Something Blue, Someone New

"Sarah, apologize to her right now."

"Henry..."

"Shut up and apologize immediately!"

Charlotte trembled in his arms, tears falling silently down her face, looking utterly helpless.

My arm was already turning a mottled purple and blue, with bruising visibly spreading beneath the skin.

Those shocking marks didn't even catch Henry's eye - he just looked at me as if I were some unforgivable criminal.

I gave a bitter smile, unwilling to say another word. "I'm sorry."

Henry seemed taken aback for a moment, but his eyes quickly grew even harder. "Not sincere enough."

I straightened my back and bowed deeply. "Is this better?"

Charlotte watched me, her lips curling slightly upward before quickly shifting to sobs as she turned to Henry. "Let it go, Henry."

"How could I accept such an apology?" Henry's expression instantly softened. "Sarah, I've told you before, Charlotte is different from others. Bullying her like this only makes me despise you more - and makes me love her even more."

He turned and left with Charlotte in his arms.

I stood there alone for I don't know how long, the pain in my arm unbearable, like being stabbed with needles. Yet my heart was surprisingly calm. I finally understood - in that moment, all those years of foolish young love turned to nothing, vanishing like smoke.

That night, Henry posted several times on social media. People in our circle immediately sent me screenshots, specifically highlighting his captions. I understood their intentions perfectly.

In the past, at times like this, I would have impulsively confronted Henry with a big scene. Though he was always impatient, he would eventually give in. That made me mistakenly believe he cared about me, and made me increasingly unable to know when to stop.

This time, I chose silence. Instead, I dialed back that missed call from a week ago.

"Mr. Barnes, this is Sarah. About what you proposed last time, I've made my decision."

When I was thirteen, my parents died in an accident. Because the Crawfords were old family friends and lived nearby, I moved in with them. Until Rachel called.

Rachel was my mother's closest friend in her youth, but she had moved far away for love and lost touch. By the time she settled in Verdancliff, my parents had already passed away.

Rachel wanted me to come live in Verdancliff. She also wanted to fulfill a childhood promise with my mother by having me marry her son and become the Barnes' daughter-in-law.

A week ago, I couldn't bring myself to agree immediately, but I couldn't refuse either, only saying I needed time to think.

Yet tonight, I suddenly saw clearly how blind I'd been all these years. My one-sided love was truly laughable. I didn't want to be other people's gossip anymore.

Six months ago, Henry wanted to break off our engagement. I had refused desperately at the time, causing several scenes. But he never changed his mind.

Looking back now, maybe this was for the best. Perhaps it was all meant to be.

On the other end of the phone, Rachel happily said, "Sarah, William has been waiting for your answer. He's about to fly to Verdancliff to propose to you."

Holding my phone, I suddenly felt my cheeks flush. The laughter in my ear made me feel strangely lost. The person I had loved unrequitedly for ten years - who knew it would only take seven short days to truly let go?

Henry and Charlotte chose to get engaged the day I left for Verdancliff, so nobody came to see me off. After landing, I turned on my phone. Message notifications kept coming in, most about Henry and Charlotte's engagement. I smiled and blocked them all.

Before coming to Verdancliff, I had met William. I didn't want to make a big deal of it or cause gossip. William completely understood my feelings. He proposed, we exchanged rings - we got engaged just that simply. A simple diamond ring added to my finger.

Just as I was about to get into the Barnes' car, my phone suddenly rang. It was Henry's cousin Emily.

"Sarah, the engagement ceremony is about to start, where are you?"

"Just arrived in Silverbrook Haven."

"Come back quickly, there's still time!"

"Come back for what?" My voice was calm.

Emily was speechless for a moment. "Are you not thinking straight? If you don't come back and make a scene now, Henry will really become someone else's."

"Isn't this Henry's big life event? Why would I go make a scene?"

"Sarah?" Emily's voice suddenly rose. "Have you gone mad?"

I was about to hang up when Charlotte's voice came through the phone.