Chapter 3

“I’m not making a scene.”

I spoke calmly. Even now, Claire still hadn’t realized that the wedding had been canceled.

Her mind was completely occupied with defending Ethan. When she heard me say that, she assumed she had successfully soothed me and casually continued, “All right, I know you tend to have mood problems. Do you want me to go with you to the hospital and get you checked out?”

Looking at Claire’s indifferent expression, I felt a wave of bitterness in my heart.

Back then, I had ignored my old employer’s objections, quit my job, and joined Claire’s company to lead her team. The intense workload combined with enormous pressure left me suffering from severe insomnia.

Then Ethan appeared again, further destabilizing my already fragile mental state, and I was diagnosed with depression.

At that time, Claire put all her work aside to take me to doctors, attend counseling sessions with me, and do everything she could to make me happy again.

Watching her act that way, I silently accepted every treatment, hoping I could recover as soon as possible.

Even when I was unhappy, I would force a smile just to give her peace of mind.

At work, I never allowed myself to make a mistake.

But at some point, Claire’s attitude began to grow impatient, and the time she spent with me became less and less.

She was either working overtime or attending meetings.

Yet several times, I saw photos and vlogs of her traveling with Ethan on his Instagram.

In those videos, Claire wore a smile I had never seen her show me. She held Ethan’s hand as they ran across the grass, shouting like a couple deep in love.

But whenever I called Claire, all I received was an impatient scolding. “Alex, can you stop using your depression as an excuse all the time? I think you’re pretending.”

“What do you even have to be depressed about? Who are you putting on this act for?”

Those words pierced my heart like knives.

After that, whenever I lay awake at night, I stopped messaging Claire.

Whenever my whole body trembled during an episode, I no longer waited for Claire to appear beside me.

I never told her anything about my illness again.

Yet today, she suddenly brought it up, as if everything I had done just now was nothing more than me throwing a tantrum because of another episode.

I gave a bitter laugh and said to Claire, “I recovered a long time ago. Did you know that?”

A flash of astonishment crossed Claire’s eyes.

She stared at me blankly and asked, “When? Why didn’t you tell me?”

I said self-deprecatingly, “The last time I had an episode, I called you while you were at a music festival with Ethan. Do you remember what you said?”

That time, something urgent had come up at the company, and Claire was out of town with Ethan. I worked overtime for three straight days to deal with it. After work, I suddenly suffered a panic attack. I was alone in a dim office, trembling all over and struggling to breathe, unable even to make an emergency call.

The only call I made was to Claire. After hearing me ask for help, she didn’t offer even a single word of comfort. She merely said coldly, “If you’re sick, go see a doctor. I’m not a doctor. What good does calling me do?”

That night, I curled up alone on the cold office floor as endless loneliness closed in around me. I genuinely considered jumping from the thirtieth floor.

After that day, I stopped placing my hopes in Claire.

I turned down all my work and went to the hospital for treatment. Everyone around me, including my coworkers and friends, knew that I was actively recovering. The only person who didn’t know was my closest girlfriend.

How ridiculous.

Now, as Claire looked at my casual expression, a trace of guilt flashed across her face.

Clearly, she remembered what she had said.

“I only said that in the heat of the moment. It’s a good thing you’re better now.”

“The wedding time has passed, right? Is the hotel calling to hurry us along? Let’s get over there.”

I pulled up the suitcase I had packed long ago, without a trace of attachment left on my face. “I canceled the wedding. There’s no need to go.”

Claire opened her mouth in shock.

She stood there staring at me, looking almost helpless, as if she had finally realized that this time was different and I truly meant to leave.

Her lips moved twice, as though she wanted to say something.

But I no longer wanted to listen, so I grabbed my suitcase and walked away.