05
C
As soon as those words fell, Keith’s face turned dark. His grip on my hand tightened as he shot back at Tom and Jeff, “Who gave you the right to tell me to divorce my wife? I’ve put a lot of effort into marrying her and I’m not letting her go that easily!”
The authority in his voice made both of the men frightened. Their faces turned pale.
“Joy, marriage isn’t a game,” Tom urged. “You need to take full responsibility for your future!”
Meanwhile, Lizbeth, who had been smiling uncontrollably with happiness, ever since she saw the marriage certificate, feigned extreme sadness.
She pretended to persuade me, “Did you marry a stranger out of spite at me? If you hate me that much, I’ll leave, okay? Please, get a divorce. Don’t make Tom and Jeff upset.”
Then with exaggeration, she brushed away the tears from the tears she squeezed out of the corners of her eyes with great effort, turned around with the cat in her arms and ran away.
She was so caught up in her act that she didn’t notice the speeding car heading straight for her.
Amid the ear–splitting sound of tires screeching and Lizbeth’s scream, Tom and Jeff bolted toward the street in
panic.
“Lizbeth! Are you okay?”
“I’m taking you to the hospital right now!”
“Lily! Where is Lily?” yelled Lizbeth in panic.
Although Lizbeth was lucky enough to be okay, it was different for her cat. The car had run over it, ending its life
instantly.
She stood in the middle of the road, crying uncontrollably. However, I had seen clearly that she had deliberately
thrown her cat away.
I went to the car with Keith and then shut the car door behind me, successfully blocking me from the
over–the–top drama outside.
I was just discharged from the hospital and before long, I was back here again. It was no wonder the doctor gave
a stern lecture about it.
Keith quickly stepped in again, “Doctor, don’t blame her. It is my fault for not taking good care of her. Please, tell me again, with allergies this severe, how can I prevent an allergic reaction? And if it happens again, what should I
do?”
He kept asking one question after another to him. His action eventually made the doctor ease his rambling
toward me.
What surprised me the most was Keith actually pulled out a small notebook and carefully wrote down every piece of advice and precaution the doctor gave, stroke by stroke.
e in Finless, Why Long for #7.
The doctor couldn’t help but praise him, “You’ve got yourself a very attentive boyfriend! He’s much more dependable than those two men who brought you in last time.”
Then it hit me how blind I was for the past ten years. What was so clear to a stranger had been invisible to me because I was too caught up in the comfort of familiar faces.
When I thought carefully about our relationship, I realized that all these years, Tom and Jeff had never shown genuine care for me. Their attention had always been superficial and, more often than not, was more about competing who got me than really supporting me.
I had never doubted their feelings for me before this. Otherwise, why would they be so grateful to Lizbeth for saving me when I nearly drowned?
The truth was, I could swim and I did not need Lizbeth’s help at all. The reason I almost drowned was because l was physically too exhausted from having to save her.
Yet, Jeff was right. I owed Lizbeth my thanks.
I had to thank her for teaching me that feelings can change in a heartbeat.
I also needed to thank her for freeing me from ten years of feeling torn about my relationship with Tom and Jeff. I had always hesitated to choose because I valued our relationship too much and I knew once I made the decision, one of them was bound to get hurt.
Lizbeth’s entrance into our lives shattered that illusion of precious friendship and forced my hand.
Smiling at the doctor, I agreed with him wholeheartedly, “Yes, my husband is truly amazing.”
Keith, who had been so calm through the doctor’s compliment, turned crimson red when he heard me calling him “my husband“.
“I’m just doing what I should,” he said shyly.
Suddenly, my eyes welled up with tears.
After my parents died, my grandmother, who could not accept it, had to be sent to a nursing home, while my uncle who was busy with his military career did not have time to care for me.
As a result, I, once pampered by many, suddenly lost all the love and care. It was no wonder Tom and Jeff’s attention and friendship toward me had become so precious to me.
When they fought fiercely over who I would marry one day, I took that as a sign of love. However, it was nothing when compared to the clarity of the truth.
So, after I stepped out from the murky confused relationship, when I looked back at the past, their surface concern toward me did not seem as valuable as before. A
After receiving another allergy shot, Keith insisted on staying with me until he was absolutely sure I was fine. Only then did he drive us home.
