Chapter 3

3

I was tired, and felt very sleepy.

After returning home from the hospital, I crashed and went into a deep sleep.

I had so many vivid dreams.

At first, I dreamt of when I'd just graduated from college, when Ethan's family lost all their money and he'd been living on the streets.

We lived in a tiny apartment and he hugged me, wrapped me in his coat, and held me against his heart.

"Summer, when I make money, I swear, you'll never have to suffer. I'm going to hire five people at least, one to cook for you, one to do your laundry, one to make the bed…"

I felt his heart pounding in my ear.

I was so young, I actually thought that love was all that mattered.

Then he actually got back on his feet and became a success.

And the people around him started multiplying.

They all came and went, like they were loves that Ethan could never hold on to.

Then, there were the nightmares of broken glass, blood and me, crying hysterically.

He looked at me with zero empathy, and said, "Summer, you look pathetic when you act like this."

At that moment, I knew.

The man I had been in love with, was now someone I did not know.

I woke up as it was getting dark.

I got up, feeling sluggish.

Then, a voice startled me, "I heard…you're telling people I died. You're saying I'm the father of your baby and telling everyone I'm dead."

I whipped my head around, looking for the voice.

There, standing in front of the glass doors, was a man. The moonlight seemed to coat him in silver.

The room was dark, without a single light on, if he hadn't spoken, I would never have noticed him.

"Chad, what's the deal? You're trying to give me a heart attack!"

Chad chuckled at my words.

He came over and picked me up.

His body was warm, even through my pajamas. He massaged my back with a soft hand…

When he spoke, his voice was full of helpless exasperation, "Who is the one over the top here? You, Summer. You sleep with me and then run away. And now you're planning to take my baby with you?"

Chad was right, I had planned on taking the baby and settling down in a small town.

Far from Ethan.

And far from Chad.

After all, the way we met wasn't exactly glamorous.

It had been three months ago, on my birthday.

Ethan had told me he wanted to celebrate with me, one last time, before we split.

He booked a restaurant.

The table was right next to the window so I could enjoy the city lights.

He came to my place to pick me up. It felt as if nothing had changed between us.

He set the cake down and lit the candles, "Make a wish."

I closed my eyes and made a wish.

"I wish…"

Ten seconds maybe.

When I opened my eyes, he was gone.

Ethan was nowhere to be seen.

I waited for a while, but he never came back.

The waiter told me, "Mr Ford took a phone call and left. He said he'd paid the bill. You're free to leave whenever."

I looked at the burning candles, the melting icing.

"Happy Birthday" was just a mess of red.

Finally, I let out a laugh.

After leaving the restaurant, I took a cab to the harbor.

When we were broke, with no money to go anywhere, Ethan would take me to the harbor.

He always said even if he couldn't take me anywhere new, the ocean air was a nice change.

The ocean was still there.

But, he'd moved on.

I kept walking aimlessly.

Until a group of girls started screaming, "Oh my God, that is just so romantic!"

I looked up at the sky, the darkness lit up by a thousand drones.

They formed the words in a gorgeous cursive font:

[Tiffany, I Love You.]

A few seconds later, there were thousands of fireworks.

It was gorgeous.

People were saying, "Wow, who's that rich guy making the grand gesture?"

"Ah, yet another day being just an NPC in someone else's story."