Irreversible Fate

On the day Jared and I got engaged, he personally brought the person who had bullied me years ago to stand before me.

He said, "I should express gratitude and forgiveness, only then can I attain redemption."

Every day after my death, he, once proud, wandered like a beggar, seeking information about my whereabouts.

Day after day, he uttered apologies I would never hear, seeking forgiveness and redemption that would forever elude him.

This is what he deserved.

*

The evening I discovered Jared's connection with Vicki, an ambulance rushed me to the emergency room. Hearing the doctor's regretful words beside me, my head throbbed intensely, leaving me disoriented and lost.

Brain cancer, I only have a few months left to live.

"If this had been discovered earlier, the chances of a successful surgery would have been high..."

The doctor sighed and pointed at the phone shaking in my hand, "Notify your family sooner. Get admitted for surgery preparation."

I wasn't sure how I managed to nod. Seeing the caller ID, I was at a loss for words, but my long-standing habit made me answer the call immediately.

"Hey, Jared has had too much to drink and is being stubborn. He keeps asking for you. You should come and pick him up..."

Momentarily taken aback, I instinctively swung my legs off the bed and left the hospital in a rush to pay the fees, ignoring the doctor's advice.

When I reached him, I heard a name from his lips that I dared not recall in this lifetime.

"I'm sorry... Vicki... I'm sorry..."

It was a winter night, yet that name cut through me more sharply than the sub-zero wind. After my heart skipped a beat, a wave of intense pain washed over me. I took a sharp breath in, trying to suppress the sudden surge of emotions in my heart. I sniffed, and reached out to support him. He half-opened his eyes, saw it was me, and instinctively smiled sweetly, but pulled away from my hand.

"Cindy, why don't we go apologize to Vicki... She's going through such a difficult time now... Do you remember her?"

Later, he muttered something else, but I couldn't catch what he said clearly.

Of course, I remembered Vicki.

Vicki was his idealized love, the one who shone like the moon in his heart, yet she was also the demon who had once plunged me into the abyss.