Putting a Ring on Someone Else

With a scowl, Tristan interrogated me, "Why did you insult Sally, Claudia? Do you know she got so upset because of what you said that she couldn't sleep, and she even got a headache!

"Isn't it enough that you took me away from her for ten years? Why must you keep hurting her over and over again?"

Before I appeared in Tristan's life, he and Sally were childhood sweethearts. However, they were apart for a long time because Sally had gone abroad.

When she came back to the country, she started working at the company as Tristan's secretary. The two spent all their time together, and their relationship steadily became more intimate.

By the time I realized something was amiss, their relationship had progressed far beyond the realms of friendship. I didn't want to upset Mom, so I put up with it. However, that led to Tristan becoming even more blatant in his treatment of me.

"I didn't!" I refuted Tristan's accusations at once.

However, he took his phone out and played a recording.

"Sally, you're a stinking bitch who ruined someone else's relationship! You should go to hell! Tristan's mine. Don't think you can ever take him away from me!"

The voice did sound similar to mine, but I didn't expect Tristan not to be able to notice it wasn't my voice despite having spent ten years of his life with me.

Perhaps he never even considered trying to figure out if the voice truly belonged to me. He blindly believed anything Sally said.

"I've long since repaid the debt I owe you for the sacrifice of your pathetic dad's life, Claudia! I don't care if your mom has cancer or dies. It has nothing to do with me! Stop using her to force me to marry you! If you ever cause trouble for Sally again, I'll make you pay! You got that?"

I now knew just how worthless my parents' lives were to him.

I recalled what happened last summer.

Mom's cancer had relapsed, which meant she often felt faint and fatigued. Yet, when she knew that Tristan was visiting us, she rushed to the supermarket and bought a ton of groceries.

She spent the entire afternoon in the kitchen preparing a meal for him, only to end up fainting from her exhaustion.

At the same time, Tristan got a call from Sally. When I asked Tristan to take Mom to the hospital, he annoyedly retorted, "I didn't ask your mom to cook for me. How is it any of my business that she fainted?

"In any case, Sally's having a depressive episode. I need to be with her. Sally's not like your mom. She'll die if she doesn't see me."

When I finally got Mom to the hospital, the doctor said that if I'd brought her in any later, it would've been too late.

All along, my parents' lives—and my entire existence included—were nothing compared to a drop of Sally's tears, no matter how fake her crying was.

I let out a self-deprecating laugh. I felt indignant on behalf of my parents and my own blind foolishness of having been in love with him for a decade. Thinking of this, I couldn't resist tearing up.

I rarely ever cried in front of Tristan. His expression shifted slightly when he saw my tears streaming down my cheeks. It seemed like his attitude had softened a little.

It was right then that Sally walked over and leaned her head against Tristan's shoulder, pouting. "Tristan, my head is killing me…"

Hearing that, Tristan quickly consoled her, "Don't worry. I told you I'll make things right for you."

He looked back at me, his gaze icy. "Hurry up! Get on your knees and apologize, Claudia!"

My anger welled up inside of me, making my chest feel stuffy. My eyes were red with fury as I questioned, "Why should I?"

"Because you stole ten years that belonged to her!" Tristan retorted matter-of-factly, which only made me scoff in outrage.

Thoroughly disappointed in him, I didn't even want to speak to him anymore. Ignoring the two of them, I took out a suitcase and silently started packing things up.

However, Sally refused to stop targeting me. She abruptly walked up to me and snatched a sweater that Mom had completed.

"Why would such an old-fashioned design still be around? But on second thought, it looks like it suits my dog," Sally declared as she laughed loudly. She didn't bother to hide the mockery in her eyes.

I hurriedly tried to take the sweater back from her.

"Give it back!" I shouted.

However, Sally narrowed her eyes and asked with a scornful smirk, "Why do you care about a lousy sweater so much? Could it be… that it's what your dead mom left to you?"