Love Faded in the Wind

Seeing the unfamiliar number, Stacy knew right away that it was Rachel Fox.

After all, she had sent Stacy a photo of herself in Martin's arms, who was looking downward at her and smiling affectionately, and they were clearly at Rachel's place.

On top of that, the photo was captioned: We're getting married soon because Martin finds you worthless. Know your place and make yourself scarce already.

Stacy's fingers clenched around her phone as the words were knives that cut into every fiber of her being, leaving her unable to breathe.

Soon, the fireworks show had ended, leaving the peak at once dark and silent.

Stacy's phone turned off on its own from the cold, and without any light, she had to walk down the hill with the faint moonlight.

It started to snow, and she knew that if she stayed above the hill, they would find her dead the next morning.

She had no choice but to keep heading down the hill, a chill creeping up her spine as her fear of the dark engulfed her.

She was afraid of the dark and the paranormal too, but Martin seemed to have forgotten about that.

Even so, she kept trudging on despite her fear and the freezing cold, and felt totally numb by the time she arrived at a place she could get a taxi four hours later.

By the time she reached home, her face was deathly pale and her lips blackened.

It was pitch-black in there too—the servants had left, while Martin was busy keeping his fiancee company.

Stacy pursed her numb lips then. After all, was this not the natural course of things?

She was nothing, and Martin had every reason to stay with his fiancee.

-

Martin shook her awake the next day, and Stacy found herself staring at his worried face as she opened her groggy eyes.

"You have a fever. Let's get you to the hospital," he said.

Stacy could vaguely feel him carrying her into his car, although only one thing came to mind: what was he doing here, instead of staying with his fiancee?

Still, when her mind cleared and she saw the bright sun outside the car, she realized that it was already noon the next day.

In the car, Martin held on to her tightly, even carrying her to the ER.

He stood at her side as she was too dizzy to sit straight, holding her upright in a rather strange position.

Through it all, Martin appeared very worried and kept asking what he had to be worried about.

While giving her IV, the doctor smiled at her, "You have a really good boyfriend. You should really cherish him."

But at that instant, Stacy picked up Rachel's scent that was clinging to Martin's clothes.

Although Stacy smiled at the doctor, it was a smile of faint bitterness.

A good boyfriend? As in the one who just left his fiancee's bed?

Nonetheless, Martin was still carrying her here and there, refusing to let her walk at all.

He even kept her head in his embrace as she was given an injection, assuring her endlessly like she was a child, "It's alright. It just hurts for a second."

But it was his fault she was in the state in the first place, and she wanted to say that she was fine—because this pain was far less from the terror she had gone through last night.

Hence, she didn't argue and let Martin keep up his perfect boyfriend act. No one would know otherwise that he actually had another woman for a fiancee, and Stacy herself was almost fooled too.

As she lay on her sickbed, he tucked her in, asking if it hurt anyway.

She quietly shook her head and closed her eyes, refusing to speak further.

Eventually, she dozed off, and Martin wasn't around by the time she woke up.

She pulled out the IV needle which was used up, and headed to the restroom.

When she was done and left, she found Martin leaving the gynecologist's office, his hand around Rachel's waist.

She hid in the restroom, but overheard them anyway.

"You're a mother now," Martin said mildly. "The fetus is two months old, so quit being such a child."

Rachel tugged on his arm playfully. "Then you have to keep both eyes on me. The baby needs Daddy, see?"

Martin flashed a loving smile. "Alright. And don't worry about the wedding, or you'll tire out yourself and the baby…"

Their voices faded into the distance, but Stacy remained where she was as if frozen stiff.

By the time she came to her senses, she had her hand pressed on her own chest as she arched her back, wheezing from the heartache while large drops of tears rolled down her cheeks.

Martin and Rachel were already having a baby—they had already been together since two months ago, and who knew how long Rachel would be kept in the dark if not for the conversation she had overheard yesterday.

Laughing bitterly and wiping the tears off her cheeks, all Stacy felt was a chill. She opened her eyes to find herself staring at a ring.