Years and you close together

I tapped to open the video. There he was, Caleb, standing at the airport arrival gate with a massive bouquet of ninety-nine red roses in his hands, his gaze fixed expectantly on Anna as she walked toward him.

The post was deleted almost immediately. *Of course*, Joyce thought. *Wouldn’t want me to see that.*

Eyes burning, she flung her phone aside, grabbed a baseball bat from the corner, and swung with all her might at the enormous wedding portrait hanging in their bedroom.

The glass shattered into a thousand pieces. So did her heart. Each breath felt like a struggle.

She had just cleared away the broken glass when her phone rang. It was Caleb, his voice tight with urgency.

"Joyce, get to the hospital. Now! It's an emergency!"

Her first thought was that something had happened to him. She rushed over without a second thought.

At the hospital, she found him disheveled, his suit torn. Before she could even ask what was wrong, he grabbed her and pushed her down onto a gurney.

"Doctor! She's Rh-negative! Hurry, draw her blood! We need it for Anna!"

Joyce's mind went blank. Caleb wanted her to donate blood for Anna? Had he completely forgotten about her severe anemia?

"Caleb—" she tried to stop him, but he was already rushing away, tossing a dismissive command over his shoulder. "Just go home after you're done. I have things to handle."

Watching his retreating back as he sprinted toward Anna's room, Joyce felt the blood in her own veins run cold.

This was the man she'd loved for years. The moment Anna reappeared, there was no room left in his world for anyone else.

Forced to donate 500cc of blood, she was lightheaded and weak. Stumbling out, she braced herself against the wall.

Just around the corner from the hospital entrance, she heard a familiar voice.

"Hey, calm down, man. It's just a scrape. She's fine."

"You don't understand!" Caleb snapped, his voice frayed with worry. "Anna's delicate. Even a small injury takes forever to heal. How can I not be worried?"

So it was just a minor scrape. And for that, he'd forced her—with her condition—to give 500cc of blood.

The last thread of strength snapped. The world tilted, and darkness swallowed her as she collapsed.

Nurses rushed over. "Ma'am? Are you alright?"

The commotion made Caleb turn. He saw her lying on the floor.

He hurried over. "What happened to her?"

A nurse who had seen them earlier shot him a disapproving look. "She has severe anemia! How could you let her donate blood? This is reckless!"

The realization hit him belatedly. He'd forgotten. He'd forgotten about her anemia.

He scooped her up and shouted for a doctor as he carried her back inside.

When Joyce woke, the room was empty.

She pressed the call button. A nurse came in to check on her.

"Oh, where's your husband? He was here just a moment ago."

A cold, bitter laugh twisted inside her.

She didn't need to think. She knew exactly where Caleb was right now. In Anna's room.

Because in his heart, Anna was his one true love, his unforgettable first.

And she? She was just a convenient blood bank—a tool to keep his precious first love safe.