Yet with Harrison, she was willing to sit through one boring romance movie after another.
This woman, who always put her career first, was still willing to do every silly and childish thing with Harrison.
To protect him, she even let him be listed as a co-author on a paper outside his field.
To please him, she joked with her coworkers and skipped her own lectures.
She crushed my pride.
The rules and boundaries of the industry were also stepped on by her.
What made me finally explode was the marriage proposal Hallie had prepared for Harrison.
That year, she became famous after discovering an asteroid.
She appeared in international magazines and became known all across the country for her beauty and achievements.
At the top of her career, Hallie chose to share her moment with Harrison.
She named the asteroid “The Promise of Mountains and Rivers.”
Under the name of those mountains and rivers, Hallie and Harrison made their vow: To never be apart in this lifetime.
On the night of the award ceremony, under that asteroid called “The Promise of Mountains and Rivers” in the romantic planetarium, she held a small wedding for Harrison.
When Hallie walked toward Harrison in her wedding dress, she did so gracefully. When I saw them make vows of lifelong love beneath the stars, I broke down again.
Hallie and I never had a wedding.
Even after I begged her many times, she only said, “Byron, you know me. I don’t care for meaningless things like that.”
“I’d rather spend my time and energy on important work. I still have many experiments waiting.”
Because I loved her, I gave in. And because of that same love, I lost everything.
The emotions I had held back finally collapsed.
In front of everyone, I ran up to Harrison and slapped him twice.
Coldly, Hallie threw a glass of water in my face and said, “Byron, you’ve gone too far.”
She asked for a divorce and said she would leave with Harrison.
I refused. I couldn’t accept it and I couldn’t bear it.
Crying, I told Hallie, “If you dare to leave today, I’ll jump off this building.”
She didn’t walk away. She pushed me down.
Maybe she just wanted to scare me, but my right leg was really broken and I became disabled.
I was admitted back to the mental hospital again. This time, it was because I had severe depression.
While I said this, I smiled.
I spoke lightly, my tone calm. “In my second year in the mental hospital, Hallie filed for divorce.”
“I fought until the very end, but all I got was this box of junk.”
“In the first year after the divorce, I couldn’t accept it, I hurt myself and lost control many times.”
“My condition got worse and because of my injured leg, I couldn’t find any proper work.”
“My parents worried so much that their health became worse day by day.”
“To stop worrying them, I went to help at the shop and slowly, my emotions calmed down.”
“Now, I’ve taken over this steamed bun shop and things are going quite well.”
My tone stayed calm.
Cooper, on the other hand, was sobbing nonstop.
“Byron, why are you in so much pain?”
“Hallie is such a devil. If I run into her, I’ll beat her to bits to get revenge for you.”
The words had barely left his mouth.
Someone lifted the thick curtain of the steamed bun shop.
A cold gust of wind swept past my injured right leg. There, Hallie stood before us.
A thick fog covered her face, then I suddenly remembered what she said when we parted.
Those words… they sounded like…
