He smiled, reaching out to wipe my tears. His voice was tender, like an echo of a dream. “I knew you wouldn’t blame me.”
He lit the candles on the cake. “Come on, babe, let’s make a wish together. Once we blow them out, it’ll be our ninth year. This year, we’re finally getting married.”
Our ninth year?
I stared at the flickering candles, not blowing them out.
Just as he was about to urge me, his phone rang. He picked it up instinctively.
“Ross… I twisted my ankle… It hurts so bad… Can you come pick me up? I’m alone by the roadside, and there are some creepy strangers watching me. I’m really scared.”
Zamora’s delicate voice came through the speaker, carrying a familiar intimacy.
Ross’s expression changed instantly. He stood up in a hurry. “How could you be so careless? Don’t be scared. I’m coming right now.”
He blew out the candles, kissed my cheek, and said quickly, “Babe, I’ll just be gone for a bit. She’s a girl. She’s not safe out there alone. I’ll be right back.”
“I—” Before I could finish, he had already rushed out of the hospital room.
I stared blankly at the door.
My heart was eerily calm.
I looked at the cake and flowers on the table, my eyes devoid of any warmth. Then, I threw them all into the trash.
‘Ross,’ I thought, ‘there won’t be a ninth year for us.’
The next day, I insisted on being discharged.
That car accident… It’s hard to say if it was good news or bad.
The good news was, I didn’t break any bones. The bad news was, I lost my baby.
Now, all I wanted was to wrap everything up quickly and leave Ross for good.
After leaving the hospital, I went straight to the company.
That building—from nothing to everything—was my entire youth.
I met Ross in high school. He was the brightest boy on campus, and I was the girl always in the corner quietly taking notes.
Later, when he started his own business, I followed him here. I stayed up late with him, drank cheap coffee, and accompanied him as clients rejected him over and over.
In eight years, his company grew from a tiny rented office to a suite in the tallest building downtown.
Every time I carefully hinted at marriage, he would ruffle my hair and say, “It’s not time yet. I want to give you a better life.”
I understood his pride.
I didn’t want to pressure him. Even when my parents finally found me after all these years, I didn’t tell him.
I thought that once his career was stable, everything would finally change.