I Ignored His Regret After Our BreakupChapter 1

On May 1st, the day of my surgery, Ethan Brooks had promised to be there for me. But out of the blue, he told me he had to attend his grandfather's funeral.

Yet, after the operation, I saw a photo in our school group chat. It was him, hugging a younger girl from our school, with the caption.

[Happiness is having someone who's always there when you're sick or down.]

Everyone thought I'd lose my temper.

Even his mom tried to console me. "Ethan lied because he didn't want you to worry. He and Lily are just childhood friends. There's nothing going on."

I just smiled. They might as well get married and stop wasting each other's time.

Fifteen days later, I was in a wheelchair, wrapping up my discharge paperwork, when Ethan finally showed up.

He handed me a bouquet of red roses and said, "I'm sorry."

"Here we go again," I thought.

A bunch of red roses and an apology were Ethan's classic moves.

I loved Ethan.

I feared losing him, so I always played along.

But this time, I didn't take the flowers.

As I lay alone at night, staring at the hospital ceiling, looking at that photo of him and Lily Summers, I finally realized that some love, no matter how humbly offered, would never bloom.

The weather in my heart, whether sunny or stormy, was no longer under Ethan's control.

"I'm sorry.

"Lily has depression. She was crying and throwing fits, I..."

Ethan began to explain, but I cut him off, tired of hearing the same old excuses. "Enough, I know what you're going to say."

Every time, it was the same tale of how miserable Lily was and how much she needed help.

But wasn't I miserable too? Didn't I need support?

Three months ago, Ethan was chatting with Lily, not paying attention, and ran a red light just as a car sped by.

I pushed him out of the way, getting hit myself, resulting in two surgeries to place steel plates in my legs.

Seeing my cold demeanor, Ethan looked taken aback, a flicker of confusion and embarrassment in his eyes.

"I'll help you into the car."

"No need," I refused.

When I first got injured, Ethan helped with everything.

But one time, while he was on the phone with Lily, I asked him to fetch something for me. He snapped, "Can't you do it yourself?"

He apologized later, but I never asked for his help again.

Yet he never seemed to tire of caring for Lily, even using his grandfather's funeral as an excuse.