01
My fiancé had flown to Paris himself to pick up our custom diamond ring, and on the way home, his plane developed a serious mechanical fault.
I was on my way to the airport when I happened to catch the news broadcasting the passengers' last-word videos live.
"This might be the last time I ever get to talk to you."
"You always said you'd never marry anyone, that you wanted to be an independent woman. I thought I could go on being your knight forever, but now I have to break that promise."
"From now on, you have to take good care of yourself. Stop staying up late, stop drinking iced water, and remember to get your allergy medicine ready before the pollen hits in spring."
"You know all my passwords. Just promise me you'll look after yourself."
My eyes stung with tears. Then, the very next moment, he called out a different name.
"Vivi, I want you to be happy."
The instant I heard the name, I felt like I'd been dropped into ice water.
Because the Vivi he meant wasn't me.
It was my best friend.
I clutched my phone, cold to the bone, and just then an announcement rang out across the terminal.
"Passengers on flight CA77 arriving from Paris, the mechanical fault has been resolved. The aircraft is about to land safely..."
By the time I reached the airport, I walked in on Nathan Abbott and Vivian Shaw holding each other and crying, eyes only for one another.
I stepped back quietly and turned to leave, as if I'd never come at all.
So love was a crowded thing, and I had always been the third person who could never squeeze in.
...
Nathan held Vivian in the middle of the crowd, the two of them looking like a devoted, picture-perfect couple.
A reporter smiled and snapped their photo. "Brush with death and all, you'd better treat your girlfriend well from now on."
Vivian flushed and tried to pull her hand free, but he held on tight.
"Of course. From now on, we'll be together for the rest of our lives."
Vivian gave him a light punch. "What if Debbie finds out? She'll be upset again."
"Let her be upset. I'll just make her some little something with my own hands to make up for it, and she'll forgive me in a heartbeat, all cheerful again."
"I almost died back there. Am I not even allowed to be honest about how I feel?"
So Nathan had loved Vivian all along. In the face of life and death, the heart doesn't lie.
The airport churned with people, shoving me off into a corner, hot and airless.
My phone buzzed softly.
【Baby! I just got back from my business trip. Tonight I want your homemade braised crucian carp and boiled pork slices...】
He rattled off several dishes in a row, all of them Vivian's favorites.
Braised crucian carp is full of bones and a hassle to eat.
Whenever I used to want it, he'd always say, "Fish bones catch in your throat too easily. Let's skip the fussy dishes."
But whenever Vivian came over, that dish was always on the table.
Nathan would patiently pick out the bones and nudge the tenderest pieces toward her.
Sometimes, when he caught me watching, he'd just smile. "Your friend is all thumbs. I'm honestly afraid she'll eat her way into the hospital."
That was always his way. He'd complain that Vivian was clumsy while carefully arranging every last thing for her.
I still remember when we'd just become official, when Nathan took me to meet those buddies of his, and one of them teased, "Nate, I really never pictured you ending up with Debbie Sullivan."
I glanced at Nathan on instinct. He swirled his glass, his gaze hazy. "She's great. Independent, self-sufficient, not high-maintenance."
He always said he hated high-maintenance people.
So all through our relationship, I worked to be an independent, self-sufficient woman. I changed my own lightbulbs, unclogged my own drains, even packed and hired the movers myself when I moved.
The one time I ran a high fever and reached out to Nathan, all he said, flatly, was:
"You've got a fever, so call a doctor. Why call me? Debbie, ever since we started dating, you've gotten more and more high-maintenance."
There was noise on the other end of the line, my friend hollering, "Nathan! I can't get this bottle cap off."
He said he was out to dinner with friends and hung up in a rush.
That day I dialed 911 with shaking hands, and I nearly went into shock on the way to the hospital.
So his favoritism toward Vivian had been that obvious all along.
I used to think that if we were together long enough, if I gave enough, he'd eventually see me.
But in that moment, I was finally tired. I drew a deep breath and sent Nathan a message.
【Nathan, let's break up.】
The next second, across the crowd, I saw Nathan take out his phone.
