After years of a fruitless relationship, today I finally decided to let go.
“Ms. Carter, this is for your pre-booked death service. Your death is scheduled for Leo’s celebration party in three days, by falling into a river. Both you and the baby will be faking your deaths. Please confirm.”
I gently patted the sleeping infant in my arms, then signed my name neatly on the client section of the document.
Everyone in this city knew I was Julian Hayes’s most ardent admirer. I had been obsessed with Julian for eight years, relentlessly chasing him until I finally became Mrs. Hayes.
But they didn’t know that when Julian was five, he gave me his mother’s diamond ring and said he’d marry me when he grew up.
When Julian was fifteen, he solemnly tattooed both our initials over his heart, his voice earnest, “Anya, I want to love you every day, forever.”
At eighteen, Julian risked his life to rush into a burning building to save me. A falling beam struck his head, requiring emergency surgery. The doctors warned he might suffer memory loss. Before the surgery, Julian took off the amulet he’d worn since childhood and placed it on me. “Anya, death can’t separate us, let alone a little memory loss. Wait for me, I promise I’ll remember you!”
“Remember to wear this amulet and never take it off. It’s our token of recognition!”
Later, Julian woke up, but he’d lost all memory from before he was sixteen. He even mistook Seraphina Reed, who secretly loved him, for his girlfriend.
For eight years, I tried everything to make Julian remember. But because Julian’s mother insisted he marry me, he only grew to resent me more. He even said, when I was in labor, nearly dying, “Just tell me when she’s dead, so Seraphina can take her place as Mrs. Hayes.”
That single sentence drained the last shred of affection I had for him.
I held my baby and went to the fake death agency, wanting nothing more than to leave his world forever, never to see him again!
Leaving the agency, I saw a large screen in the mall, looping an interview with Julian. He was holding Seraphina’s hand, his eyes soft. “Seraphina’s son, Lucas, is only three. He needs a father’s love, so we don’t plan on having children for now. I don’t want to upset him.”
Julian’s answer triggered wild cheers from the onlookers.
[Ugh, this ice-cold CEO ignores his own flesh and blood but treats his ex-girlfriend’s kid like a treasure? So devoted and loyal, I’m dying of envy!]
[This is the woman Mr. Hayes fell for at sixteen. Even after she abandoned him when he went blind, he stayed devoted, waiting three years to win her back. Such an open-minded and passionate man is rare!]
[That obsessed stalker thought taking care of the blind Mr. Hayes for three years would win his heart? Those two are true love, alright!]
[Who knows how Anya Carter, that manipulative faker, got her position. She actually thought giving birth to his son would win him back. Mr. Hayes never even looked at her properly, she’s completely deluded!]
[I’ve never seen such a shameless woman. Those two are beautiful and brilliant. She clearly knows Julian only has eyes for Seraphina, yet she clings to the position of Mrs. Hayes. So dark-hearted!]
The cold words of the crowd pierced my heart like sharp swords, leaving it riddled with holes. The pain made it impossible to breathe.
My baby’s cry broke my reverie.
Ignoring everything else, I hurried into a nearby mall, searching for a nursing room to feed my child.
Unfortunately, I ran into Julian again on the first floor, buying toy guns with Seraphina’s son. Julian patiently picked out toys, a rare smile gracing his usually stern face.
The moment our eyes met, Julian’s smile vanished. He spoke coldly, “Can’t you do anything productive for once, instead of spending all day tracking my movements and crying for me to come home?”
“Julian, stop it. Anya is still recovering from childbirth, she’s very weak. This is when she needs care the most. If she doesn’t recover properly, she could suffer long-term health issues.”
Seraphina wrapped her arm possessively around Julian’s, her smile gentle. “Since Anya came to find you, be good and go home with her today.”
“Your baby is almost a month old, and you haven’t held him once as a father. It’s really not right.”
“Hmph, my child? He was just a formality, a duty I had to fulfill for my family. He doesn’t deserve for me to hold him!” Julian affectionately pinched Seraphina’s cheek. “Even if he’s not my own, I feel better holding your son.”
Their argument attracted a crowd of onlookers and hushed whispers.
[Oh my god, isn’t that Mr. Hayes and his wife? This is Anya Carter’s child, one she almost died giving birth to. What Mr. Hayes said is a bit harsh, isn’t it?]
[At least Anya Carter stayed by his side tirelessly for three years when Mr. Hayes was blind. From his tone, it sounds like he wants this woman dead.]
[Yeah, Mr. Hayes is such a jerk. Women are so weak after giving birth, and she’s not getting any care from her husband. So pathetic.]
People always follow the crowd, saying whatever suits the moment. In such scenes, some cursed me, others defended me. I was used to it.
I looked at Julian’s disgusted face, my eyes welling up with tears. He had long forgotten how he risked his life to save me from the fire. Forgotten how he donated bone marrow for me when I had leukemia, defying everyone. Forgotten his promise that we would love each other every day, forever.
The one trapped by those sweet memories wasn’t Julian. It was me.
Luckily, in three days, I would leave his world completely, never to see him again!
Leo’s cries grew more anxious. I felt a surge of panic, pushed past Seraphina, who was blocking my way, and rushed into the nursing room at the end of the aisle.
Behind the door, I heard the sound of a woman falling and a man’s shocked, pained cry.
I focused on feeding Leo, my phone ringing incessantly. It was Julian calling. I decisively turned it off.
After soothing the baby, I left the nursing room to find Julian holding Seraphina, who was resting on a bench. Seraphina had a bandage on her forehead, her eyes filled with tears.
“Julian, please don’t blame Anya. She was just anxious about the baby and accidentally pushed me. She definitely didn’t mean to disfigure me.”
“Hmph, this woman knew you depend on your looks, yet she deliberately pushed you down. How malicious!” Julian’s face was like ice, and he snapped, “Anya Carter, get over here and apologize to her!”
“No, no, it’s fine,” Seraphina demurred, though her eyes gleamed with triumph.
I looked at her, devoid of emotion. I took off the amulet I always wore close to my skin and handed it to her. “I bumped into you today. Take this as my apology.”
At this, Julian’s eyes flashed with confusion, and Seraphina was equally startled, feigning refusal. “Anya, you shouldn’t! This is your most cherished necklace. Keep it!”
“My face is really fine, you don’t have to be so worried.”
“Anya Carter, what trick are you trying to pull now?” Julian suppressed a sudden flicker of unease, frowning in displeasure. “Before, when I told you to return the amulet to Seraphina, you cried hysterically, refusing to give in even if it meant death. Why are you suddenly willing today?”
“I’m not playing any tricks. I just don’t want it anymore.” My expression was indifferent as I held Leo and walked away.
But Julian blocked my path. “Don’t think this reverse psychology will make me agree to go home with you. Are you so desperate for a man you’ve gone crazy? Dream on!”
I placed the amulet in his hand, not sparing him a glance, and walked away. In three days, I would be completely out of his life. Why would I care about an amulet he gave me, or if he wanted to come home?
Julian vaguely felt I had changed, but couldn’t quite put his finger on it. He meticulously cleaned the amulet and handed it to Seraphina. “This is my most precious amulet. It’s yours now.”
“Julian, Anya seems upset. You should go back to her,” Seraphina gently advised.
“Whether she’s upset or not, what does it matter to me?” Julian said. “Let’s go!”
…
The clock on the wall struck midnight. Julian still wasn’t home.
In the past, I would have called everyone around him, asking about his whereabouts and persuading him to come home. After all, he’d had two brain surgeries and couldn’t stay up late.
Now, I was busy getting rid of everything, unwilling to waste time on insignificant people. I instructed Martha to inventory all the gifts I had given Julian over the years. They filled five large boxes. There were watches worth tens of thousands of dollars, calligraphy and paintings, and 136 custom-made suits. There were also 238 love letters Julian had once written to me.
I had once tried to use these passionate letters to awaken his love and memories. But I hadn’t known that my roommate, Seraphina, had secretly sabotaged me, delaying my visit to Julian in the hospital. When I rushed to the hospital with the love letters, a conscious Julian was holding Seraphina’s hand tightly. His eyes were full of deep affection. “Seraphina, I’ll be good to you my entire life!”
“I’ll make you a superstar!”
I was shocked and heartbroken, desperately wanting to prove my identity with the love letters and the amulet. Instead, I was met with Julian’s cold accusation, “What a scheming and manipulative woman. How dare you secretly replace my name in the love letters I wrote for Seraphina with yours?”
“And you even deliberately got the same tattoo on your chest as mine and stole the amulet I gave Seraphina?”
“You’re utterly despicable!”
The boy who once loved me so deeply now only believed Seraphina’s fabricated lies, looking at me with nothing but disgust and disdain. No matter how his friends explained, Julian was convinced that I had painstakingly tried to steal Seraphina’s place. He even threatened to cut ties with them if they continued to speak on my behalf!
Thinking about the eight years I spent chasing Julian, the hopeless waiting, and his mockery, tears blurred my vision. If he truly loved me, how could he have no physical memory of me, mistaking someone else for his girlfriend? How could he hurt me so deeply, not giving me an ounce of trust?
Ultimately, Julian didn’t love me enough, which was why he so easily fell for someone else’s manipulation!
I suppressed the bitterness in my heart and tossed my wedding ring into the trash. Then I doused the discarded items with gasoline.
Martha, the housekeeper, retrieved the ring from the trash. “Madam, this is the lily wedding ring Mr. Hayes personally carved for you when he was sixteen. You can’t throw it away!”
“And these gifts and love letters were once Mr. Hayes’s most cherished possessions. He won’t be able to bear it if you burn them.”
“Please give Mr. Hayes more time. He loves you so much, he’ll definitely regain his memory!”
“Whether Julian regains his memory or not, I don’t want him anymore.” I tossed the lit lighter onto the clothes. “The Julian I loved died when he was sixteen. He’s never coming back.”
The soaring flames illuminated my cold eyes, filled with endless sorrow, but more so, with a hopeful anticipation for the future. In 62 hours, I would vanish completely with my son, leaving Julian with absolutely nothing!
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