6
Joanne knelt in front of my house for three days until he finally passed out and was picked up by Chloe.
After he left, my funeral proceeded as planned.
Toward the end, Joanne finally arrived.
Mom and Dad! Please let me see Yuri!” he pleaded, slamming his head to the ground.
but my mother pushed him away, shouting, “Get out! Get out!”
“Why is my Yuri with you? You didn’t protect her! You left her to die in the hospital alone! You deserve to die!”
My mother cried so hard her eyes turned red, and she nearly fainted.
At that moment, a male voice rang out, “Joanne! How dare you come here!” Before he could react, a punch landed squarely on his face.
The force of it made him lose his balance, and he fell to the ground like a rag doll.
I recognized the person who had arrived–it was my childhood sweetheart.
We were the best friends in the world.
I looked into his bloodshot eyes and knew how devastated he must be upon hearing of my death.
“You deserve to die! You killed Yuri! You deserve to die!”
He kept punching Joanne, again and again, while Chloe could only scream in an attempt to stop him.
But she didn’t dare to defend Joanne.
“Puff-”
In just a few minutes, Joanne spat out a mouthful of blood, and all I felt was that he deserved it! He deserved to be beaten to a pulp!
But I didn’t want this; I didn’t want my good friend to be stigmatized.
“Xavier, stop fighting. It’s not worth it. It really isn’t,” I called out to him, trying to reach him.
I didn’t know if he sensed my presence, but he actually stopped.
“Fool,” he said, his eyes red with rage and pain. “What a fool you are! You had to hang yourself on a tree. I told you to introduce a handsome to me, but you didn’t want him.”
“It’s what he deserved. He killed you!” I whispered, my voice barely above a murmur.
I lowered my eyes, unable to look at him.
Yeah, he’d told me from the beginning that Joanne wasn’t a good option.
He knew so many handsome guys, each one better than the last. He had screened them for character, family background, and looks. He said he would introduce them to me.
But I had been dead set on Joanne.
Now, his words rang true: I deserved this.
I never imagined that loving someone could lead to such a mistake.
“You’ve had enough of the beating. You’ve let out your anger, right? Can you let me see Yuri?” Joanne managed to stand, despite Chloe’s attempts to help him. He pushed her away, snarling, “Don’t touch me!”
His eyes were wild with desperation as he cried, “I want to see Yuri! Let me see Yuri!”
“Impossible!” Xavier shot back angrily.
“Why? She’s my woman! She’s my wife!”
Xavier looked at him with disdain and suddenl
<
Xavier looked at him with disdain and suddenly smiled.
“There’s no one else here, so put away your hypocrisy. When Yuri was alive, I was soft–hearted and let her be with you. Now that she’s gone, I won’t let her make the same mistake again.”
After delivering this harsh truth, Xavier walked into the back room and knelt down in front of me. “As a friend and brother, it’s my fault for not protecting you.”
I reached out, trying to comfort him; it wasn’t his fault.
It was me–I didn’t know people well enough.
But he couldn’t hear me, and I couldn’t stop him from feeling guilty.
Joanne was kicked out again, along with Chloe.
He looked embarrassed and defeated.
“You said, is the child Yuri is carrying mine?” Joanne suddenly asked, his tone shifting.
Chloe hesitated before answering, “That shouldn’t be the case, but last time at the bar, I saw Yuri kiss him on the face.”
“Oh.”
Joanne sneered, hatred flashing in his eyes. “What do I have to feel guilty about? She cheated on me a long time ago; she deserves to die!”
