Chapter 2

2

Recently, after Grace's husband Seth died, George frequently stayed out all night to take care of her. His priorities in life had long since changed.

That day, George had finally offered to spend some time with me. I remembered a restaurant I had bookmarked on my phone for a long time, so I asked him to go there with me.

It was a rustic country lodge with all the basic entertainment facilities, but it was located up in the mountains, making it quite a long drive. Halfway there, George's phone rang.

I faintly heard a male voice on the other end mention Grace's name. George's brows furrowed, and a wave of unease washed over my heart. He slammed on the brakes and pulled over to the side of the road.

"It's only three miles away. Zoey, get out and walk the rest of the way yourself. I have an emergency."

"Is it because of Grace?" I looked at the man and asked softly.

The response I got was George's furious, exasperated scolding.

"Can you stop making a scene? Do you have any idea how repulsive you look when you're acting all paranoid all day long?"

"Just get out of the car. I have urgent business, and I am not joking with you."

I originally wanted to remind him that this place was in the middle of nowhere, so how was I supposed to get back? Couldn't he at least drop me off on his way back? But George's eyes were filled with nothing but impatience.

Perhaps Grace was so important to him that he would be this anxious. I opened my mouth, but in the end, I couldn't bring myself to say it. After all, speaking up would only be asking for a humiliation.

Almost the second I stepped out and closed the car door, George slammed on the gas, pulled a U-turn, and sped away. Watching the car disappear into the distance, my heart took another brutal hit.

I took out my phone and walked to the side of the road to call an Uber. But because it was too far from the city, I had to add a huge tip before someone finally accepted the ride. It would take nearly an hour for the driver to arrive.

I sat on the side of the road, waiting for a long time before I finally got in the car and went home. Probably because the cold wind had blown on me all day, I developed a high fever by midnight.

I slept fitfully, and when my parched throat couldn't take it anymore, I dragged myself up to find some medicine. As it turned out, we were completely out of meds at home.

Dragging my weak body, I instinctively called George. Over the years, whenever I was sick, George would always stay by my side. But I called several times, and no one answered.

Just as I was about to give up, the call finally connected.

"Zoey, didn't I tell you that Grace is in a bad mood and I need to take care of her? I clearly texted you saying I had an emergency and couldn't come back. Do you not understand English?"

I immediately got angry too.

"Who is Grace, and what does she have to do with me? Is she your mother? You protect her so fiercely, but you need to get it straight―I am your girlfriend!"

"Zoey! How can you speak like that? Why are you so vicious now? I think we both need to cool off right now!"

The moment he finished speaking, he hung up. The hand I used to hold the phone finally lost its strength and dropped.

I unlocked my phone, only then seeing the message George had sent earlier that evening. At the time, I had been exhausted from the day's events and went to bed early, completely missing it. But in George's eyes, I was just deliberately annoying him?

Thinking about this, my tears started to fall uncontrollably. George was supposed to be the person I was closest to and trusted the most, which was why I instinctively sought his help first. But his words were like the fierce wind crashing against the window, violently waking me up.

In that moment, I understood. I needed to let him go.

I slept under the covers through the night, and by the next day, I finally felt a bit better. I immediately took out my phone and ordered some cold medicine on a delivery app.

Right then, a message popped up on my screen. It was an anonymously sent video clip. It was obvious from the angle that it was secretly recorded.

George was holding Grace in his arms, softly coaxing her to sleep. He looked so gentle and deeply affectionate.

"Go to sleep, I'll stay right here with you."

Grace's eyes were red, looking somewhat aggrieved.

"Will Zoey be angry that you are keeping me company right now? You two are getting married in just a month."

"Plus, she doesn't agree to me having this baby. I just feel so terrible." After she said that, she began to cry pitifully. With her tear-stained face, she looked incredibly helpless.

George's heart instantly ached for her, and he quickly began to comfort her in a soft voice. That was until he received my phone call. The video abruptly ended there.

"Zoey, do you still not know who he truly loves?"

I knew this message was from Grace. In a split second, my heart felt both disgusted and furious. How could a person be this shameless?

But the reality was that George had stayed by Grace's side for over half a month without coming home once.