After seven years together, Ethan Blake fell in love with his handsome, cold secretary. He said the man looked exactly like me when I was younger, and that he only cared because of me, so he would never cross the line. But he broke his own rules again and again, hurting me and humiliating me for Noah Hayes, playing me like I was a fool. When I was finally completely disheartened and wanted to give up on him, he panicked. Ethan Blake cheated on me on our seventh anniversary. He posted a casual photo on his private social media account with the caption, “Recording what I like.” But the man he was gazing at so tenderly in the photo was not me. It was his secretary, Noah Hayes. I had met him once the last time he brought a drunk Ethan Blake back. Just like in the photo, he was tall, handsome, upright, and impossible to approach. Against the glow of the aurora in the photo, he looked even more breathtaking. Ethan Blake told me he had an important business trip tonight, and he did not even mention our seventh anniversary. Was taking Noah Hayes to see the aurora what he called important business? But clearly… clearly, that was our promise. My heart clenched tight, and every inch of my body ached with soreness. The hand holding my phone started shaking, and I even pressed the wrong button when trying to take a screenshot. No matter what, I could not believe that the lover I had been with for seven years would betray me so easily. Many years ago, when we were penniless, he said he would propose to me under the most beautiful aurora. I waited and waited, and after seven years, I still never got it. And Noah Hayes had been in his life for less than seven weeks. I gasped desperately, but the suffocating feeling in my chest would not go away. I turned into a madman, calling Ethan Blake’s number over and over, but it kept showing that the other person was on another call. I started snooping, from step counts to location tracking, trying to dig out every bit of evidence from the smallest details. “Ethan Blake…” I bent my legs, buried my face in my arms, and my tears soaked through my loungewear. I did not want to lift my head, and I did not want to see the photo of the two of us hanging in the living room. He was the one who dragged me to take that photo, yet now he was looking at someone else with such tender eyes. I sent him all the evidence I had found, but there was no reply from the other side for a long time. Ethan Blake did not reply for three days, so I changed the passcode to the door lock. When the doorbell rang at home, I jolted awake from the sofa. When I went to open the door, I did not even have time to put on my shoes. But the person who came was Noah Hayes.
“Mr. Reed, I hope you can manage your lover.” Noah Hayes spoke lightly, and there was still contempt for me in his eyes. When I met his gaze, I felt humiliated to the extreme. “His pursuit has already caused great inconvenience to my work and life, and I have clearly rejected him so many times, but he still keeps sending flowers, asking me to dinner, and even posting daily updates that can easily cause misunderstandings.” He frowned, looking very troubled. The hand I had braced on the entryway cabinet slowly tightened until my fingertips turned pale and my fingers nearly cramped. Listening to him speak, I felt my heart being pierced with one bloody hole after another. Flowers—how long had it been since Ethan Blake last sent me flowers? How long had it been since he last ate with me at the same table? Those cold dishes, reheated and cooled again and again—I could no longer remember how many there had been. I was too stupid, and I only realized something was wrong when Noah Hayes came knocking on my door. It was not that he was too busy. It was that he never gave his time to me. Noah Hayes paused for a moment, but he did not give me a chance to speak. “If Mr. Blake uses work as an excuse to do this kind of thing again, I will report him for workplace harassment.” He let out a cold sneer. “I can do without this job, but Mr. Blake and his company may not be able to withstand a scandal like that, right?” Ethan Blake’s second spring only felt good to him. With a hoarse voice, I dug out my bleeding heart and lungs, and all I could pull out were the four words, “I’ll pass it on.” Even forcing myself to hold up a polite smile took all my strength, and I was so disgusted that I could barely stand it. Simon Reed, oh Simon Reed, this relationship of yours is such a failure. Not long after Noah Hayes left, Ethan Blake came back. “Simon!” He rushed to find me as soon as he entered. “Listen to me explain.”
“Go ahead, and after you finish, we’ll break up.” I sat on the sofa and spoke softly. The room was clearly warm, yet I felt like I had been thrown into a world of ice and snow. I was so cold that the blood in my body could barely circulate. Ethan Blake held me in his arms and pressed his forehead against my shoulder. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I was wrong.” “I just thought he looked too much like you when you were young, and I couldn’t help caring about him because of you. I will never do anything out of line again, and there will never be a next time! I’ll draw a clear line with him!” “Simon, believe me, and give me one more chance.” My eyes and nose stung, and tears rolled straight down. Seven years—I had loved him with all my strength for so long. How could I bear to cut off this relationship, and how could I bear to give up everything I had poured into it? Removing Ethan Blake from my life was no different from cutting me in half. My life was full of him, and in order to let him gain a foothold at the company, I transferred all my shares to him for free; in order to let him focus on his career, I handled every big and small matter at home by myself. I was no longer myself. Besides, Ethan Blake’s mother had died saving me. “Noah Hayes came by.” Choking back sobs, I repeated everything Noah Hayes had said to him. “We’re both in our thirties now, so stop doing things without considering the consequences.” “It wasn’t easy to get here step by step, Ethan Blake, so don’t forget the days when we huddled in a basement eating stale bread, and don’t destroy your own future.” I was a useless coward, and I could not let go. I did not have the courage. Ethan Blake said every nice thing he could to coax me, and he promised me that we would hold the wedding right away. Another promise, another agreement. This time, can you make it happen? But if you promised to draw a clear line, why did you still buy the tie clip I liked most and give it to Noah Hayes as a birthday gift?
Ethan Blake said he would make it up to me with a gift. I said I wanted that tie clip. When I found it in Ethan Blake’s suit pocket, the crack in my heart seemed to be stitched with two sutures. But I did not wait until Ethan Blake gave it to me. The second time I saw it was on Noah Hayes’s social media account. He wrote, “People will always stand higher (with a work reward attached).” The cotton thread and flesh were torn open together, and my chest kept bleeding. Something I had never gotten was something he could obtain effortlessly. He did not even need to ask. Dazed, I went downstairs, and I actually missed a step and rolled down the stairs. Sharp pain shot straight into my brain, and the lower part of my right leg was already broken. The pain left my mind blank, and cold sweat seeped from my forehead. My phone had flown far away, and I dragged my broken leg as I crawled toward it with everything I had. “Ugh.” I squeezed my eyes shut, clenched my hand tightly into a fist, and my nails sank into my flesh. Another wave of pain hit, and I tried to use that pain to distract myself from the pain in my leg. My phone was already broken, and I could only dial the number of my emergency contact. It was Ethan Blake’s. I called again and again, and the pain in my leg became clearer and clearer. But after he answered, he only hurriedly said he was very busy at a business dinner, then hung up. I was too desperate, and tears smashed onto the floor without warning. Back in college, I had only sprained my ankle, and Ethan Blake anxiously told me to stand still while he left his school competition early and ran across three campuses to carry me to the hospital. At that time, I looked at his sweat and felt so heartbroken. But he said my affairs were the most important things. Not anymore. I called 911 through the smart home system, and only then was I saved. Fortunately, it was only a fracture, and after the surgery, I was pushed into the inpatient ward to recover. But I never expected to run into Ethan Blake here. He was holding a thermos and turned into the hospital room at the far end. The nurses’ quiet gossip drifted into my ears. “He really is such a good man. His boyfriend had a fever and needed IV fluids, and he stayed by his side for three days without leaving him for a second.” “Mr. Hayes is just lucky.”
No wonder I had barely been able to contact him these past few days. My face turned pale. “Miss Nurse.” “Please bill all expenses to the man just now, because he is my boyfriend.” “The person in that room is only his secretary.” The nurses’ faces immediately turned ugly, and they said a few things in low voices that I could not hear clearly. Not long after I was pushed into my room, Ethan Blake rushed in. “What exactly did you say to those nurses?” He froze when he saw me sitting in a wheelchair. “What happened to your leg? Why are you in a wheelchair?” The first thing he said after coming in was a question, and his furious appearance made it seem as if he had come to stand up for Noah Hayes. “I said you’re my boyfriend, so what, was I wrong?” I curled my lips sarcastically. “They all thought Noah Hayes was your boyfriend, after all, you took care of him for three days without leaving his side.” Ethan Blake pressed his lips together and fell silent. “Forget that, what exactly happened to your leg?” he asked hoarsely. I said lightly, “I saw you give the tie clip to Noah Hayes, got distracted for a moment, fell down the stairs, and broke my leg, that’s all. I called you and got brushed off, and since my injury wasn’t as serious as Noah Hayes’s illness, of course I deserved to have my call hung up on.” The more I spoke, the paler Ethan Blake’s face became. “Noah had a fever and still worked hard to block drinks for me, so I just didn’t want my subordinate to feel hurt.” His tone was very tired, and he half-knelt on the floor with his head pressed against my chest. “Simon, be sensible. I will never leave you, and my mother wouldn’t want us to separate either.” I really wanted to ask him whether he had not already agreed to draw a clear line. But he blocked my words. I was so tired. I would not take out even the tiniest bit of love to give him anymore. I silently let him lean against me, just like every difficult night over the past seven years.
Ethan Blake got into a car accident when he was taking Noah Hayes out of the hospital. Maybe it was karma. The car accident was very serious, but Ethan Blake’s injuries were not as severe as Noah Hayes’s. The light outside Noah Hayes’s operating room stayed on for a very, very long time. Ethan Blake arranged the best medical resources for him and hired the best caregivers. I sat in my wheelchair off to the side and watched, watching him run back and forth and wait anxiously. “Simon, don’t misunderstand.” He took a deep breath. “If Noah hadn’t protected me at the critical moment, I might have died on the spot. Noah is my lifesaver, so stop nitpicking with him.” How great a debt of saving someone’s life was—how could I not know? No one knew it more clearly than I did. I also knew how crushing it was, and how heavy. I did not argue, and I did not speak as I watched Ethan Blake love another person. It seemed like I wanted to find even half a trace of how he used to be, but there was actually none. He was thirty now, mature now, and he loved someone in a steadier and more reliable way. Not with lies, not with promises, and not with agreements. There was none of that weightless stuff between them. Everything was understood without words, and after Noah Hayes woke up, he was still holding Ethan’s hand and crying quietly. What a great love. I sneered and found myself pathetic, wanting to be a bystander and a spectator, yet still being dragged into the whirlpool. Ethan Blake insisted on showing me just how much he loved Noah Hayes. He found me and sat across from me in silence. So much time passed that I had already started to grow impatient. “You came to find me, so what exactly are you trying to say?” My smile looked awful. “Do you think I’m not ridiculous enough, and you want to tell me how you two fell in love during the car accident?” As long as you nod, we can break up anytime and let your Noah have a proper title.” Ethan Blake frowned, and there was a hint of anger in his eyes. “Simon Reed!” My smile suddenly froze, and even my hand trembled. Other than the time he said he would propose to me under the aurora, this was the first time he had called me by my full name. Ethan Blake took a deep breath and spoke to me in a tone that left no room for discussion. “Donate a kidney to Noah.”
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