On the day I was supposed to marry Rachel Quinn, the beautiful rich girl, she abandoned my mother, Susan Sullivan, and me on a remote road to meet up with her childhood sweetheart. Susan suffered a sudden heart attack from the shock. I called Rachel, sobbing, begging her to come back and help save my mom. She coldly dismissed me. “Here we go again. Every time I leave, your mom fakes a heart problem. Your family really knows how to put on a show.” Because of her delay, we missed the crucial window for treatment, and Susan passed away. That night, one of our mutual friends posted a picture on Instagram with the caption: [Nothing beats childhood sweethearts!] The photo showed Rachel perched on her childhood sweetheart’s lap, his hand resting intimately on her waist. The sexual tension was palpable. With a blank expression, I liked the post and commented: [So this was why you have got to run?] My friend mockingly replied: [It was just a round of Truth or Dare. Why so serious?] Rachel seemed indifferent. But when I left without a word, she completely lost it. ***** [Rachel, let’s break up.] After packing up my mom Susan’s belongings, I sent Rachel this message, my face expressionless. Rachel thought I was just throwing a fit. She immediately posted screenshots of our chat on Instagram, saying: [Jeez, wonder where he learned to be such a drama queen.] Rachel’s friends, always eager for drama, chimed in with comments. [Like mother, like son. Probably learned it from that hick mom of his.] [He’s just a simp who thinks he’s hot stuff.] [Rachel, don’t forgive him so easily this time. Show him who the boss is in this relationship!] Rachel replied with a smile: [Of course.] I smashed my fist into the picture frame. Blood seeped through my fingers as the photo of Rachel and me shattered. For six long years, I’d stood by Rachel’s side, catering to her every whim, cherishing her with all my heart. She was a rich man’s daughter, and I came from an average family. The designer bags she loved took me months to save up for. But I didn’t mind. Just seeing her smile made it all worthwhile. I’d work three jobs a day without complaint, even if it meant my hands were calloused and bleeding. She was my whole world. When the flu hit and pharmacies were out of meds, I braved a raging fever just to get some to her door. She was that fragile. And how did Rachel repay me? She blew through the money I’d worked so hard to earn. Worse still, she’d been secretly investing in her childhood friend Nathan’s business ventures behind my back. Susan, taking Rachel’s words to heart, emptied our family’s savings. She said we couldn’t let Rachel down and had to give her a fancy wedding. In the end, on the day we were supposed to get our marriage license, Rachel received a call from Nathan while we were on the road. Without hesitation, she abandoned Susan and me on a deserted highway. I desperately reached for her wrist. “We’re not even married yet…” She jerked her hand away and started the car. “Nathan just got back to the country. Starting a business isn’t easy. He needs me. Don’t worry, honey. I’ll be right back.” With tears in my eyes, I shouted, “Rachel, if you leave now, this wedding is off!” Rachel fixed me with a confident stare. “You can’t live without me, Ryan Sullivan.” Her words rooted me to the spot. Susan, witnessing Rachel abandon us for another man, collapsed from the shock, clutching her chest in pain. There was no one in sight. I frantically dialed Rachel’s number, desperate for her to come back and help Susan. Rachel coldly dismissed my plea, hanging up with a scathing remark, “Here we go again. Every time I leave, your mom fakes a heart problem. Your family really knows how to put on a show.” As I watched the life slowly drain from Susan, I couldn’t hold back the tears, overwhelmed by despair. When Rachel and I first got together, Susan had offered me all her savings. “Ryan,” she’d said, “it’s been just the two of us for so long. I know my heart’s been holding you back. But I want to help you one last time.” Now she lay in my arms, her breath shallow, her face deathly pale. “Ryan,” she whispered, “I wanted to see how handsome you’d look in your wedding suit…” But she would never get that chance. In the end, all that was left of poor Susan was a small pile of ashes. Susan never liked crowds, so I kept the funeral small. Some friends came by to say goodbye, but I moved all the flowers outside. I sat in the bedroom, clutching Susan’s urn and sobbing uncontrollably. Bottle after bottle of liquor was emptied as their cruel laughter filtered through the door. Seriously, what’s the deal with him, Rachel? Is he trying to open a flower shop with all those lilies? He’s pathetic, just like his mother. What a loser. Leaving lilies is like wishing Rachel an early death. Come on, Rachel, it was just a game of Truth or Dare with Nathan. Is he really that petty? Talk about a man who can’t take a joke. I’d heard these insults countless times, and each time, Rachel remained silent, never defending me. She had promised me that this place was our secret hideout where no one else was allowed. Just the two of us. But now, she had broken our promise. She even brought her group of fair-weather friends into our home, with Nathan by her side. To her, Nathan was the one who got away, her idealized first love. Ever since he returned to the country, Rachel’s eyes had been constantly drawn to him. When I was starting my business, I asked Rachel to spot me a few thousand dollars to get things rolling. I didn’t want to always be in her shadow。 I wanted to be able to take care of the woman I loved. She refused. “You’re going to be my husband. You shouldn’t have to do things like that.” But then she turned around and threw a lavish birthday bash for Nathan. When I expressed my hurt, she simply said, “Nathan’s my childhood friend. Don’t be silly. He won’t come between us.” Was that true? Later, a single phone call from Nathan was enough to make her rush out, leaving me to stay up all night, sick with worry. Her excuse was that work at the company was too busy. But I knew the truth. It wasn’t that she was too busy. It was that her heart was no longer with me. So even if Susan had a heart attack, she’d think we were just faking it. Rachel’s eyes lowered in disgust when she saw my disheveled state. “What game are you trying to play now?” Nathan took a step back, looking me up and down. “Ryan? What’s gotten into you, man? Even if you got the wrong idea about me and Rachel, that’s no excuse to let yourself go like this.” His words drew the attention of Rachel’s group of friends, their gazes settling on me. Susan’s passing had left me sleepless for days, dark circles prominent under my eyes. Their judgmental stares cut deep. One of them sneered, “Wow, Ryan, you’re really pulling out all the stops to win Rachel back, huh?” Another chimed in, “Let me guess, Rachel mentioned she’d be here. So you showed up looking all heartbroken, hoping she’d fall for your pity party?” Keep dreaming, you pathetic loser! I bet Rachel had no clue I blocked her ages ago. Not a single one of her messages had gotten through. All those nights she was out partying with her friends, carelessly plastering her drunk selfies all over Instagram, I was at home, clutching Susan’s ashes, crying like a child.
Are you done? Rachel glanced at me indifferently, casually strolling to the couch and sitting down, just like after every argument we’d ever had. “If you’re finished, get off your ass and clean this dump. We’ve got people coming over later.” I suddenly burst out laughing. Rachel raised an eyebrow. “Ryan, have you lost your mind? You’re a just freaking sugar baby. How dare you laugh?” I laughed so hard tears came to my eyes. Rachel frowned, repeating with forced patience, “Ryan, I said I’m throwing a party here.” In Rachel’s eyes, Susan and I combined didn’t measure up to Nathan. Even when Susan had angina, Rachel thought she was faking it. The first time Susan was supposed to meet her, Rachel claimed to be busy with work. I later found out she was actually picking up Nathan from the airport. Each time, she stabbed me in the heart, leaving it a bloody mess. On our wedding day, Nathan used the excuse of being drunk on business. In reality, he was just playing truth or dare with his friends. They wanted to see if Rachel would really leave me for him. Susan grabbed Rachel’s hand, pleading, “Rachel, my son truly loves you. We consider you one of our own. Can’t you at least sign the marriage certificate first?” I couldn’t give up. “Rachel, I need you,” I said desperately. But she firmly pushed Susan’s hand away. “You’ll be fine without me, Ryan. Nathan needs me.” She then roared past in her car. As she straddled Nathan’s lap, flirting and blushing, Susan’s life slipped away in my arms, breath by breath. I looked up sharply at Rachel, my eyes rimmed with red. “What? Are you planning to throw a party in front of my mother’s urn?” The room fell silent, broken only by Nathan’s sudden, inappropriate laugh. “Sorry,” he said, looking apologetic. “Couldn’t help it.” Nathan spoke with an air of feigning sincerity and patience. “Ryan, I know you’ve got the wrong idea about Rachel and me, but isn’t it a bit much to talk about your mom like that?” He explained slowly, “That day, we were playing Truth or Dare. If I’d known you and Rachel were about to get married, I never would have let her come.” Rachel’s friends had already closed ranks around Nathan. Not one of them believed a word I said. It was just like that day when Rachel refused to believe Susan was having a heart attack. If Nathan hadn’t called Rachel away on purpose, Susan wouldn’t have gotten so upset that it triggered her heart attack. My fists were clenched, and my eyes were bloodshot with anger. Nathan took a cautious step back. Rachel moved to stand in front of him. “Are you done? Your mom was always in good health. Isn’t it a bit much to use this to provoke me?” She hadn’t shown any concern for Susan’s condition that day, not even a single word of care. Susan’s dying wish was for Rachel and me to stay together. But what about her? Ryan, my patience has its limits, I spoke coldly. Rachel thought I’d give in like before, apologize, and try to win her back. But she was wrong. I grew up in a single-parent home. My father passed away in an accident when I was three. It had been just Susan and me for over twenty years. A few years ago, I neglected Susan’s health because of Rachel. I offered her my whole heart, and now she had shattered it completely.” Are you done talking? If so, please leave. My voice was ice-cold as I pushed through the crowd to retrieve Susan’s urn. Rachel grabbed my wrist, her tone a mix of frustration and compromise. “Ryan, please don’t be like this.” Disappointment flickered in her eyes. “You weren’t like this before.” It was funny how we always wanted what we couldn’t have. Back when I was head over heels for Rachel, she couldn’t care less. Now that I was done with it all, she was suddenly interested. Now, the tables had turned. I pried her fingers off, creating some distance between us. “Tell me then, what was I like before? Your lapdog? A shameless pretty boy?” I scoffed, and my voice was low. “A sugar baby?” I paused, then delivered the final blow. “Or maybe…just useless?” Rachel’s face drained of color. “Ryan…” These were the names her so-called friends used for me. Just because I stood by her side, I became the target of their cruel labels. Rachel was the pampered daughter of a wealthy family. On our first date, she got a craving for dessert from Cassie’s Dessert. I scoured the city, but every shop had closed up for the night. Determined not to let her down, I hopped on the subway, rented a bike, and even hoofed it for miles. To get her favorite cupcake, I braved Sycamore Avenue despite my allergy to sycamore fluff. With a face flushed bright red from the allergic reaction, I carefully handed her the cupcake. She nestled against me, wrapping her arms around my waist. Her lips met mine in a sweet, happy kiss. “Ryan,” she said, “you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.” Back then, I really thought I’d touched her heart. I gave everything I had, holding nothing back. Even when Rachel’s friends openly insulted me, I didn’t care. I naively believed that as long as I stayed by Rachel’s side, we’d find happiness someday. Later, she met Susan. My mom adored her, often sending homemade soup to her office. She worried Rachel might skip meals due to her busy schedule. Make sure Rachel’s well-fed and healthy, Susan would tell me. What Susan didn’t know was that Rachel never tasted a single drop of that soup. I once saw her, from around the corner, pouring Susan’s carefully prepared chicken soup down the drain. “Handle it like this from now on,” she coldly instructed her secretary. Meanwhile, Susan would say, “Rachel must have sophisticated tastes. I’ll stop sending the soup. I’ve saved up quite a bit over the years. Find out what Rachel likes to eat and treat her to that. It’s the least I can do.” In Rachel’s words, Susan, a kind-hearted, generous old lady, had become a villain who faked illness just to lure her back for a marriage certificate. The doctor said if we’d arrived just a few minutes earlier, Susan might have lived. Rachel had robbed Susan of her fighting chance. A tidal wave of grief and anger crashed over me, leaving me drowning in bitterness. Rachel glared at me, rolling their eyes dramatically. “Ryan, watch your mouth!” Look at yourself. We’re being generous, calling you sugar baby… Enough, Rachel snapped, her face darkening. The group exchanged uneasy glances. Well, well. So she could shut them up after all. It dawned on me that their constant disrespect had always had Rachel’s tacit approval. Maybe she’d looked down on me all along.
This time, Rachel deigned to explain herself. “Look, I’ll admit I didn’t think it through earlier. But it was an emergency. We can always get the marriage license another day, right?” She turned to me with a placating smile. “How about this, Ryan? Next Monday, you can pick me up and we’ll head to the city hall together. We’ll make it official then.” Even as she tried to make amends, she couldn’t shake off her haughty, entitled attitude. In the past, I would have caved. I would have turned back, wrapped my arms around her waist, and playfully bitten her neck, saying, “Don’t let it happen again.” But now, my eyes were cold, my tone strange. “Don’t bother,” I said. “The almighty Ms. Quinn wouldn’t lower herself to take back someone she’s already tossed aside, would she?” It was the first time I’d ever addressed her so formally, so distantly. Rachel was in shock. She took a sharp breath, steadying herself against the table’s edge, unable to believe what she’d just heard. Ryan, she said, her voice quivering. “Are you really breaking up with me over something so petty?” Petty? What the hell counts as petty to her? I let out a bitter laugh inwardly. “Is my mother’s death just a minor inconvenience?” Fury coursed through me, my arm muscles taut with anger. My voice came out low and dangerous, each word like a clap of thunder. “What about you, Rachel? You haven’t asked about my mom even once.” Rachel stiffened, her eyes darting away. “Your mom’s healthy. Even two Nathans combined couldn’t match up to her. Fine, if it’s about this, I’ll buy some health supplements for your mom later, she said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Her tone dripped with condescension. The others chimed in eagerly, “Rachel’s doing you a favor, Ryan. Don’t you know when you’re getting a good deal? Those supplements cost thousands of dollars. Where would your country bumpkin mom ever get to eat such good stuff otherwise?” My throat tightened, leaving me speechless. It was ridiculous. Even now, Rachel believed Susan coveted her wealth and status. When I brought her home to meet Susan, she came empty-handed. I chalked it up to absent-mindedness. Later, I realized she not only looked down on me but was wary of Susan, too. Her friends had badmouthed Susan behind our backs. “What a liar! Heart disease? Please! If it was that bad, how’s she still kicking after all these years?” I bet Ryan’s just eager to be a wealthy sugar baby. He’s probably got his mom faking heart problems to guilt-trip you, Rachel. Don’t fall for it! And Rachel actually bought it. While Susan was alive, Rachel gave away all the health supplements to her so-called friends. Now that Susan was gone, she was falling over herself to bring offerings. The irony was laughable. That won’t be necessary, I said coldly. Suddenly, Nathan let out a startled cry. “Oh!” Rachel instinctively moved closer to Nathan, her eyes filled with concern. “Nathan, what’s wrong?” Nathan pointed at the memorial photo on the table, his voice shaking. “Rachel, why is Ryan’s mom’s photo here? Does that mean…” Rachel’s eyelid twitched. “No, it can’t be.” People always tended to deceive themselves. If Rachel had thought about it carefully, she would have remembered how Susan often struggled to breathe when they met and how heart medication was scattered all over their house. If she had just considered it for a moment, she would have known that Susan truly had a heart condition. One of Rachel’s friends immediately sneered, “Ryan must have made a memorial photo of his own mother just to win Rachel back. How disgusting!” Jeez, Ryan, another chimed in. “Pull stunts like this and karma’s gonna bite you in the ass.” Their gaze was like looking at disgusting lice. Even Rachel’s face twisted with disapproval. “Ryan, I can’t believe you’d do something like this. If your aunt found out…” I closed my eyes, a headache building. “She’s not going to find out.” Rachel had never seen me this serious before. Her tone softened instantly. “Ryan…” I was done with these people. All I wanted was to take Susan’s ashes and leave. “If you won’t go, I will.” As I picked up the urn, Rachel sneered. “Trying to play the victim again?” She shot a look at her cronies, who immediately surrounded me. Nathan snatched the urn from my hands. Come on, Ryan, he said. “You don’t have to do this.” Nathan leaned in close, lowering his voice. “Ryan, maybe save those flowers outside for your mom. She’s always faking heart problems. Might come in handy when she finally kicks the bucket.” I struggled wildly, trying to swing at him, but was held back firmly. “Nathan! I’ll kill you!” Oops, Nathan exclaimed as the urn slipped from his hands, scattering white powder across the floor. His face showed mock regret, but his words dripped with accusation. “Sorry, Ryan. I spilled that ‘baby formula’ you brought. But hey, waste not, want not. We can feed it to Anna. Might as well put it to good use.” My blood ran cold. Anna was Nathan’s dog. What are you planning to do? I asked, horrified. Rachel chimed in, “Good idea. Waste not, want not, after all.” I looked at Rachel, pleading, “No, Rachel, please…” But she just scoffed indifferently, “Ryan, don’t you love acting? Keep going, I’m watching!” My heart felt dead inside. A metallic taste filled my mouth, “Rachel, you’ll regret this!!” Damn, you’re really selling it,” someone nearby chuckled, instantly easing Rachel’s hesitation. I watched as Nathan added warm water to the ashes, and the Doberman tentatively licked the contents of the bowl. No! It felt like an invisible hand clenched my heart. The pain was suffocating. I broke free, landing a hard punch on Nathan’s face, screaming like a madman, “That’s my mom’s ashes! You monster! I’ll kill you!” Tears streamed down my face as I furiously pinned Nathan down, raining punches on him. Even as several people restrained my limbs, I glared at the couple before me, my eyes bloodshot with fury. Have you lost your mind, Ryan? Trying to kill Nathan over a can of formula? Rachel cried out, frantically checking Nathan for injuries without sparing me a glance. My voice came out raw, like I’d been gargling gravel. “Rachel, I wish I’d never fallen for you. If I’d known loving you would cost me my mother, I’d have wished we’d never met.” Rachel flinched, then wiped the blood from Nathan’s lip. Her voice dripped with contempt as she said, “Keep this act up, Ryan, and I might just find someone else to marry.” My sobs turned into hysterical laughter as I glared at Rachel with pure hatred. “I hate you, Rachel,” I choked out, my voice weak with emotion. “I hate you!” Rachel’s patience had run out. “Ryan, you can drop the act now…” Before she could finish, her friend Wendy approached hesitantly, holding a document. “Rachel,” she said, her voice uncertain, “I have a death certificate here. It looks like Ryan’s mom… It seems like she really did pass away.”
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