To My Childhood Sweetheart, See You Never

The heavy rain soaked Wendy's clothes as she gazed at the palm of her hand, bruised from the fall. Suddenly, her mind flashed to a memory from long ago—when Grayson first brought her home to meet his family.

His mother, Carrie had placed the family heirloom jade bracelet carefully onto Wendy's wrist, saying, "In my lifetime, I will only acknowledge you as my daughter-in-law."

His bros had smiled at her with respect, their voices warm as they said, "A sister-in-law for life, we'll only recognize you as our sister-in-law."

But now, Carrie had accepted another woman as her daughter-in-law, and his bros called that woman their sister-in-law. They were all just like Grayson, speaking of love and respect, but in their hearts, they had already recognized another.

What was even more tragic was that their conversation had plainly revealed that they had known about Rita's existence long before she did. And they had all helped Grayson hide it from her.

She was the only fool in this entire world.

There she was, crouching on the road, the bustling pedestrians passing by, yet no one bothered to shield her from the rain.

After the storm passed, Wendy fell seriously ill, her fever stubbornly refusing to subside. Her body was weak, and her head spun in a fog.

In the villa, Grayson's voice rang out, low and furious. "She's been burning up for three days! Why hasn't the fever gone down yet?"

The doctors stammered, offering no explanations, their eyes filled with helplessness. The room felt suffocating, the air so thick it almost choked.

Finally, Grayson waved them all away, his face dark, and sat back down. He took her hand, his eyes red.

"Baby, please get better..."

But Wendy remained pale as she lay on the bed, her eyes shut tight, motionless.

Another night passed, and finally, Wendy's fever broke. She woke, her mind foggy, but her body still drained, her throat dry and sore. She tried to make a sound, but just as she did, a loud crash echoed from the door.

Then, Grayson's restrained voice reached her ears through the door.

"I told you not to appear in front of her, didn't I?"

Followed by Rita's soft, almost pleading tone, "But my baby wants to see his father, and I brought you a surprise. Do you want to see it?"

Then, the only sounds left outside were the rustling of clothes and the shallow breaths of two people.

"Why are you wearing clothes like that?"

Rita laughed, the sound soft and sweet, almost enough to make a person weak in the knees.

"Don't you like it?"

Her only answer was Grayson's heavier breathing.

Wendy could no longer bear to listen. Just as she was about to bury herself under the covers, the door suddenly swung open.

"It's cold outside, should we go inside?"

Wendy opened her eyes wide and looked at the reflection in the floor-to-ceiling window. There, in the faint light, she saw two tangled figures collapse onto the sofa at the foot of her bed.

The rain outside grew heavier, and through the glass, the sound of the downpour was almost deafening. The cold air from the window that hadn't been properly shut slipped inside, creeping into her bones, and with it, her heart grew colder.

...

After recovering from her illness, Wendy was weaker than before, the light in her eyes gone. Wrapped in a thick blanket, she curled up in the lounge chair, staring blankly at the scenery outside the window.

In stark contrast to her calm, Grayson beside her was filled with worry and panic.

Since Wendy had woken up, she had hardly eaten anything. No matter how he tried to coax her, she remained unmoved. He had tried spoon-feeding her porridge, but she remained in the same position, not even glancing at him.

Grayson was on edge. Tomorrow was the wedding, and she still looked listless.

His heart raced, and he tried to suppress the strange feeling gnawing at him. He kneeled in front of her, his voice laced with desperation.

"Wendy, please eat something. I know you can't eat because you're sick, but your health is more important. I'm so scared, with your fever like that. If anything else happens to you... I'll go crazy..."