STIGMA

"Today is a good day. We can get what we want. Our hearts open up and we love each other... "

"Ding Dong, Ding Dong..."

A happy song played on Amelia's iPod that reflected her exact state of mind. Just then, the doorbell rang. Amelia Mo turned around towards the door with a complacent smile. She was so excited that her heart was beating against her chest. Amelia Mo thought it was her love on the other side of the door. Who else could it be? He had come here to celebrate her 25th birthday.

It must be her boyfriend, Jasper Gu. Amelia's heart welled up with joy as she thought that Jasper had come back home early to make her feel special on her birthday. Amelia Mo pulled the new shirt she was wearing to make it prim and proper before she rushed to answer the door. Her face broke into a hearty smile, her cheeks adorned by the two sweet dimples. She unlocked the door and swung it open. Her happy face turned into a disappointed expression to find the person who was standing outside the door. Her beautiful smile gave away to a disgruntled frown as she asked, "What makes you come here?"

"I have come here to give you the wedding invitation in person," Yolanda Mo said in a cold tone. She looked at Amelia Mo through the corner of her skillfully made-up eyes and false eyelashes.

"There was no need for it because I won't come to the wedding," Amelia Mo reverted with equal indifference and coldness which matched that of Yolanda's way. After saying that, Amelia was about to close the door on Yolanda's face.

Just as Amelia was about to close the door, Yolanda Mo leaned against the door and forcefully popped the red wedding invitation card inside the room through the crack of the door. Amelia was left aghast at this intruding gesture while Yolanda sported a triumphant smile and said, "Amelia, please be there. It's time for you to face reality."

"What's wrong with you?" Amelia Mo remarked as she found Yolanda Mo turn around and rush out of her sight. If Yolanda Mo didn't run as fast as she could, Amelia Mo would definitely have had a big fight with her.

Amelia was least bothered about Yolanda's marriage.

"For a fickle-minded girl like Yolanda who changed her boyfriend faster than changing her clothes, the very idea of getting married sounded like a joke. How ridiculous!"

Amelia casually threw the marriage invitation card away. Then her eyes fell upon the big bunch of lilies that were gracing the tabletop. Immediately, the sparkle in Amelia's eyes returned and her face broke into a smile once again. Jasper's words reverberated in her mind to make her smile again and again. He said Amelia was just as pure and beautiful as a lily, so he bought a big bunch of lily flowers for her birthday. Nothing could be more romantic than this for Amelia. She held the lilies closed to her bosom and caressed them fondly as she could feel Jasper's touch in them.

An hour passed, but Jasper still didn't show up. With every passing moment, Amelia was growing more and more impatient. Then came a time when she couldn't wait any longer. She picked up her phone and dialed the number she had memorized.

The call got connected, but no one answered it. That was surprising for her. Amelia Mo felt like a century had passed. She waited with bated breath to hear Jasper's voice from the other side.

"What is he doing? Why doesn't he answer my phone?" After a while and a few more attempts to contact Jasper, Amelia threw away her cell phone angrily. Accidentally, she caught a glimpse of the wedding invitation card on the table. Feeling bored, she looked through it.

At first, Amelia just took a casual glance at it. Her eyes moved through the design and color of the card in a very nonchalant and unwilling manner. For sure, she had nothing to do with the details mentioned in the card.

Amelia was least interested in the content or text part of it. However, one thing that caught her eyes was the photo of the bridegroom-to-be that was beautifully framed with that of the bride-to-be on the left side of the invitation card.

Amelia stared at the card in disbelief. Gazing at the happy and smiling faces of the soon-to-be wedded couple, she could feel her heart sinking.

Amelia held the wedding invitation card tightly in her hand, squeezed her eyes shut for one and opened it to see it clearly.

Then she moved her eyes to read the invitation message to reconfirm the information. Yes, it was the same invitation card that Yolanda had given to Amelia this morning to invite her to Yolanda's wedding. But what was unnerving for Amelia was that the groom's name as it was mentioned in the card and also the photo was that of Amelia's boyfriend, Jasper Gu's.

Amelia felt as if she was in a trance. It was her 25th birthday. She was just waiting for Jasper Gu to spend a beautiful day full of love.

How could this be? Last night, Jasper Gu had promised to propose to her on her birthday. How is it possible that now he was getting married to Yolanda Mo? Amelia held the wedding invitation card as her eyes became blurred and her heart throbbed painfully. Suddenly, Amelia straightened her spine and took a deep breath. She needed an explanation for this. There must be some mistake somewhere! This could not be true!

Amelia dialed Jasper's number again, but he didn't answer. Frustrated, she kept calling repeatedly until a sweet voice said, "Sorry, the number you are dialing is switched off."

Amelia almost freaked out. She turned around and saw the bunch of beautiful lilies on the table. Her eyes were sore. She grabbed her handbag and rushed out.

No matter what the truth was, she must see it with her own eyes.

What could this wedding invitation mean? Yolanda always liked to make fun of her. Amelia tried to control herself as she paced ahead to the bus stop. The sharp nip in the air as the winter wind blew over, made Amelia shiver as she stepped out of her house.

Amelia felt fatigued and covered her mouth with her cold hands and yawned. As soon as she got into the bus, her phone rang. She thought it must be Jasper. Without even looking at the screen, she called out cheerfully, "Dear". However, her enthusiastic voice was met with a laugh coming from the other side of the phone. "You don't have to say that, Amelia. Oh! You are so obsessed with your love! But sadly, I'm not your boyfriend. I'm just calling to say happy birthday to you!"

"Oh! It's you, Courtney," Amelia could not help feeling disappointed as she said in a low voice. "Thank you!"

"What's wrong?" Courtney Lin asked concernedly as she could feel the pain in Amelia's voice.

"Courtney, I'm in a hurry. I need to reach somewhere urgently. Let's talk later!" By the time Amelia finished saying this, she almost reached her destination. After hanging up the phone, she rushed out of the bus and headed straight to Jasper's home.

Jasper lived in a villa district in the west suburb of A City. Amelia often came here to clean up his house, so the bodyguard recognized her the moment he saw her. However, unlike earlier, he did not greet her with a smile. Rather, he had an awkward look on his face as he approached her and asked Amelia why she came here today. Amelia was not in the mood to notice anything at the moment. So she remained silent and entered Jasper's villa.

At that very moment, inside the high-end villa, a woman was lying over a man on a big and luxurious bed. The man lying under her was roaring. The extreme sex sounded ambiguous as both their voices got mixed.

Amelia thought Jasper was not at home. Unexpectedly, when she stood at the door, she found the door was half-open. She took a deep breath and told herself to calm down. Amelia had to find out the truth so that she would not fall prey to Yolanda's bully once again. Otherwise, she would be the biggest loser.

Just as she reached out to push the door open, a coquettish voice came from inside the room. "Jasper, come on! My waist is sore!"

'Jasper? The waist is sore? What the hell is going on over here?'

"Don't you like this pose? Tired already? Or do you want me to come here? I promise you will love me forever!" Jasper rasped as he said in a suppressed voice, but with a strong sense of tease, which could be heard clearly. Amelia's pink cheeks instantly turned red.

"Shut up!" The woman let out a coquettish smile, followed by a resounding gasp.