I found a digital camera in the storage room.
As soon as I pressed the power button, a girl's smile pierced my eyes, making my breath catch in my throat.
"Garland, we'll be together forever."
My heart clenched as I watched Garland Mckenzie gently stroke the girl's nose, making his promise.
"Okay, I will be with you forever, Rosie."
My hand trembled and the digital camera fell to the floor.
Garland's voice filled the air, "If I break my promise, I will never be happy again in this life."
My chest ached, my eyes burned and I still couldn't believe it.
Rosie Steele, whom Garland swore to love for life, was my best friend.
——
I sat in the living room, my hands shaking until they went numb.
The air conditioner was blasting, yet I still felt freezing and couldn’t stop trembling. Even so, I forced myself to keep watching the digital camera footage.
Garland held Rosie’s hand, entered a hotel room, pushed her onto the bed and asked her, "Is it okay?"
Rosie smiled and hooked her arm around Garland's neck, then kissed his lips. "I'm yours."
The tender scene felt like a knife to my heart, the pain so intense it almost felt wrong to even feel it.
I thought back to when Garland and I first got together. I had told him, smiling, that I had a childhood friend who meant the world to me.
“She’s like my family,” I said. “If you want our relationship to last, you have to win her over.”
Back then, I was overjoyed, looking at Garland, who was also coaxing me the same way he had coaxed Rosie.
"I will definitely not fail in my mission."
I remembered that day, Garland was holding a snack gift box, sitting with me in the milk tea shop.
When he first saw Rosie, his expression was blank, but quickly, he smiled and greeted her, "Hello, I'm Shannon's boyfriend."
Rosie, usually so gentle and never one to make things difficult for strangers, spoke rudely the moment she saw Garland, "You're not good enough for Shannon."
Ignoring how embarrassed I was, Rosie grabbed the coffee on the table and threw it in Garland’s face.
Then she took my hand and said, “Not just anyone deserves to be with you. Please choose better.”
That day ended terribly.
I didn’t understand why Rosie hated Garland so much until after I saw their affair—when she held him and asked, “Will you fall in love with someone else in the future?”
Garland answered without hesitation, "No, I will only love you, Rosie."
Tears streamed down my face, uncontrollable, like a torrent threatening to engulf me.
Until the bedroom door opened, the living room lights came on and Garland’s voice sounded, “Honey, why are the lights off?”
He walked over and saw my swollen eyes. He quickly put down his briefcase, crouched in front of me and held my face. “Why are you crying? Tell me, who bullied you?”
His voice was gentle—so gentle, made it seem like he truly loved me.
He studied my expression carefully. “I’ll stand up for you, okay? Please don’t cry.”
Garland pulled me into a warm hug, comforting me like I was a child.
“Tell me who bullied you—I’ll kill him for you!”
His embrace and familiar scent had always been my only source of comfort. But now, smelling it again, a hidden pain rose in my chest, making me ask a question without thinking.
