2: 2
"Should I pick out a different one instead?"
Alison had tears at the corners of her eyes.
"No need."
"I knew you were the best."
I felt the warmth of Alison's arms around me.
After my parents died in the car accident, I'd closed myself off from everyone.
Alison was the first person in college to walk up and say hi to me.
She brought me along, remembered the things I liked.
She set me up with a boyfriend.
I thought I'd found a true friend.
"There we go."
Mason patted my head, satisfied.
"Then let's try a few more shops."
After that, every dress Alison tried on was finer than the last.
I said nothing more.
The message came through that my plane ticket had gone through.
Quietly, I ordered the things I'd need overseas.
At dinner, they still chose the spicy option.
I watched the steam rise off the boiling pot.
Maybe I just wanted to know, before I left, whether they'd ever cared about me at all.
I asked softly.
"Why not get the split broth?"
The moment I said it, the two of them across the table went blank.
Mason came around to it and frowned at me.
"Don't we always get the spicy broth?"
Maybe it was the steam, but my eyes started to sting like I might cry.
"But I've never been able to eat spicy food."
"We've already put the food in the pot. Next time we'll be sure to get the split broth."
The first time I ate the spicy broth with them, I woke up in the middle of the night with stomach pains and ended up at the hospital.
Mason looked after me the whole night, and when I woke, he said,
"From now on we'll get the split broth."
But every time we had hot pot after that,
Alison said the spicy broth was the real deal, and the split broth turned back into spicy broth.
I mentioned a few times that I couldn't eat spicy food, but no one paid attention.
Little by little, I stopped saying it too.
"Once Elaine marries in, her taste will have to follow ours."
Mason dropped a piece of sliced brisket coated in chili into my bowl.
"I'm done eating."
I looked at the boiling red broth and didn't want to swallow it down for their sake anymore.
I set down my chopsticks and got ready to leave.
"Don't ruin the mood. Worst case, we'll get the split broth next time."
Mason came over and pulled me back.
I looked up at him. The love that used to be in my eyes was gone.
"There won't be a next time."
"Don't be upset. We'll switch the broth right now."
Mason's face went dark, and he stopped Alison from calling the server.
"What's with the pointless temper?"
When he saw I wouldn't answer, he snapped, furious,
"If you don't want to eat, then leave!"
The second he said it, I got a cab straight home.
The moment I was in the door, I started packing.
Digging through the cabinet, I found a diary.
I opened it. It was Mason's.
Once I read what was inside, my eyes went cold.
It said,
"Ali and I are together now. I'll do everything I can to take care of her."
I gripped the diary hard.
At the very end, it said,
"Ali, in my next life I will marry you, no matter what."
Nausea rose in my stomach.
I didn't understand why Alison would set me up with her own ex.
And keep it hidden on top of that.
Then I saw the photo on the drawer.
Alison stood in the middle, with Mason's arm around her.
At last I understood why the way they acted together had always felt off.
Once I'd finished packing, I sat on the couch all night with the diary in front of me.
And Mason didn't come home all night either.
The next day, I took the diary to the wedding rehearsal.
I wanted to confront the two of them.
