You're Acting, but I'm Not

"Oh my. Who was the young woman that Dr. Fulton brought in? He seemed so worried."

"I don't know, but she's quite pretty. She and Dr. Fulton suit each other."

"I heard that it was just a pulled muscle and that there's nothing severely wrong with her, but Dr. Fulton insists on taking care of it himself."

…

I let out a self-mocking laugh. She was treated so differently.

I had a fracture, but Nathan said that I was just hurting myself to gain pity. She had only pulled a muscle, and yet he was beside himself with worry.

I was staring vacantly at nothing and only came back to my senses when Nathan came up to me. He had finished taking care of his lover's injury.

"What are you doing here?"

He saw my heavily bandaged ankle and the walking stick I was holding and said disdainfully, "This is a pretty convincing act. You really will stop at nothing for me."

Before I could open my mouth, a sickly sweet voice came from behind me. "Nathan, don't walk so fast. I can't walk anymore."

There was a layer of gauze wrapped around her arm, which had clearly been taken care of meticulously.

"It's all your fault. If you hadn't said that a difficult position would make you enjoy it more, I wouldn't have gone overboard and ended up in hospital…"

My heart sank once more, and I felt a lump in my throat. Tears threatened to spill out of my eyes.

Nathan saw how red my eyes were, but he did not feel any sympathy toward me at all. He continued to scorn me.

"What's the matter, Ms. Carter? Have you become addicted to your act? You can't use this trick every single time.

"By the way, if it is just an ankle fracture, you don't have to be so cautious. Don't pamper yourself so much."

He slung an arm around the young woman affectionately and walked off.

I watched his retreating figure and remained dazed for a long time. I could not understand how the man that I had loved for so long had become so despicable all of a sudden.

At that moment, my friend rushed in. When she saw that I was staring blankly into space, she looked in the same direction.

"Isn't that Nathan? That moron. Even if he has amnesia, there's no need for him to be such a playboy. Why has he switched to yet another woman?"

"Perhaps that's his nature," I said sardonically. Before I woke up the next day, I heard a commotion outside the door.

When I opened the door to look outside, I saw that Nathan had brought the young woman from the night before back home. She said that she was not used to the scent of grass and flowers.

Nathan tossed out the peonies that I had spent a long time nurturing. The flowerpot shattered with a loud crash, and soil spilled everywhere.

Nathan turned back and saw me standing there, but he acted as if he hadn't. He said fondly to the young woman, "Whatever you want to do, call me. Don't hurt your hands. If you complain about it being painful later, I won't bother with you."

"Could you really leave me alone?"

The two of them began kissing lovingly, as if I was nothing but thin air.

When they finally let go of each other, panting heavily, Nathan turned and asked, "Why haven't you moved out yet, Ms. Carter? Do you want me to toss you out the way I did with that flowerpot?"

I looked at the shards scattered all over the ground outside and back at Nathan, who was engrossed in his performance. I felt nauseous.

"I'll leave right now. You can continue."

When my friend brought me home last night, she helped me pack my things. One small suitcase had been enough to hold all my belongings.

Nathan looked surprised, but he soon started smiling.

"I've sent you the address of your new place. Don't complain about me not being thorough."

He had rented a place for me so that he would be able to find me as soon as he got bored with his games. However, he made it seem as if he was being very generous and kind.

He was so fake.

I did not stop, nor did I look back. As soon as I walked out, the door banged shut behind me. The two of them must have been unable to contain themselves any longer.

At the door, I ran into Nathan's friends, who had come to see him.

"Well, if it isn't Olivia. Are you finally willing to leave?"

"She's been pestering him for so long. Would she really be willing to let it go? She's not trying to play hard to get, is she?"

"Nate likes ladies with a pure heart. If you keep this up, it's unlikely that anything will happen between you."

They all kept chiming in.

"You don't think that I want anything with him now, do you?"

Everyone burst into laughter. They thought that I was being defiant.

I ignored them and continued. "I won't come to disturb him anymore. I hope things go well for him."