Chapter 3Kicking Out the Jerk: My Life Got Better Overnight

This year marks the fourth year Justin and I have been together.

We met in high school during an academic competition and gradually became friends.

After graduation, he kept telling me not to leave right away, to wait for him in the park nearby. I did as he asked.

And so, on that scorching hot afternoon, the eighteen-year-old boy walked towards me, ears flushed red, holding a single Lisianthus flower.

"Wendy Shaw, will you be my girlfriend?"

Justin was a good boyfriend. He brought me breakfast, was there for me whenever I needed him, gave me a huge bouquet of Lisianthus every birthday, and showered me with thoughtful, expensive gifts.

Almost every anniversary came with a big cake.

Senior year of college, my parents died in a car accident, leaving me alone. I sat numbly in the hospital corridor, completely lost.

I still remember the sharp smell of antiseptic flooding my senses, almost paralyzing me.

It was Justin who took a train for over ten hours to get to me, held me tight, and whispered words of comfort and encouragement over and over.

I huddled in his arms, feeling his warmth, sobbing too hard to speak.

After the funeral, I carried the two small urns home, feeling completely numb.

Justin knelt in front of me, his eyes sincere. I saw my own reflection in them, tiny and fragile.

I heard him say, "Wendy, I'll always be with you. I'll never let you suffer even the slightest bit."

"From now on, I'm your rock."

"I'll take care of you, Wendy. Just wait for me."

The emotions I'd suppressed for two weeks finally burst forth. I threw myself into his arms with all my strength, wailing uncontrollably.

"Justin, you're all I have left."

But now... it's only been a year.

Justin, all those promises you made to me... they're all void now.