Lie and Regret

5

After that fire, although I managed to survive, my body and the artificial eye suffered irreparable damage.

I was severely injured and the doctor regretfully told me that I had less than a month to live.

I nodded, then gave up on continuing treatment at the hospital.

In my final days, I didn’t want to become an ICU patient with missing teeth and a bald head.

So I bought a ticket and returned to the old house where I used to live with my mother.

After so many years away, the place was overrun with weeds and cobwebs.

But I found joy in cleaning it, determined to sweep every trace of filth from my life.

The mountains were high, and the road was long—me and them, we would probably never see each other again.

Only occasionally, during quiet moments, would I think of things from the past.

In the year my mother and I were at our poorest, Jack had walked into my life.

With the sunlight shining on him, I felt like he had imprinted his figure in my heart.

We were both children from single-parent families, and we clung to each other like two stubborn little beasts, growing up side by side, unwilling to let go.

After my mother died, he looked at me with youthful sincerity and made a solemn promise.

He promised me that he would never let me down.

Life was hard during that time, but he never once let me suffer.

But genuine feelings could change in an instant.

The light that once saved me now personally pushed me into a boundless hell.

Without realizing it, my eyes began to sting.

But my artificial eye told me I couldn’t even cry anymore.

I smiled as I tossed news of Jack frantically searching for me into the trash.

He didn’t believe I was dead and had been recklessly throwing money around trying to find me.

But the world was vast—how could it be easy to find someone who was deliberately hiding?

I went to a bakery and bought myself a big cake.

In the candlelight, I sat for a long time before finally making a wish.

I wished to sleep well that night, and if I could dream of my mother, that would be even better.

But before I could see my mother in my dream, I saw Jack instead.

He looked exhausted, his eyes red as he grabbed my arm.

“I knew you weren’t dead. Why did you lie to me?”

As he spoke, his voice softened.

“Do you know I’ve been going crazy trying to find you? Come on, you’re coming home with me.”

He was strong, and I struggled hard.

“Let go of me!”

“No way. You’ve faked your death to deceive me and Cameron. Can you not act so childishly all the time?”

His shameless words infuriated me, and I suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Jack froze, staring at the blood on his hands in shock.

After a long pause, he went mad, scooping me up and running out the door.

In the ambulance, he desperately tried to stop the bleeding.

But all he could do was watch as half of his shirt became soaked in my blood.