Substitute Woman

Wendy couldn’t even be bothered to look at her.

Kyle, clearly irritated by her indifference, became flustered. Her eyes flicked with a calculating glint as she grabbed a nearby glass of water and splashed it onto her own face. Then, as if making a dramatic decision, she shattered the glass and drew it across her hand. Blood quickly surfaced.

With a triumphant look, she sneered, “Wendy, I’ll say you did this to me. What do you think, will Nathan believe me or not?”

Wendy looked at her, completely dumbfounded. The scene felt like something out of a cliché soap opera, yet she was living it and paying the price.

When Nathan returned to the room, what greeted him was the sight of Kyle soaked and tear-streaked, her hand bleeding.

His expression shifted instantly. Panic flashed across his face as he rushed to her side to check her injury, his voice lowering with concern. “What happened? I was only gone a few minutes and you’re already like this?”

Kyle leaned into his arms, looking pitiful and aggrieved. “Wendy is still holding a grudge over what happened on my birthday. She suddenly lost her temper, splashed water on me and even used broken glass to cut me…”

Her eyes were filled with tears, making her seem incredibly pitiful at that moment.

Nathan's expression turned cold in an instant. He turned to Wendy and said sternly, “Wendy, why are you so vengeful? I already told you that what happened that day wasn’t Kyle’s fault. Do you really have to hurt her over it? She’s never had to suffer any grievances since she was little. What right do you have to make her suffer? Then again, you’re an orphan, born without anyone to teach you any manners…”

He suddenly stopped, as if realizing how cruel his words had become.

Wendy just looked at him, looked at how easily he distrusted her, how he blamed her without distinguishing right from wrong, even using her background to hurt her.

She suddenly let out a cold laugh and said icily, “Yes, I’m an orphan. I grew up lacking proper upbringing, but I’m not stupid enough to do something like that in a hospital with surveillance cameras!”

Nathan was stunned for a moment. Kyle quickly clutched her hand and cried out in pain. He immediately turned to take her for treatment, striding out of the hospital room.

Wendy left the hospital alone and returned to their home. She gathered up every couple’s items from the past few years and threw them all out.

Right on top was a photo they had taken on the day they first got together, both of them smiling brightly, making plans for the future, even planning to get married this year.

Now, those memories were nothing more than garbage.

Just as she was about to head out and throw them away, she ran into Nathan coming back. His face was still cold. When he saw the things in her hands, he demanded, “What are you doing? Just because of what happened earlier, you want to throw away all our memories?”

He snatched the box from her without another word and placed it back in its original spot. But Wendy didn’t care.

She would be leaving soon anyway. All these memories would no longer have anything to do with her. Her feelings for Nathan would be wiped clean.

He grabbed her arm and said earnestly, “Wendy, I know you have issues with Kyle, but right now, I’m your boyfriend. Can you stop being so jealous and petty all the time? Kyle is very important to me. I hope you can be more tolerant of her.”

Wendy closed her eyes, feeling suffocated. It was that same line again, be more tolerant of her. She couldn’t help but retort, “Why should I always be the one to tolerate her? And how could you wrongfully accuse me without even checking the facts? Is it really that hard to look at the security footage?”

Nathan’s expression turned completely cold as he stared into Wendy’s eyes. “Kyle and I have been childhood lovers for over ten years. I trust her.”

That single sentence “I trust her” shattered every last defense Wendy had.

It became clear that both love and its absence were painfully apparent.

She quickly lowered her head, afraid her cheap tears would be seen. In the next moment, Nathan’s phone rang. It was a call from one of his close friends.