Our Vows Were Fake, Theirs Were Real

Chapter 10

A few days later, I ran into Timothy at the door of my grandfather's house as I was getting off work. He looked nervous, holding a bag of fruit in his hand.

"Evie, I bought your favorite ginseng pineapple," he said, his voice shaky.

Seeing him like that, I couldn't help but remember how I used to be, always acting based on his moods, always trying to please him. I ignored the guilt I could see in his eyes.

"I don't like pineapples," I replied flatly. "I just pretended to like them because of you. But I'm done now. I don't want to pretend anymore. I want to be myself again, so I won't have them."

For a decade, I'd tried so hard to win Timothy over. I humbly accepted everything he loved and forced myself to hate the things he hated. I used to love spicy food, but Timothy said he didn't like strong flavors, so I gave it up. I couldn't stand coriander, but since he liked it, I forced myself to eat it, pretending it was delicious. All my efforts, all my pretending, were just to make him notice me and stay with me. But in the end, I lost myself in that relationship.

I remembered the night he agreed to marry me. I couldn't sleep, so excited I was. I stayed up all night, imagining how beautiful our life together would be. But I never imagined it would end so abruptly before I could even feel it. And then I wondered, if I hadn't been so determined to pursue Timothy, would my grandfather have lived a few more years?

Timothy looked at me with desperation in his eyes. "Evie, didn't you say my grandpa's greatest wish was to see you marry me?"

"If you want, I'll divorce Mia right now. I'll marry you and make you the happiest bride. Okay?"

His eagerness only made me feel sick. His words reopened a wound I'd just managed to heal.

"Timothy, you can't be this shameless. Why do you think I'd accept a divorced man?" I snapped. "You knew how much my grandfather wanted to see us together, but you still ditched us that day. Now you're pretending to care? It's disgusting."

Timothy's face was a mixture of confusion and pain. He stared at me blankly, as if struggling to find the right words.

"I was wrong, Evie. Please, give me a chance to make it up to you. If you don't like it, I swear I'll never care about Mia again. Can you trust me again?"

I shook my head, refusing him without hesitation.

"Timothy, I will never trust you again. I will never love you again. Please, don't show up in front of me again. You sicken me."

With that, I turned away, leaving him standing there, still holding that bag of pineapples, as I walked away for good.