Chapter 3

3 I gripped the gift bag, the handle cutting into my palm.

I felt a wave of fatigue and sadness.

The taxi driver noticed my red eyes.

He made a joke.

"Hey, buddy, pay attention to your girlfriend.

"Your little sister is feeling left out over there."

The back seat went silent.

I felt embarrassed and ashamed, quickly wiping away my tears.

Then, the girl giggled.

"Oops, sorry, almost forgot about you.

"I'm Mia, Liam's colleague. I'm a year younger, but I skipped a grade and now we're both in the same graduate program. We'll be working together on our Ph.D.

"Who are you? What school do you go to? What's your specialty? I've never heard Liam mention you before."

She was still smiling, but her words were laced with mockery.

So, this was Mia.

I felt kind of pathetic admitting this, but I had spent a lot of time looking at the campus forum.

Liam was super popular, and there were always threads about him.

Since he never told me anything, this was the only way I could learn about his life.

Mia's name came up all the time.

They called them the golden couple of the engineering department.

I'd seen photos of them together.

At some competition, they were on the podium, holding up a trophy and grinning.

I had to admit, it made me feel jealous.

The wind whipped past the taxi window. Liam remained silent.

He was letting Mia say whatever she wanted, without sticking up for me.

"I'm… Liam's girlfriend," I said quietly.

The restaurant was a fancy spot with a menu that made my head spin.

Mia started ordering like she'd been doing it for years.

"We'll take the seafood soup, the duck, and the tofu, those are Liam's favorites."

Were those his favorites?

I had no idea.

Before he became a genius, Liam had been an average kid like me.

We used to go to cheap diners.

Sometimes we'd splurge on a burger.

I'd never even heard of the kind of food they were ordering.

Mia gave the menu back to the waiter.

As the server was leaving, Liam called out.

"Also, add an order of spicy chicken."

Mia smiled at him and said,

"Liam, I thought you never eat spicy food?"

Liam took a sip of his water.

Only I knew it wasn't for him, but for me.

I felt like crying again.

Liam was always like this.

Just when I was about to give up, he'd throw me a little bit of hope.

Like the time I kissed him and he pulled away, only to lean back and kiss my hair.