Before I could finish, Emily cut me off.
“I won’t let you talk about yourself like that. You’re my husband, Ethan. I promised to take care of you for life—and I never break a promise!”
Her expression was more serious than I’d ever seen.
In the past, I might’ve been touched to tears, even felt more guilt toward her.
But now, I could only sigh—what a convincing actress she was.
I took a slow breath and said,
“I know. I’ll wait for you.”
Then, using the excuse of having something to do, I left.
As always, Emily didn’t try to stop me.
All her friends dislike me. To them, I’m just a burden—a cripple who somehow ended up engaged to their shining star. None of them ever mentions that I became like this because I saved her life.
But I hadn’t walked far when I heard laughter from inside the room.
“Emily, did you see him limping just now? He looked like a penguin. Hilarious.”
“Good thing you’re in love with Ryan. I’d never be able to call someone like that my brother-in-law.”
“I’m not asking you to call him that. Just don’t let him find out. After all, he’s still Ryan’s so-called brother. I don’t want them to fight because of me.”
“Sure, I feel sorry for him. I delayed him for ten years. But I don’t regret it. Love doesn’t come with a right or wrong.”
I clenched my palm, nails digging into flesh—but that sting wasn’t even a fraction of what I felt in my chest.
Just then, a message alert pulled me out of my daze.
“I’m back in America. See you at the Department of Health and Human Services.”
I stared at the freshly printed marriage certificate in my hand. There was no joy, only emptiness.
A day ago, I still believed in the love between Emily and me. I never imagined that in just 24 hours, everything would collapse.
While I stood there in a daze, someone snatched the certificate from my hand.
“I’ll hold onto this. The old man wants to see it. I’ll finish all your paperwork for going abroad within three days. Just wait.”
Before I could react, Sophia Bennett had already turned and was walking away.
She was my childhood friend before I was taken back to the Carter family. Around the same time they found me, the Bennett family also found her.
But she had better luck. While my family had already adopted another boy in my absence, her family had never stopped looking.
When she left, she was worried I’d be bullied, so she made a promise to wait for me—for ten years.
I thought that promise would fade with time, never be used.
But who would’ve guessed it would come to this?
After Sophia left, I went back to the house Emily and I had shared.
As the things she’d given me were consumed by flames, my eyes stung.
If I hadn’t heard it myself, I would never have believed that she’d staged a decade-long performance.
While she was away, I entered her studies and opened the laptop she always guarded so closely.
I used Ryan’s birthday to unlock it. Then, I searched through everything—frantic, desperate.
Eventually, I found an encrypted folder.
Inside were thousands of photos—every single one of Ryan.
Each photo was dated and tagged with a description of her mood, capturing her obsession in painful detail.
I forced myself to look at every one of them, even as each image chipped away at my feelings for her.
With every click, my love faded—until finally, there was nothing left.
So all those times Emily said she was going abroad to find me the best doctors. It was all a lie.
She was just following him—watching him play, cheering him on.
At the very end of the folder, there was one more item: an audio file.
