I watched them disappear from view, my eyes burning with tears, every breath a sharp pain.
I still couldn’t understand. The man who once swore to love me forever—when did he suddenly change?
As I stood there, staring at their retreating figures, I felt the bitter irony in my chest. My heart hurt so much I lost the strength to stand. I leaned against the wall, collapsed to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably.
In the cramped corner, I let the darkness consume my nerves, my mind involuntarily drifting back to that memory.
A seventeen-year-old boy, holding my hand, pulled me out of class. He led me, walking under the moonlight, to the willow tree by the pond. The moonlight was clear and cold, casting a clean, silvery glow on his figure and even the air seemed to carry a sweet fragrance.
He pointed to the crooked, uneven letters carved into the willow tree and asked me, "Rose."
His face, usually so cold, was tinged with the rare flush of a young boy's shyness as he asked, "Would you, will you, be with me?"
"Let's spend our lives together, until the very end, in a love that defies death itself."
I stared at his face and in his beautiful eyes, I saw nothing but the image of a young Rose. Then, my gaze shifted back to the crooked words on the willow tree.
"David and Rose, together for life. David will always love Rose. If they betray this, let heaven strike them down."
The summer of seventeen. Even the cicadas’ song played a symphony of romance.
I could hear the beating of my own heart, reverberating in my ears, a loud echo that filled the summer night.
Blushing, I ran off, with David hot on my heels. He shamelessly demanded an answer, but I only made it as far as the girls’ dorm building and left him with one parting word:
"Immature."
When I got back to the Scott's manor, David had been waiting in the living room for quite a while.
As soon as he heard me, he stood up from the sofa and walked over to me. Noticing right away, he asked, "Rose Dear, did you cry? Who made you upset?"
David's gentle face shifted with a hint of anger. "Who dares to upset my Rose?"
I looked at him, unable to tell if he was pretending or if he was so deep into his own act that even he believed it. I just shook my head and said, "I saw a family of four today and I couldn’t help but feel a little envious."
David and I had been together since we were seventeen. Now, it’s been ten years.