After His Betrayal, I Erase Our Past

Chapter 3

My back ached all night.

This pain had been with me for ten years, especially brutal in winter.

James used to massage it for me.

But that was two years ago. He hadn't touched my back in two years.

This morning, I went to the hospital alone, checked in, got an X-ray, and did the tests.

My attending doctor flipped through my scans and frowned. "Your condition isn't good. Have you been keeping up with your rehabilitation training?"

I said, "Yes, I had."

He glanced at me, but didn't push the point.

"Ms. Wright, this kind of injury requires consistent and regular rehabilitation. If it continues to worsen, your limb function will degenerate further."

The doctor didn't say anything more, just wrote me a new treatment plan and added painkillers.

After walking out of the consultation room, I called James.

It rang for a long time, but no one answered.

In the end, I took a taxi home.

As I carried the bag of medicine into the neighborhood, I noticed an extra car in the underground garage.

The elevator got up to my floor.

When I stood at the door, I stopped.

There were voices inside, two men talking. One was James, the other was his friend, Eric Perry.

"You and Olivia haven't had it easy all these years. You wouldn't be who you are today without her."

James's voice was slurred, like he'd been drinking. "What, exactly, did she do? Has she ever worked a single day at the company? I've supported her for ten years—food, clothes, everything. Has she ever wanted anything? Let's drop this. If you came here to plead her case, save your breath."

Eric continued to ask, "You've already laid your cards on the table with Olivia. What do you plan to do with her after this? Aren't you afraid that she'll leave you?"

A cup tapped against the table. James's voice dropped lower.

"She loves me. There's no way she'll leave me. Besides, even if we really split up, with her health..."

He did not finish his sentence. He poured another glass of wine instead.

"At the end of the day, I owe her for what happened all those years ago. If it weren't for this, I would have made everything clear to her long ago."

Out in the hallway, I put my keys back in my pocket.

I turned around and stepped into the elevator, hitting the button for the first floor.

Once I got outside the neighborhood gates, it was snowing.

Having no idea where to go, I walked to a bench by the road and sat down.

I pulled out my phone. I found the number with no contact name attached, and made the call.

Beep... Beep... Beep...

"Hello, this is the Psychiatry Department."

My voice was calmer than I expected it to be.

"Hello, I would like to book an MECT treatment."

"Would you mind sharing the reason for your appointment request?"

I lifted my head and let the snow land on my hair, my shoulders, and my cheeks.

"I want to forget a person. I don't want even a trace of his existence left behind."