Chapter 1

On Lily’s birthday, I had the whole city lit up with a massive fireworks show, hoping to give her a surprise.

But on the way, she took a phone call and immediately told the driver to kick me out of the car.

“Brian’s breaking up with his girlfriend, and I need to go check on him right now. As for your birthday surprise, we can talk about it later.”

She ignored everything I said and left me alone out in the suburbs before driving off.

I watched the red taillights fade into the distance, then slowly pulled out the vision recovery report from my coat.

I had clearly seen Brian’s name on the caller ID just now, and I had also heard the man on the other end asking her to meet him.

I lifted my head and looked at the gloomy sky in the distance, my chest twisting with a mix of emotions that felt terrible.

For her twenty-eighth birthday, I had carefully planned a blue fireworks show, wanting to hold this report up amid the sky full of fireworks.

I wanted to tell her loudly that from now on, I could be the shoulder she leaned on, and she wouldn’t have to work herself to exhaustion to support the family anymore.

But now, I was the joke instead.

I tore the report to pieces with force and let the wind scatter it until it disappeared from sight before I looked away.

That fire five years ago.

Brian had left her in the blaze and run for his life.

I had ignored my own safety, broken through the barriers, and dragged her out of there. Because of that, my back was badly burned, and the smoke blinded both my eyes.

She said she would never have anything to do with Brian again for the rest of her life.

But now?

I walked aimlessly along the road in the suburbs.

I didn’t know how long I had been walking when the pitch-black sky suddenly started pouring rain.

The freezing rain soaked me through, but I couldn’t care less. My mind was a mess.

In the end, a kind stranger drove me back to my neighborhood.

I thanked the driver, and just as I stepped out of the car, I saw a familiar figure sitting behind the window of the Western restaurant not far away.

Lily was smiling brightly as she took the initiative to raise her glass and clink it against Brian’s.

Then Brian took her hand and slipped a diamond ring onto her ring finger.

When I saw that scene, my hands hanging by my sides clenched into fists.

I pulled out my phone and called Lily, staring hard at the two of them wrapped up in each other behind the glass.

No one answered the call, so I didn’t bother looking anymore and turned to go home.

Even though my clothes were soaked and clinging to my body, they still couldn’t compare to the cold in my heart.

When I got home alone, I turned on the lights and, for the first time, really looked at the little place I had decorated with my own hands.

I saw the couple’s mugs I had bought, and only my blue one was left.

The couple’s pillow on the couch, which should have had both our faces printed on it, now only had Lily’s.

That was when I remembered that last week, she had said she wanted to bring some friends over.

There were clearly three friends, but one of them was a quiet guy. Even after we parted, I still didn’t know his name.

Now that I thought about it, everything was obvious.

I said nothing and walked into the bedroom to pack up my own things.

Just as I was about to text Lily, I saw the post she had just put up on her social media.

In the photo, she was holding Brian’s hand with their fingers tightly interlocked, and the diamond ring on her ring finger stabbed painfully at my eyes.

The caption above it read, I hope every birthday in the future has you by my side, from year to year, from dawn to dusk.

Below that were likes and comments from mutual friends sending their blessings.

They all thought the person standing next to Lily right now was me, and they even remarked that my hand had gotten skinnier.

What was even more ridiculous was that Lily shamelessly replied to each one, thanking her friends for their blessings.

I gave a mocking laugh, liked her post as well, and left a comment underneath.

“The mood is already here, so I’ll wish you two a lifetime locked together.”