Chapter 1
878 Words
Miles dragged his Sofia to shore.
He wanted to jump back in to save me, but Sofia grabbed his arm. "Miles, I feel like I can't breathe,"
"I feel terrible, help me..."
With that, she closed her eyes and fainted.
"Sofia!"
Miles shouted in panic, immediately turning all his attention to her.
He didn't even glance back at me.
I watched helplessly as he performed chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on Sofia, as if she were his one and only true love.
I wanted so badly to tell him that I was pregnant.
But the cold river water kept rushing into my nose, muffling any sound I tried to make.
Gradually, I lost all strength to struggle.
My heart sank along with my body to the bottom of the river.
*****
When I woke up, I gazed at the white ceiling, disoriented.
Then I slowly realized that I was in a hospital, not heaven.
I was still alive.
But I had lost my baby.
With a heart-wrenching pain, I pleaded with the doctor, "Can you keep my pregnancy a secret? I don't want anyone to know."
After the doctor left, I burst into tears in the empty hospital room.
I had been so looking forward to this child's birth, cherishing the baby even more than my own life.
But my baby died because of Miles's betrayal.
"Yolanda, you're awake."
A familiar voice sounded as Miles appeared in the doorway.
I turned away, not wanting to see him. "Go away, I don't want to talk to you right now."
Miles frowned slightly. "Are you upset with me?"
"You're being so inconsiderate. Maxwell is already dead, and I promised him I would take good care of Sofia. Can't you understand me a little?"
How ironic.
I looked at him with tear-filled eyes. "Have you ever considered what would have happened if I hadn't been able to hold on and had died in the river?"
Miles's gaze wavered. "...You wouldn't. Don't make such meaningless assumptions."
He dared not answer directly.
He was simply feeling guilty.
The last bit of hope I had left was finally, completely crushed by him.
"Admit it, you care more about her than me,"
"Miles, let's call off our engagement."
Miles's expression turned serious, with a hint of impatience. "How can you joke about something like this? I only see Sofia as a sister. Are you really jealous of her?"
Before I could speak, Sofia's voice called out from the next room.
"Miles, Miles, where are you? I'm so scared."
Miles ignored me and turned to leave.
But Miles,
I wasn't joking.
I truly don't love you anymore.
*****
Sofia was staying in the hospital room next to mine.
But for three consecutive days, Miles didn't come to see me.
Ever since his brother passed away, my peaceful and beautiful life had been shattered.
We had been in love for seven years and were about to get married.
On our anniversary, I prepared a lavish candlelit dinner, waiting for him to bring me the annual surprise gift.
I waited from dusk till late night, and finally received Miles's call.
"It's thundering, and Sofia says she's scared to be alone. I need to go keep her company. Don't stay up waiting for me."
The candles burned out, and the food turned cold.
When I asked about the gift, all I got from Miles was, "Sofia liked it, so I gave it to her first."
"This is our anniversary gift! It has a special meaning. How could you just give it to an outsider?"
"Sofia is not an outsider, she's my sister-in-law, and she's my family!"
Miles looked at me seriously.
"I hope you can love and care for her with me, and not treat her as an enemy, okay?"
I had never considered her an enemy.
Instead, she was the one who came to provoke me.
Our camping trip, meant to be just Miles and me, took on a different tone because she insisted on coming along.
In front of Miles, she blinked her big eyes and said, "Yolanda, I've never experienced camping before. I came out of curiosity this time. Please don't blame Miles."
She appeared pure, pitiful, and utterly innocent.
But as soon as Miles left, Sofia revealed her true colors.
"Your face and figure aren't his ideal type. He doesn't like boring women."
"If you don't want to lose too miserably, you should bow out now."
We got into an argument, and we both ended up falling into the river.
Miles could abandon me for her sake; at that moment, I was left speechless.
I was discharged from the hospital earlier than Sofia, gathered my things and went home alone.
I notified all friends and relatives that the engagement ceremony was canceled, and took back all the invitations.
Then I quickly submitted my resignation to the company, with about a week left for the handover process.
Actually, I wasn't particularly fond of this city, but Miles liked it, so I came along with him.
But that day, Sofia told me, "Do you know why Miles is so attached to this place? Because this is my hometown, where I grew up."
She plays such an important role in his life.
Unfortunately, I realized it too late.
- Writer
