[You took a whole month off just to marry Casey. What important thing do you have going on now?]>
Letting out a sigh, I replied, [I need to take care of Onie.]
Afraid she wouldn’t believe me, I even sent a video.
On the screen, Onie nestled obediently in my arms, eyes sparkling like stars. His mouth hung open in a goofy smile, tail wagging with joy. Every time I stroked his fur, he leaned into me, rubbing against my hand with such affection it melted my heart.
Shortly after, Sabrina sent a barrage of messages.
[Are you fucking possessed?! What matters more to you–a person or a dog? Casey almost died in that car crash! A shard of glass nearly pierced her heart. Do you even understand what that means?!]}
[And here you are still worried about your damn dog?!]}
[Martin, give us a straight answer–are you going or not?]
[If you don’t show up, don’t bother calling us your friends anymore. We’ll cut you off for good. Don’t ever show your face to us again.]}]
Just as I was about to reply, a message from Casey popped up.
[That’s enough, Sabrina. Martin isn’t the kind of person you think he is. If he doesn’t want to come, he must have his reasons. Don’t drag him into my mess.]}
Then she messaged me privately.
Martin, I miss you. I really, really miss you…])
[Especially when that truck was flying toward me–I couldn’t think of anything but you. I was terrified I might die without seeing you one last time.]>
[But i guess I was lucky. If I hadn’t been wearing that blessed charm you gave me, I might not have made it.]}
The charm she mentioned was something I had gotten for her when she was gravely ill and unconscious. I climbed 999 stone steps on my knees, praying with every breath for her recovery.
It had poured rain that day, and by the time I reached the top, my legs were trembling so badly I couldn’t stand.”
But I clenched my teeth and kept going. I told myself, if she could just live, anything was worth it.”
And miraculously, the moment I returned with the charm–she woke up.
Since then, she had worn it every single day.§
But now, I wanted it back.
She didn’t deserve to wear it anymore.”
I replied simply.”
[Fine. I’ll come see you.]}
Casey was overjoyed at my reply.”
Despite the pain from her injuries, she instinctively opened her arms to hug me.
Even lifting them hurt her, but she forced them up anyway, biting through the pain.
In the past, I would’ve rushed over to embrace her, whispering sweet nothings into her ear.
But now, I just stand there, unmoving–my face blank, maybe even filled with disgust.
Her smile faltered. Slowly, her arms dropped back to her sides. She forced a laugh to cover the awkwardness.
“Martin, I’m already so happy you came. I shouldn’t expect too much.”>
She quickly pointed to a nearby table.
It was full of food–all my favorites.
Crystal dumplings. Caviar–topped king crab.“]
Everything was steaming hot, clearly timed perfectly for my arrival.
The butler beamed and added, “Mr. Ortega, Miss Garza personally arranged all of this after she heard you were coming. She-“)
“Who said you could prepare anything for him?!“}
A loud voice cut him off as the door slammed open.
Jaylen stormed in, throwing a stack of papers harshly onto Casey’s hospital bed.§
“Sis, he’s scum! He’s not worth your love. Martin has been cheating on you! He’s been seeing another woman behind your back! Don’t let him fool you again!“}
He expected Casey to be furious.
But she only glanced at the photos before quietly looking away.
“That’s enough, Jaylen. Don’t speak nonsense. Martin is not like that.”
“Sis, if not for that woman, why else would he suddenly back out of the wedding? He’s just afraid she’d cause trouble if he got married!
Admit it–Martin is trash!“}
Shut up!”
Her furious scream was followed by the crack of a sharp slap.
