Chapter 1: Let's Break Up
My relatives and friends were all comforting me.
Wiping away my tears, I commented under their latest Instagram post, "You two scums are such a perfect match."
I silently handled my mother's funeral and took care of everything alone.
In fact, Roderick's neglect of me for Lindsay was no surprise.
We had been together for six years. However, a single phone call from Lindsay could pull him away from me, even on our wedding day.
Whatever the reason was this time, I was too weary to think about it.
After the funeral, I returned home.
Roderick was not there, which was just as well since I did not want to see him.
As I was packing my bags to leave, I opened the door and saw Roderick and Lindsay arm-in-arm at the doorstep.
Lindsay's surprised look when they saw me almost made me feel like I was some unexpected guest, even though it was my home.
"You're back, Elaine."
Roderick noticed the suitcase in my hand and frowned involuntarily. "Elaine, what are you doing now?"
His tone seemed to suggest I was making a fuss again.
Lindsay looked at me pitifully while clinging tightly to Roderick's arm, as if marking her territory, "Elaine, I'm really sorry. I cut my finger that day, and Roderick came to take care of me. I didn't know it was your wedding day. I'm sorry. I didn't really mean it."
"Don't go," she pleaded, yet her eyes gleamed with triumph.
I glanced at her, noticing a small band-aid on her index finger.
So, this was Roderick's excuse for abandoning me and not showing up at our wedding?
How ridiculous.
In his heart, my mother and I mattered less than that small cut on her finger.
"Roderick, let's break up!"
From the moment my mother died in my arms, all my love for him had evaporated.
Roderick thought I was being jealous and throwing a tantrum. "Elaine, can you be more considerate and stop being unreasonable? We can have another wedding anytime, but Lindsay is alone and injured. I couldn't leave her alone."
Unreasonable?
That was the word Roderick had used more often than anything else when he spoke to me.
Just how much more understanding did he want me to be??
Because Roderick treated Lindsay like a sister, and she had no parents and needed care, I would have to tolerate a third person in our love.
I tolerated his readiness to care for Lindsay, his running to another woman without hesitation when I needed him most, and her occupying half of Roderick's heart.
Despite my tolerance, they only became more brazen. I'd had enough of this life.
I looked at Roderick coldly. "From now on, do whatever you want. It's no longer my concern."
With that, I dragged my luggage past him.
Roderick finally sensed something was amiss and grabbed my hand. "Is it because I missed the wedding and your mom's upset? I can explain it to her."
I found it amusing.
"Explain what? That you missed our wedding because of a small cut on her finger?"
I laughed bitterly.
It's been so many days and had he ever really thought about what happened, he wouldn't have made such a foolish remark.
I shook off his hand and said, "No need!"
Before, in Roderick's presence, I had always been cautious and mild, and I had never spoken to him in a tone as cold as now.
Roderick watched my departing figure, confusion appearing in his eyes for the first time.
As he came to his senses and tried to follow, Lindsay held him back.
"Roderick, this isn't your fault. If it wasn't for her mother pretending to be sick, you wouldn't have been forced to marry her."
My mind went blank.
By the time I came to my senses, I had already slapped Lindsay across the face.
