Two Weddings on the Same Day

I grabbed my suitcase and left the house without looking back. The pain from the injury I got earlier stung, but no one cared.

I saw Andy's car parked nearby by the roadside as I left the house. He rushed over and checked in with me when he saw my tear-streaked face.

I looked at him with a pout, feeling wholly wronged. He immediately noticed something was off where Mark did not.

"Are you hurt? Let me take you to the hospital," Andy said. He gently picked me up and carefully placed me in the passenger seat.

Once the doctor had cleaned and bandaged my wound, he finally relaxed.

"Who hurt you, Claire? Let me take care of them!" He looked at the bruise on my back, his eyes filled with pain. He sounded so emotional, almost on the verge of tears, as though he wanted to take care of Mark for me personally.

I had never seen that look on Mark. I finally realized who truly cared about me.

"Andy, do you really want to marry me?" I asked with uncertainty.

Andy knew about the three years I had spent entangled with Mark, but he still agreed to marry me with a single phone call. At that moment, my heart finally tipped toward him.

When we got in the car, I took my suitcase from the trunk and left it by the trash can.

As we were on our way back to his place, my phone rang.

"Where are you, Claire? Sharon just came back, and she's still getting used to this place, so she's staying with me. I'll find you a place," Mark's voice was hoarse like he had just finished some intense exercise.

It was already 10 p.m.—more than enough time for them to spend together.

I did not answer him and hung up the phone.

The next morning, I went to the office to pack my belongings when a familiar face stopped me.

"You're late, Claire. I'm going to deduct a full day's salary.

"Someone like you must care about that money, but I bet Mark's been slipping you plenty these last three years," Sharon said, her eyes full of malice.

She was the Executive Assistant—a position I had dreamed of, just to be closer to Mark. He had refused to let me be his assistant to keep a sense of mystery in our relationship, and he did not want me to deal with the trivial tasks.

It turned out that he did not want me to be one.

I handed her my resignation letter.

"I've already quit. You can deduct whatever you want from my salary."

Then, I walked out of the office building. As I stepped into the elevator, tears started to flow.

I had seen a photo on Sharon's desk—a birthday picture of her and Mark. Every year on his birthday, he would leave and tell me it was his one day to escape and clear his mind. I would wait until after 6 a.m. the next day to send him a birthday message.

I finally realized it was not about clearing his mind but about spending his birthday with the person he wanted to be with.