Chapter 4The Sweetness of Revenge

I stood at the landing of the stairs, looking toward the door. Elias, dressed in simple, clean clothes, familiarly turned on the light, took off his shoes, and walked inside.

The young man had gentle features. Seeing me, he offered a shy smile and made a gesture with his hands.

I met Elias on a rainy day, right after I found out Liam was seeing someone else.

I was sitting on the bench at a bus stop, the rain mixing with my tears, dripping down continuously.

When you love someone, you use all your strength, leading to possessiveness. Suddenly hearing about his infidelity, no matter how good your temper usually is, jealousy spreads through your entire body.

But I had seen too much of this. My friends, relatives, and parents had all set very bad examples for me.

When they talked about these things, they didn't even take it to heart.

For a long time, I felt like I was the freak.

Even Serena, who understood me best, looked at my depressed state with sheer bewilderment: "Abby, the Sterling family is valued at over thirty billion, and Liam is the standout among them. With a status like that, it's unrealistic for him not to have a few women hovering around."

Everyone told me to relax, that Liam was just lacking in fidelity, and that it was a harmless flaw.

But I suppressed my pain, not daring to show it, because I had seen how pathetic my mother looked.

Vases shattered all over the floor; the torment made my usually gentle mother somewhat unhinged.

Later, she frequently sought comfort outside too. At first, it was out of revenge, but later, it became an addiction.

With a look of lust in her eyes, she told me that when you can't fight it, you just have to go with the flow.

Elias, holding an umbrella, appeared in front of me. The young man was very tall, his knuckles smooth like jade. When he smiled, dimples appeared on his cheeks.

I looked up and told him to get lost.

But he seemed not to hear me. He just tried to hand the umbrella to me.

I poured all my unvented anger into the most vicious words directed at this stranger, but Elias only looked at me with a calm face.

His eyes were as vast and accepting as the ocean.

After a long while, he looked down at his phone and typed a sentence:

[I'm sorry, I sent my hearing aids in for repair today. I can't hear what you're saying.]

He smiled, his eyes curving like crescent moons.

The words got stuck in my throat, unable to go up or down. I felt ashamed. I had actually vented my anger on such a gentle boy.

We met again in a university lecture hall. I was invited as a successful alumna to speak about the ups and downs of life. During the ribbon-cutting ceremony, I saw him.

As an outstanding student, he took a photo with me.

Surprisingly, when I received that photo from my assistant, the boy's features were gentle, radiant like stars and the moon.

I don't know what I was thinking, but I had my assistant send him a pair of high-end hearing aids.