She'd just gotten out of the hospital, her face and lips both pale.
On top of that, she was so worked up her body swayed like she was about to faint on the spot.
Samuel, still kneeling, shot up and caught Tilda before she could fall.
The look he gave me was tinged with disgust.
"Mavis! When did you turn this vicious?"
"I only donated one kidney to Tilda. What was I supposed to do, stand there and watch her die?"
Samuel's buddy chimed in too. "Right, it's just one kidney."
"Sam and Tilda grew up together!"
Samuel came over and reached for my hand. "Mavis, quit being difficult! I know you've always wanted to marry me! Well, now I'm agreeing to marry you!"
Agreeing to marry me.
The nerve.
The way he said it, you'd think I owed him a thank-you.
I stepped back and slapped his hand away.
"Samuel, I'm not being difficult, and I'm not joking with you!"
"I don't just refuse to marry you. I want to break up with you!"
"You're down to one kidney now. Who knows if things don't work down there anymore either!"
"There are plenty of healthy men out there. Why would I marry a cripple like you?"
At that, Samuel's face went red in an instant.
He hadn't expected me to say something like that in front of so many people.
"Mavis! Don't push your luck when I'm handing you a favor!"
"You're almost thirty, and you've been sleeping with me for seven years. Besides me, who else would even want you?"
"I'll give you one day to think it over. If you keep making a scene, don't blame me for actually breaking up with you!"
Samuel scooped Tilda up and left without a backward glance.
It was always like this.
Every time we fought, he'd leave me alone to cool off.
And I'd sit there clutching my phone, sending him long, pleading paragraphs.
Then lie awake all night.
His buddies looked at me with contempt, like I was something distasteful.
Everyone left, and I was standing there by myself.
There'd been no heart in that proposal.
Nothing but the flowers and the ring in Samuel's hand, no decorations at all.
On the way back, a light rain started up.
I took a cab home to the place Samuel and I rented together.
I pushed the door open and saw Samuel in an apron, cooking porridge in the kitchen.
In my past life, after we were married, forget cooking porridge.
If the soy sauce bottle tipped over, he wouldn't so much as set it upright.
I never expected he'd actually cook porridge for Tilda.
Seeing me come in, the corner of Samuel's mouth curled up.
As if to say, in the end you still came home like a good girl to apologize.
I didn't look at him. I walked straight toward the bedroom.
But Samuel rushed forward and grabbed me.
"Tilda's sleeping in there. Don't go in yet."
I frowned at him. "If I don't go in, how am I supposed to change?"
I'd gotten caught in the rain coming back, and my clothes and hair were soaked through.
He clicked his tongue. "It's just a little rain, you're fine."
"Tilda's the one who's sick!"
Suddenly I remembered our third anniversary, Samuel's and mine.
I'd booked the restaurant well ahead of time that day.
But over one phone call from Tilda, Samuel left me sitting alone in that restaurant for three hours.
It had been drizzling outside that day too, and I'd walked home in the rain.
When Samuel found out, he'd said the exact same thing.
【It's just a little rain, you're fine.】
I let out a cold laugh.
So it turned out that from that moment on, Samuel's heart had already started to drift.
He pointed at the electric fan beside us. "Sit in front of that for a bit, it'll dry fast!"
Feeling my clothes cling damp and sticky against my skin, I shoved Samuel off me.
