Fiancé Betrayed Me, I Chose My Own Path

Chapter 2

I returned to the wedding home Yari and I were supposed to share.

The moment I stepped inside, I noticed the walls were covered with photos of him and Chloe.

There were pictures of him crouching to tie her shoelaces on hiking trips.

Pictures of her resting her head on his shoulder as they watched the stars by the campfire.

And me?

I searched through the entire photo album.

There was only one picture of the two of us, our graduation photo.

I stood at the very edge of the frame, half my body cut out of the shot.

Whenever I playfully asked him to take a picture with me, he would smile, pat me on the head, and say, "Silly, you can't even find the camera without your glasses. The picture will only turn out blurry."

Yet taking pictures with Chloe had always come naturally to him.

All these years, he had never truly made room for me in his world.

After packing my things, I went to Adam's apartment.

I wanted to find the family photo we'd taken before our parents passed away.

My gaze swept across the coffee table before landing on a velvet box tucked into one corner.

A note was attached to it.

Promotion gift for Chloe.

Inside was the jade bracelet my mother had left to me.

When I was little, Adam had always told me it was mine. He said that on my wedding day, he would place it on my wrist himself.

Just then, my phone rang.

Adam's impatient voice came through the speaker. "Didn't you check the weather? It's pouring up here! Bring us some umbrellas, quick. Chloe has a business trip the day after tomorrow. She can't afford to get sick!"

My fingers tightened around the bracelet.

After a moment of silence, I said, "Adam, I'm at your apartment."

The other end of the line went quiet.

After a long pause, Adam finally said, "You should... bring the umbrellas first."

I didn't change the topic as he expected. "Adam, if I'd known Chloe had feelings for Yari too, I never would have pursued him."

The line fell completely silent.

A moment later, Yari took the phone from him. "Nancy, let's talk when we get back, okay?"

As he spoke, he coughed several times.

My eyesight had always been terrible.

During my first year of high school, on a bitterly cold winter day, I accidentally fell into the school lake.

The icy water sliced through me like knives.

Yari had torn off his coat and used every ounce of strength he had to pull me out.

But by the time he got me to safety, he was nearly frozen himself. His lips had turned purple, and his teeth wouldn't stop chattering.

But when I clung to him with tears, he stiffened for a moment, then gently wrapped his arms around me. "Silly girl, why are you crying?"

At the time, I had blamed myself.

I thought it had happened because my eyesight was too poor to see where I was going.

But Yari had only smiled. "It's okay. I'll always walk behind you. I'll be your guide dog. Woof, woof."

Ever since that day, even the slightest chill would send him into a coughing fit.

I drew in a slow breath. "Yari, I'll call mountain rescue for you. Consider it the last bit of concern I have left."

Silence stretched across the line.

Then his breathing changed.

When he spoke again, his voice was edged with impatience. "Nancy, can you be reasonable for once? I've spent all these years making sure I kept my distance from Chloe. Now I'm not even allowed to go hiking with a friend? What do you want me to do, huh? Locking myself away just to make you feel secure?"

I ignored his accusations and asked quietly, "If you never had feelings for her, why did you need to keep your distance in the first place?"

Four years ago, I had confessed my feelings to Yari, and he had agreed to be with me.

That day, I had cried with happiness.

But that night, Yari got completely drunk.

As I helped him back to his hotel room, I heard him mumble, "Chloe... I'm sorry..."

At the time, I dismissed it as drunken nonsense.

But now...

Had he ever loved me at all?

Maybe he had only chosen me because he couldn't have Chloe.

Maybe he had spent all these years trying to force himself to accept me while his heart belonged to someone else.

During our four years together, he was always too busy on Valentine's Day, yet he never once forgot Chloe's birthday.

When I had a high fever and took a taxi to the hospital alone, he was helping Chloe shop for hiking boots.

When I spent hours preparing a candlelit dinner for our anniversary, he canceled at the last minute to drive Chloe home.

I couldn't bear to hear another explanation.

I hung up and called mountain rescue.

Less than 30 minutes later, the rescue captain called me back.

"Miss Quinn, something's gone wrong. You need to get to the hospital immediately. It's your brother."