Back then, I sincerely considered Felicity a friend and even asked her if I really didn’t deserve William.
But Felicity simply smiled and said, "How could that be, Emily? Even if you’re not pretty, William doesn’t care about that."
"By the way, William wants to take you to the amusement park this weekend. He was too shy to tell you himself, so he asked me to pass the message. Don’t forget!"
Although William and I already had an unspoken understanding, this was the first time we had ever gone on a date like that.
That day after class, I left early on purpose. It was pouring hard, but I still went to a faraway mall to buy William a gift.
I chose a tie, and the salesperson asked if it was for my boyfriend. I nodded shyly.
On the day of the amusement park trip, I wore a pale yellow dress, letting my hair down from its usual ponytail. While waiting at the entrance, I kept wondering if I looked too dressed up.
But I waited until it turned dark, and William never appeared. My messages went unanswered.
I completely lost hope; I worried something had happened to William.
It was already dark, and on the way there, I slipped and fell in a muddy puddle. My pale yellow dress was covered in mud, and the tie flew away.
When I arrived, the moment I pushed open the door, I saw Felicity lying on William’s bed, while William was preparing her cold medicine.
"Why are you only coming now? Where have you been? I couldn’t find you all day."
"You don’t know, Felicity got caught in the rain yesterday. She fainted with a fever early this morning. If I didn’t live next door, I don’t know how dangerous it would’ve been."
He gave me no explanation for standing me up—only anger and blame. In all the years we’d known each other, this was the first time he’d ever been this angry with me.
Felicity, eyes brimming with tears, said, "Emily, I know you had something urgent yesterday, but in such heavy rain, you shouldn’t have taken my umbrella."
"I didn’t have any cold medicine, and my parents were away on a business trip. I kept messaging you, but you blocked me. Luckily, I collapsed when I came to find William, or I don’t know what would have happened."
At that, Felicity choked up, "Emily, I came here just to study, and I’ve always treated you as my best friend. Why did you do this…" William reached out and wiped her tears, cutting her off, "That’s enough, you don’t need to say more."