Loved Him 7 Years, I Found My Path

Chapter 3

"What are you doing?"

When Clara walked out of the kitchen carrying a clay casserole, shock and anger warred on her face.

Jason abruptly let go of me, his panic ten times more overwhelming than it had been just moments before.

"Clara, listen to me..."

But she lost her grip. The casserole crashed onto the floor and shattered into several pieces.

Boiling broth splashed all over the floor, and some of it splattered onto my ankle. I gasped sharply at the searing heat.

Clara's voice trembled with disbelief.

She stormed over and grabbed my arm. "I was kind enough to invite you to stay for dinner, and you're trying to seduce my boyfriend?"

Her nails dug into my arm, sharp and cutting.

Her yank threw me off balance. I stumbled and stepped straight onto the pile of broken shards.

A sharp, stabbing pain shot up from the sole of my foot instantly, and my sock turned bright red as blood soaked through it.

"I didn't!" My voice shook from the pain. "Let go of me! I didn't seduce him!"

"Then why are you crying?" Clara stared at me, her voice growing even sharper.

"Who are you crying for? Who are you putting on this pitiful act for? Do you think I'm blind? I saw you holding hands!"

I wrenched my arm out of her grip with all my strength, and only managed to steady myself by bracing against the wall.

I looked down at my foot—blood was already seeping out, dripping drop by drop onto the floor tiles. But Jason just turned away from me and went to take Clara's hand.

His voice was even softer than before. "Clara, calm down. We didn't do anything just now."

But Clara only sobbed.

"You're still lying? Jason, I moved all the way here from another city with my child for you, and this is how you treat me?"

She grew more and more upset as she spoke, until finally she covered her face, turned, and stormed out the door.

She slammed the door behind her with a loud crash. The motion-activated lights in the hallway turned on one by one as she passed, then went out again one by one after she left.

All that was left was a thin sliver of light seeping in through the door c***k.

Jason stood frozen in place, glancing toward the door, then looking over at me.

I leaned against the wall, exhausted, and dared not put any weight on my left foot.

Blood seeped through my sock, sticking to my skin in a searing pain.

He stared at me for a moment, as if he wanted to say something.

But in the end, he said nothing at all.

After a moment's hesitation, he turned and chased after her anyway.

Broken porcelain shards were scattered all over the floor, and the grease from the pork rib soup had solidified on the tiles.

The family photo of the three of them still hung on the wall—Jason was holding Clara in his arms, both of them smiling brightly.

Slowly, I held onto the wall and lowered myself into a crouch, and gritted my teeth to pull the shard of porcelain stuck in the sole of my foot out.

When I tried to stand up, I suddenly felt a wave of dizziness wash over me.

My consciousness slowly drifted away, and everything before my eyes grew blurry.

At the very last second, before I lost consciousness, in a haze, I seemed to see Jason as he was at nineteen years old.

He called my name nervously, his voice firm and solemn.

"Serena, I will be good to you for the rest of my life."

I still couldn't understand—how did everything end up like this?