If You Had to Choose
Vega had been right. Once I walked out that door, I truly never made it back.
I had been wandering along the seaside when I ran into a group of robbers. Outnumbered, I had no chance to fight back. They forced me against the rocks by the shore.
Then they found the diamond ring I had not yet gotten the chance to give Vega. I tried to resist, but in the next second, one of them picked up a rock and smashed it against my head.
When they threw me into the sea, I was only unconscious. But I was so out cold that I could only let the seawater flood into my nose and lungs. And just like that, I died—on the very day of my wedding anniversary with Vega.
Yet, for some reason, I did not immediately go to the afterlife.
When I opened my eyes again, my soul remained by Vega's side. I watched as she poured all her energy into Mason's career, channeling every resource she could into him.
All because he had once said, “My dream has always been to become a singer.” For that dream, Vega spent enormous sums buying songs from renowned composers in the industry for Mason to perform.
At a rare high-profile industry gala, Mason invited Vega to attend as his companion. She hesitated at first, but eventually gave in to his repeated requests.
On the red carpet, Mason extended his hand, signaling for Vega to take his arm. Under the flashing lights, she avoided it as if she had not seen him at all. Instead, her gaze landed on the diamond watch on his wrist.
It was the gift Vega had given me for our third wedding anniversary.
I had always thought it was too expensive, and since I frequently handled musical instruments, I had left it untouched. I never expected that the moment I was gone, it would end up on Mason’s wrist.
"Mason, how did that watch end up with you?"
Mason put on an innocent expression and glanced down at it. "Blaine gave it to me. He said I have a lot of important events now, so I need something valuable to hold my ground.”
The smile on Vega's face vanished instantly.
Seeing her reaction, Mason made a show of taking the watch off while apologizing. But Vega stopped him. "Since he gave it to you, keep it."
Mason agreed and straightened the watch on his wrist without actually removing it.
He was clearly lying. He had taken it himself.
Because Vega was often not home whenever Mason came looking for her, she had given him a key to the house. And it became the perfect catalyst for him to gradually take my things over the years.
But every time I brought it up, Vega dismissed it as making a fuss over nothing, saying something like, "If he likes it, just let him have it. I'll buy you another," or "Why do you have to argue with him over something so trivial?"
After hearing it enough times, even she grew impatient with me, and I stopped mentioning it altogether.
In front of Mason, they looked more like husband and wife. As for me, I felt like nothing more than an unwelcome housekeeper.
At this gala, with Vega by his side, Mason carried himself as if he were the host. Opportunities that he could never obtain on his own now came knocking at his door.
But my thoughts were elsewhere. My wedding ring had been kept together with that watch. Had he taken that too?
…
After the gala ended, Vega declined Mason's offer and returned home alone.
Perhaps because she had drunk quite a bit, she kept muttering to herself in the car. "I was only speaking out of anger… how could you really not come back? I was just upset. It's not like I don't love you."
The chauffeur in the front seat could not bear listening any longer and tried to comfort her. "Ms. Winslow, young couples argue all the time. To make a life together, someone has to give in first. That's how things work."
Vega let out a soft scoff. "Give in? If anyone's giving in, it's him. I didn't do anything wrong. He's the heartless one. He even smashed our wedding photo."
I sat beside her, watching through the rearview mirror as the chauffeur shook his head, sighing under his breath.
Still drunk, Vega grabbed the seat in front of her and continued, "Mason and I grew up together. When we were kids, he almost died saving me from the sea. With that kind of debt, shouldn't I treat him well?"
"What if you had to choose between them?" the chauffeur could not help asking.
Vega paused, staring out the window in silence for a long time. Just when I thought she would not answer, she finally spoke. "Blaine loves me more than anyone else in the world. He… he'll understand. When he comes back, I'll explain everything to him."
That was all that it took to make my blood run cold.
