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523words
I sat in the hallway.
The Hayes,Reeds,and Carters were all there.
Mrs.Hayes was livid."If it weren't for you,my son wouldn't be like this!You're a curse!"
I stared blankly at my blood-stained hands.
A curse?
If not for me,Lucas wouldn't be in danger.
Wasn't he supposed to be studying abroad?
Why was he at the wedding?
The light went out.A doctor emerged.
Mrs.Hayes rushed forward."How's my son?"
"No immediate danger,but..."
"But what?"
"He may stay unconscious for a while.If he wakes up,great.If not,he could be in a persistant vegetative state."
Mrs.Hayes's eyes widened.She collapsed into a chair,sobbing.
The doctor's words echoed in my head.
Memories came back at me, I remembered my mom,lying in a pool of blood,staring at me.
My breathing quickened,my heart aching like it was being crushed.
Mrs.Hayes cursed me."Happy now?You ruined my son!Get out!"
I fainted.The doctor said it was exhaustion.
When I woke up,Ethan was by my bed.
I grabbed the cigarette pack nearby,lighting the last one.
My trembling hands steadied as the nicotine eased my tension.
"Sophie..."
Ethan looked up,relieved."You're awake."
"About yesterday...I'm sorry."
I stared at him until the cigarette burned out."Mr.Carter,keep your promise."
"Sophie,can't we try again?I messed up.I shouldn't have used Chloe to test you.I just wanted to know how much you loved me.I didn't expect this."
Test me.
Sleeping with someone else was a test.
Hurting me in the name of love.
So funny.
"Sorry,I can't handle your tests."
"We're done."
I planned to leave Coastal City.
Before going,I visited Lucas.
Mrs.Hayes's words rang in my ears.
"Lucas's young,naive.You're smart,Miss Reed.I hope you won't make things difficult for me."
Lucas lay still,eyes closed.
I leaned down,kissing his forehead.
"Goodbye."
Chloe was in jail.Offending both families,the Reeds nearly went bankrupt.
Before leaving,I secured my mom's shares,sold them,and walked away with twenty million.
The night Lucas woke,a heavy snowfall blanketed Coastal City.
It was a good sign.
I was on a plane,leaving the country.
Ethan,Lucas—they were just a fleeting dream.
When the dream ended,I was alone again.
Three years later.
"Your kid looks just like her dad."
My best friend visited me in Aurora City.
I was braiding my daughter's hair.
I hadn't expected to be pregnant.
Probably from that unprotected night.
"You really not going back to check things out?"
Back?
I heard Coastal City was not the same.The Hayes family had moved their base from abroad to the city.
Lucas was now a business tycoon,young and wildly successful.
The Carters,meanwhile,were struggling under the Hayes'rise.
I shook my head."Why would I?"
Aurora City wasn't as glamorous as Coastal City,but its slow pace suited me.
"Lucas is getting married."
I still refused to go back with her.
I had been in Aurora City three years now.My daughter was three.
This was the life I wanted.
As for Lucas?
Our story had ended.
I held my daughter's hand,heading home.
She tugged me excitedly."Mommy,look!So many balloons!"
Outside the airport,colorful balloons floated in the sky.
A man in a camel coat approached,behind his sunglasses, mixed emoltions stirred in his eyes.
"Girl."
"You wouldn't come back,so I came to you."
"You can't escape me."
