His Caged Bird

Chapter 3 First Love

Christian picked up the conversation, "You're almost a decade older than her!"

This remark silenced the table; the person who asked me my age gasped.

"Damn! Nineteen years old?"

Christian asked everyone to drink and to stop staring at me. He cut me a piece of cake and asked if I wanted anything else to eat.

"Why did you ask me to come?"

"To have cake with me."

I thought he seemed a little drunk, his eyes a bit unfocused, just like the first time we met.

After the dinner, the driver came to take us back. Christian asked, "What kind of gift are you planning to get me?"

"I haven't thought about it yet."

"Did you leave that bouquet?"

"Yes."

"Why 'I'm sorry'?"

Suddenly, he pulled me towards him and kissed me. The driver was still there!

It wasn't our first kiss, but previously, it had been a transaction.

"Because I regret it. I should have stayed on the boat with you."

Even though I knew true love was just a myth, even though I knew he might be drunk, at nineteen, I still harbored a sliver of fantasy. Could he actually like me?

"I don't want to live a kept life anymore."

"It's not being kept. It's being with someone I like, being my real girlfriend."

Actually, dating Christian wasn't bad. He was rich, caring, and handsome. But once the relationship changed, I started to care where he went at night, and with whom.

But before I could ask these questions, he moved in with me. He came home every night, and if there was a dinner he could bring me to, he would always ask if I wanted to go.

Everyone around him seemed happy that he had finally found someone he truly liked. Even though I was young, they respected me.

Perhaps it was this preferential treatment and the surprisingly uniform kindness from those around him that made me overlook many details. Looking back, the people around him were probably more relieved that he could finally let go of the past and start anew.

After getting together with Christian, every aspect of my life, big or small, was taken care of. He was seven years older than me, and he was far better off than I was, both materially and in terms of life experience. I couldn't contribute at all. I seemed to have transformed from a milk tea girl into a pampered heiress.

He even got me a recommendation letter to his alma mater.

"It's a shame you didn't go to college with your good grades, but it's not too late."

"How did you know I had good grades?"

"I know everything."

Once you experience being loved, it's easy to become addicted. I was indeed a little addicted, so many times I didn't notice his hesitations or his suddenly busy schedule.

"I've been a little busy lately. Call me if anything happens."

"What could possibly happen to me?"

His openness led me to never doubt him, until one day, I came back from a walk and found the housekeeper looking panicked.

I didn't think much of it at the time because she told me there was a problem at home and she needed to leave for a while.

She was going to be gone for a long time, so Christian found me another housekeeper.

If I hadn't seen the housekeeper, who had supposedly "gone back home," buying groceries at the supermarket that day, I might still be in the dark.

Hidden behind a shelf, I heard Christian's voice on her phone.

"Is she eating well lately?"

"She always likes the food I cook. It's mainly because she's in a bad mood."

On a whim, I followed her to a villa.

I sat on a bench for a long time, feeling a bit neurotic, until I saw her pushing a girl in a wheelchair out.

And the moment I saw the girl's face, I regretted coming here.

Because the girl had a face that was seven or eight parts similar to mine.

Or perhaps, for Christian, it was me who resembled the girl.

Seeing them walking towards me, I hurriedly put on my hat and covered my face with a scarf.

As we passed each other, I heard the housekeeper say to the girl, "Miss, you need to eat more with such a weak body. Chris specifically told me to take good care of you."

My heart had never felt so cold. At that moment, I wished I was still being kept by him. That way, I wouldn't have minded him having another woman.

I knew a playboy could never change. I was too young, actually believing such a cliché.

That night, I packed my things and quietly left the villa. I had never thrown a tantrum before because I didn't have the right. I didn't expect that, with the changed circumstances, I would also be able to do something like running away from home in a fit of pique.

Where did I get the courage to actually think of myself as a pampered heiress?

When I walked onto the street, I realized I had nowhere to go.

Christian's call came when I was still standing in the rain.

"Did you find out something?"

"Find out what?"

"She was my girlfriend in high school. She became a vegetable after saving me and only woke up a while ago."

A few short sentences explained everything, but I hung up on him.

I used to think my heart was strong enough. With a family like mine, what kind of hurt couldn't I endure?

But at this moment, my heart ached so much I could hardly breathe.

I thought he was different from those other rich men. Now it seemed there was no difference. I was the fool.

I was about to find a hotel when I received another call from an unknown number. It was a woman's voice.

"Is this Ms. Parker?"

She hadn't introduced herself yet, but I already knew who she was.

"If it's convenient, could we meet?"