Chapter 3

The pungent smell of disinfectant invaded my nostrils as I lay on the cold hospital bed, staring at the stark white ceiling.

My memory involuntarily drifted back to twelve years ago.

Back then, I was swollen all over from taking hormone medications. My classmates always mocked me as the "fat ugly girl", throwing my textbooks in the trash and stuffing rotten food into my locker.

When I was curled up crying behind the school building, Lucas appeared. He draped his rain-soaked jacket over my shoulders and said softly, "Don't be afraid, I'll go with you to talk to the teacher."

At that moment, he was like a light in the darkness, illuminating my world.

In the days that followed, whenever I was bullied, he would always appear just in time. He helped me clean up my ransacked backpack, accompanied me to the infirmary to treat my wounds, and even voluntarily became my desk mate.

Gradually, the bullying stopped.

"You don't need to be afraid," he always told me. "I'll always be by your side."

When we met again ten years later, I had slimmed down but was still ordinary. He, however, had become even more outstanding, dressed in a suit and tie, exuding an elite aura with every gesture. I only dared to watch him from afar, never imagining he would approach me.

"Do you remember me?" he asked. "I've been looking for you."

His career was thriving, but he never made me feel inferior. Whenever his mother belittled me for my humble background, he was always the first to stand up for me.

"Mom, Emma is trying her best," he would say. "She's my wife, we're family."

Back then, I naively believed that such happiness would last forever. Until he became obsessed with developing AI, and the tenderness in his eyes gradually disappeared, replaced by an obsession with "Lily".

A year ago, he held my hand and said, "Once the AI development is successful, I'll give you a grand wedding."

I believed him. I worked tirelessly, day and night. Two miscarriages, I endured silently, afraid of delaying his research. I lost 90 pounds, but I persevered.

But now, he had shattered all my illusions with the name "Lily".

Drip, drip — The crisp sound of water interrupted my thoughts. I raised my hand to my cheek, realizing I had been crying without knowing it.