Choosing the Interpreter Life Over Him

When I came back from the post office, I passed by the town square. I spotted Ray and Shannon watching the circus performance, both looking delighted.

I vaguely remembered inviting him to see a performance in my previous life. He had refused without hesitation. Now here he was with Shannon, looking thoroughly entertained.

At that thought, I let out a long sigh and headed home. Ray seemed to hear me sigh. He turned around and called out my name.

This time, I pretended not to hear and kept walking.

After dinner, I was lying in bed reading translation materials when Ray burst in. His face was full of smiles, and he was holding a hot roasted sweet potato.

He had even thoughtfully peeled it for me.

"Here, Nora. This is your favorite—roasted sweet potato. I had to fight to get this today."

Seeing him act like a completely different person than he had earlier felt absurd. To avoid getting tangled up with him, I took the sweet potato anyway and quietly thanked him.

My distant tone seemed to catch him off guard for a moment. But before he could think too much about it, Shannon called out to him, and he left.

In the brief moment the door was open, I saw Shannon holding a roasted sweet potato in each hand, eating happily.

I laughed bitterly. At least I hadn't foolishly assumed it was just for me. I was probably just an afterthought.

I didn't eat the sweet potato. Instead, I placed it on the nightstand. By the time Ray came back in, the once-steaming sweet potato had gone completely cold.

He looked at me in surprise, raising his voice. "I went through all that trouble to buy you this sweet potato, and you didn't even eat it?

"Do you know how long I waited in line for this? I almost got into a fight with someone over it, and this is how you repay me?"

His tone made it sound like I had committed some unforgivable crime.

I stuck my finger in my ear sarcastically. "Keep your voice down. I'm not deaf."

My indifferent tone seemed to infuriate him. Ray stormed out of the bedroom with the sweet potato, fuming. Before leaving, he even threatened me.

"Fine, you won't eat it? Plenty of other people will. Don't expect me to ever buy you anything again, Nora."

Watching him leave without hesitation, I suddenly realized something.

In my previous life, I had always put Ray first. I prioritized him in everything and shortchanged myself constantly. In this household, I had grown accustomed to putting myself last. Even his childhood sweetheart took priority over me.

My eyes fell on a necklace sitting on the vanity.

In our four years together, this was the only gift Ray had ever given me. And even then, it was only because I had shamelessly begged him to buy it for me from a street vendor on my birthday.

I treated it like a treasure, too precious to even wear. I would often carefully dust it with a cloth.

Every time he saw me doing this, he would mock me. He said I was a miser who couldn't even afford decent jewelry, which was why I treated a cheap street vendor necklace like it was priceless.

Yet all these years, I had never been stingy with him. Not once.

Through the half-open door, I could see Shannon showing off multiple bracelets and hair accessories on her hands while Ray laughingly helped her put them on, one by one.

Their cheerful laughter drifted constantly to my ears. At that moment, the necklace in front of me felt like nothing but a cruel joke.