"You never once peeled a shrimp for me."
I hadn't expected that to be the thing that slipped out of my mouth.
There was a hurt in my voice I couldn't hide.
Dana blinked, then looked at me, worn out.
"I already told you, Bertie's terminally ill. I'm just helping her fulfill a last wish. A man owes a little more to his first woman."
His lips curved slightly, and there was a certainty in his tone. "And a woman always leans on her first man more, trusts him more, doesn't she?"
I didn't nod the way he wanted me to.
Instead I asked, "Could you, even once, choose me first over Roberta?"
What I was really asking was simple: between me and Roberta, which of us did he actually love more.
If I left without knowing, I'd never make my peace with it.
Dana was silent for a beat.
Then he frowned. "Bertie doesn't have much time left, and you're still keeping score over this. Is it really worth it?"
Is it really worth it.
That same deflecting, blame-shifting little phrase again.
I'd asked it on behalf of the woman who'd loved him for nine years, and he couldn't even spare me an answer.
Never mind. It didn't matter anymore.
I didn't even have the will to speak. I turned and walked away.
"Cordelia, I'm warning you, that's enough!"
Dana's voice came after me, edged with anger.
"Playing hard to get like this will only push me further away!"
I didn't look back.
I found a hotel and checked in.
Once I'd settled, I carefully took out a sandalwood box and opened it.
Inside was the heirloom jade bracelet my late mother had left me. I'd always treasured it, never willing to wear it.
I'd planned to put it on the day Dana proposed, so my mother could witness my happiness too.
But the box was empty.
The color drained from my face.
I'd taken it out to look at it just yesterday, and the only person who'd been to my place lately was Roberta.
Just then, I saw Roberta had posted something new online.
【Thank you to my knight, who loved me all over again in the very spot where he confessed to me twelve years ago.】
【He said I'll always be his princess.】
The photo showed her and Dana in an embrace, gazing into each other's eyes.
My bracelet was on her right wrist.
I swallowed my fury and rushed over, following the location she'd tagged.
When I pushed open the door of the private room, their mutual friends were egging them on.
"After all these years, the couple I shipped is finally back together, both of them!"
"Since you're loving each other all over again, how about a kiss?"
Dana looked hesitant, as if he were about to refuse.
But Roberta rose onto her toes, hooked her arms around his neck, and kissed him.
His body stiffened for a moment. He didn't push her away.
The kiss only deepened.
Until someone spotted me and cried out, "Cordelia's here!"
A flicker of panic crossed Dana's eyes.
Then, as if something had occurred to him, he smiled. "Cordelia won't mind. She's the one who brought up the breakup anyway."
He looked over at me.
Waiting for my reaction.
Waiting for me to get angry and jealous, to stake my claim, to back down and take back the breakup.
But I didn't give him a single glance. I walked straight toward Roberta.
She scrambled to hide behind Dana.
"Dana, get her under control. What is she losing her mind over now?"
I spoke coldly. "Give me back the bracelet."
"Oh, this thing? Just let me borrow it a few days."
Roberta let out a soft laugh, then suddenly stretched out her right hand and waved it at me.
"And this ring. Dana said it was meant to propose to you. Let me test-drive it first."
"You don't mind secondhand, do you? After all, your man is something I used long before you did."
She was still trying to provoke me, but I only looked at her, cold.
