Back To His 18, I’m Not His Love

Chapter 7

Sylvia's POV:

The fireflies scattered across the sky gradually faded into darkness. I didn't stay to hear what Adrian said to Bianca. I just pulled my collar tighter and left.

By the time I got home, it was nearly ten o'clock.

I turned on the computer and sat staring blankly at the two virtual pets on screen.

A long time passed before the computer chimed with a familiar notification sound.

A message from Adrian.

Adrian: Bianca, did you like the fireflies tonight?

I ran my fingers over the keyboard, hesitating for a long while before finally typing my reply: I loved them. Thank you.

His response came almost instantly, a rapid string of messages peppered with cute emoticons.

Adrian: As long as you're happy! Seeing you smile makes my whole day!

Adrian: You know, I'm actually starting to find studying kind of fun. Thanks for encouraging me every day. I definitely won't be at the bottom of the rankings next time.

Adrian: Bianca, I'm working really hard to close the gap between us.

I stared at those warm, earnest words, and something inside me shifted without warning.

All the resentment, the grievances, the frustration I'd been carrying suddenly transformed into something far worse: the ache of knowing I'd have to let go.

15 more days. In 15 days, I would never see this version of Adrian again, so alive and full of light.

I slumped forward onto the desk, pressing down hard against the heaviness churning in my chest.

Then Adrian's voice rang out from the living room.

"Sylvia, you didn't even close the front door. Lucky I noticed, or you could've had a burglar walk right in tonight."

I froze for a moment, then quickly pulled myself together and went out to meet him.

Adrian stood in the living room holding a steaming container of spicy noodle soup in one hand and a can of chocolate malt drink in the other.

"What's this..." I managed, still not quite processing.

He set everything down on the table. "Consider it a thank-you for helping me prepare that gift."

As he spoke, his gaze swept across my hands, and he grabbed one of them without warning.

"What happened to your hands?"

My skin was covered in tiny cuts, along with patches of chilblains from the cold.

I'd gotten them from the brambles and thorn bushes while catching the fireflies.

I pulled my hand back. "It's nothing..."

Adrian looked like he wanted to say something but held back. Eventually he crouched down to retrieve the first-aid kit from beneath the TV cabinet, pulling out antiseptic and ointment to treat my wounds.

"I haven't completely cooled off yet," he said, dabbing carefully at the cuts, "but I'm not holding a grudge either. You did help set things up between me and Bianca, and I genuinely appreciate that."

His words were casual enough, but as he looked at the injuries on my hands, there was a faint trace of something like concern in his eyes.

The bitterness I'd just managed to push down surged right back up. I tested the waters carefully. "You really do like her that much."

And you kept your word, in the end. You never married Bianca, but you married me instead, the girl who looked like her.

Adrian's head snapped up. His lips parted slightly, as if swallowing back whatever he'd been about to say. A flicker of irritation crept into his expression.

"You're not planning to do something to get between me and Bianca again, are you?"

The words lodged in my throat, and I couldn't bring myself to answer.

After fumbling for a long moment, all I could manage was a mumbled "I'll go boil some water" before escaping into the kitchen.

A thin rain had begun to fall outside the window.

I splashed water on my face, trying to wash away the mess I'd become.

In truth, after marrying Adrian, I had never lost my composure like this. He made being a good wife so easy that I'd truly believed nothing could ever reduce me to this state again.

But all of that goodness had never belonged to me. Not from the very beginning.

The kettle whistled, so I poured a cup and carried it back out, only to find the living room completely empty.

I glanced at the closed front door, an uneasy feeling settling over me.

Had he gone home?

The notification chime from my computer rang out. I hurried back to my room and found Adrian sitting in front of my screen.

The chat window displayed on the monitor was the conversation between me and Adrian.

The cup slipped from my fingers and shattered against the floor. Scalding water splashed across my legs, but all I felt was a cold that went straight to the bone.

The color drained from my face, and my voice shook as I called his name. "Adrian..."

"You really hid it well, didn't you."

His voice, usually so bright and full of life, was flat and utterly dead.

Panic crashed over me like a wave. I scrambled to explain, but Adrian shot to his feet and advanced on me step by step, jabbing his finger toward the chat window on screen, his eyes rimmed red as he shouted.

"What am I to you, some fool you can humiliate? A circus act? I kept wondering why Bianca was so cold to me at school, why she'd never video chat with me online. It was you the whole time. You were pretending to be her! You've been lying to me from the very start!"

I stumbled backward under the force of his fury until my back slammed hard against the wall. "No, that's not what happened. I can explain..."

"Sylvia, I will never believe another word that comes out of your mouth!"

Adrian glared at me, his eyes filled with a disappointment and rage so intense I couldn't breathe.

Then he was gone.

The door slammed shut behind him, and the force of it seemed to rattle something loose inside my chest.

I stood frozen in place, my legs too heavy to move even a single step.

He'd found out after all.

The computer chimed again with a new notification.

A message from Adrian.

Adrian: Sylvia, you've got nerve. You've been making a fool of me for the better part of a year!

I swallowed against the burning in my throat and typed out a long explanation, pouring everything into it, but the moment I hit send, the screen displayed a single line:

Message failed, you have been deleted.

Then came the system notification from the virtual pet.

Pet Kingdom: Per the Pet Kingdom Romance Code, your virtual pet and its spouse have experienced an irreparable breakdown. The marriage has been unilaterally dissolved, and all affection points will be reset to zero.