They Waited for My Sister to Wake, So I Called Off My Wedding Chapter 08
When the five–year project ended, it had achieved remarkable results.
The company directly rehired me as an executive, but I refused.
In five years, I’d accumulated capital and seen clearly what I truly wanted to do.
I started traveling the world.
I only came back to the States once, for Evan’s birthday.
In the bar, I went on stage and sang for him. “This song is for Evan Mercer.”
As the intro played, before I even started singing, I spotted a familiar figure.
Adrian looked at me with tears in his eyes.
I wasn’t surprised. I knew Adrian had never stopped looking for me.
We hadn’t seen each other in five years. He’d gotten much thinner. But I didn’t want to look at him again.
The two–minute song was full of heart, honoring the five years of friendship from everyone at our base.
The last line: [How many five–year stretches does a life have? I’m grateful we met.]
When Evan walked me out, Adrian blocked the door.
His eyes were red, full of hostility as he looked at Evan. “Elara will never like you.”
Evan curled his lip and shot back with disgust.
“You’ve been sniffing around Elara for years. Don’t act like everyone else is as disgusting as you.”
Before Adrian could reply, Evan punched him in the face.
“That punch is from me, as Elara’s friend.”
I hurried to pull Evan back.
“Evan, don’t let a piece of trash drag you down.”
The moment I said it, Adrian froze.
He looked at me in disbelief. “Elara… you’re taking his side?”
Then he realized it himself.
In this situation, who else could he blame?
Evan pulled back his fist but still warned Adrian. “Don’t let me catch you harassing Elara again.”
Watching them leave, Adrian laughed at himself.
His mouth was bleeding from Evan’s punch, but he didn’t feel a thing.
It was nothing compared to five years of missing Elara.
In that moment, he suddenly understood something.
Losing something doesn’t mean you’ll meet something better. Some people and things, once lost, are gone
forever.
Like a sincere heart…
How many five–year stretches does a life have? He would only grow fainter and fainter in Elara’s memory.
I stayed in Portland, Oregon, for a few days to handle some things.
My mother had fallen ill in the second year after I left and had been in Sunrise Care Facility.
The money she used was from the insurance I’d bought for her.
When she saw me, she tried to get up from the hospital bed, but she struggled several times and couldn’t lift
herself.
I didn’t reach out. I didn’t call her Mom.
Instead, I took a card out of my bag and said only one thing. “I won’t leave you alone, but from now on, my relationship with you is limited to this card.”
“I’ll support you because the law says I have to. That’s all.”
My mother opened her mouth but couldn’t speak. Tears streamed down her face.
I didn’t see any remorse. Just bitterness. “Do you want me to leave Iris some money too?”
Naomi nodded with effort.
I laughed and said without mercy, “No. I won’t take care of her. Not in this life. Even if she dies, I won’t look at
her.”
Iris was hiding in Portland, Oregon, and only a restaurant kitchen would give her a job washing dishes.
She worked from night to morning, twelve hours a day.
Even then, she was mocked by the people there.
“Iris, aren’t you the one who can’t wake up? How come you can tough it out now?”
“No sister to spoil you and give in to you anymore? We knew your condition was fake.”
Iris said nothing. She could only grit her teeth and endure it.
Her mother was bedridden. She had no way out.
In the evening, Iris heard from a customer that Elara had come back.
She heard Elara had visited their mother and left money.
Iris took off her apron and ran to the hospital.
When I was leaving, I ran right into her.
