He Mocked My Birth, I Married a New Man

Chapter 5

The image froze on my phone for a few seconds, and it took him a moment to speak. "The signal here isn't great. What did you just say?"

I had already said it once and didn't have the courage to repeat myself.

"I haven't visited Emma in a long time; I came here to have dinner with her today. If there's nothing else, let's hang up for now."

I was about to end the call when suddenly someone popped into the frame. It was Sarah.

"Serephina, my good lord, your talk is so boring. If my phone wasn't out of battery, I wouldn't have let Brother Donovan call you. I was just sitting here listening."

It took me a full three seconds to process why Donovan had actually called me.

The man who hadn't called me once in seven years was suddenly reaching out, and it was all because of another woman. Sarah.

I let out a sharp laugh, staring at Donovan on the screen.

His eyes flickered with something like unease, as if he wanted to say something, but the phone was already snatched away by Sarah.

I listened. She shared so many funny stories with me until the call ended. And honestly, it made me smile.

Maybe so many of the things she did were unintentional, but Donovan's feelings for her were anything but innocent, and that made her my rival without her even knowing it. Still, I truly didn't know how to hate someone like Sarah. She was a ray of pure sunshine in any crowd.

After that day, I didn't contact Donovan again. I focused on finding a suitable apartment to rent, and a few days later, I started moving my things.

Around the same time, Donovan pulled out his phone again. His face darkened completely when he saw there were no new messages in the pinned chat. Although we rarely had much to talk about, he had always been able to count on messages from me, streams of them. Asking if the surgery went well, if the outpatient clinic was busy, if he had to work the night shift...

There had never been silence like this before, as if I had simply vanished from his world.

Donovan was so irritated that he couldn't focus on the speech on stage. He turned to Sarah.

"Send me a message on Snapchat."

Sarah blinked, confused, but obediently sent a message with a question mark.

But such a message made Donovan frown even deeper.

"Call me. Use your phone."

Sarah did as she was told. The phone buzzed. It was only then that Donovan finally admitted to himself, I had been ignoring him all these days.

When the speech ended, Donovan was the first to leave the auditorium. From behind, it was a heat radiated off him, an edge of anger that made people hesitant to approach. Sarah followed quietly. She noticed Donovan splashing water on his face, with his hands gripping the sides of the sink and veins bulging.

She tried to speak in a cautious way, "Everything goes well with you and Serephina? Honestly, your attitude is terrible. Even I, who grew up with you, can barely stand it. After countless fights, you only ever change a little. How could Serephina possibly put up with it..."

The unfinished words were swallowed back when she met Donovan's icy stare.

"Why don't you call Serephina to comfort her? Ask her what she wants, and bring something back for her after the training?"

I got Donovan's call in the evening, just after I'd finished tidying up the apartment.

I was tired of always having to start the conversation, so this time I remained silent after the call connected.

To my surprise, it was Donovan who spoke first this time, "Are... Are you mad at me now?"

I didn't know if it was my delusion or not, but the person on the phone seemed really cautious, so cautious that he wouldn't even say my name.

I stood up, walked straight to the French window. The night view outside stretched before me, with lights flickering bright and dim along the street. Tears welled up in my eyes.

In the seven years since my brother's death, I regretted it so much that I wished I were dead.

But I didn't dare to die, because I was afraid that if my brother saw me, he would be disappointed in me. He said he wanted to see me live well.

So I tried to make Donovan fall in love with me.

But Donovan was always indifferent. He treated me like someone he simply owed a favor to, and so for seven years, I took care of him, cooking and handling family chores for him and trying not to message him too much.

But over time, I started to notice a pattern: sometimes a few messages every three days, sometimes just one every two days. Even when we were face-to-face, I didn't dare share much about my life, just so I could stay by his side, even if it really was only out of obligation.

I was given the title at the cost my brother's life.

In all those seven years, it was only after I heard his true feelings toward my mom and my brother during this time, after I'd decided to leave, that I no longer had to count when to send messages or worry if I was sending too many.

"Serephina, say something."

I came back to my senses and held back my tears, "No, you're overthinking it."

"After my training ends, let's go get the certificate."

The sentence I once longed to hear now fell completely flat. I didn't answer directly. "Let's stop by the Hayes estate first after the training ends."

I thought that once he went to the Hayes state, he would know I had already called off the engagement and wouldn't come looking for me.

Donovan's brows furrowed slightly. There was a certain resolve in his voice. "After we get the certificate, we'll go back to the Hayes estate together."

Again with that commanding tone. It seemed like he always called the shots between us.

Thinking of this, I couldn't help but add, "Donovan, we've already broken off our engagement, so we won't be getting the marriage certificate, and I won't go back to the Hayes estate with you."

"What do you mean? You want to break off the engagement? No way! I don't believe it!" Donovan's voice raised a few notches.

"I mean it literally. If you don't believe me, go ask around. I have made it clear to everyone in the Hayes, you and I are no longer fiancés"

After venting, I hung up the phone, and blocked him for good measure.