read simply: [As long as you're here, I fear nothing.]

I glanced once, daring not to look any further.

It felt as though a sharp dagger had been thrust into my chest, instantly drenching me in blood, the pain unbearable.

I silently turned off my phone.

Then, in the makeshift shrine, I wept all night before the bodies of my parents.

At dawn, I sent a message to Brad.

[Brad, am I not as important to her?]

He didn't reply at the time.

Three days had passed since I sent that message.

It seemed he had only just remembered his fiancée, finally deigning to call me.

But it wasn't to check on me.

Instead, as usual, he spoke in an impatient, commanding tone, chastising me to stop making a scene.

Stopped make a scene.

Those words I'd heard for two whole years.

But now, I didn't want to hear them anymore.

I didn't want to know my worth in his heart anymore.

I said, "Brad, let's break up."

After that, I hung up the phone.

My exhausted body, compounded by profound sorrow, couldn't take it anymore, and I passed out.

When I awoke, I was in the hospital.

The doctor said it was fortunate someone had passed by and rushed me to the hospital in time.

I had hypoglycemia from not eating for a long time, and a wound on my leg had gone untreated and became infected.

I needed to stay in the hospital for a few days for observation.

However, when I returned from paying at the window, I encountered Brad and Evelyn in the hallway.

Evelyn, looking frail, cooed in his arms, "Brad, the medicine the doctor prescribed is so bitter, I don't want to take it."

Brad soothed her gently. "Sweetheart, there's a reward if you do."

With blushing ears, Evelyn asked, "What's the reward?"

Brad chuckled and tapped her nose. "Take it and you'll find out."

They flaunted their love as if no one else was around until they heard footsteps behind them.

The next second, they faced my expressionless gaze.