Proposal No. 18: Still Lost to Her Childhood Sweetheart Chapter 11
“That’s not true! I only saw Eric as a friend. He needed care at the time,” Hailey said weakly before ultimately falling silent.
Eric, standing right there, was the best proof. She couldn’t refute it.
I closed my eyes and walked away. The memories were too painful, so it was best not to think about them.
The next day, I took the earliest flight out of there.
Hailey tried to contact me, but Eric had gone mad and posted everything online. Overwhelming discussions were targeted at Hailey.
Some people blamed me. To them, they were childhood sweethearts, destined for each other. I was the one always standing between them.
No one cared that I was the real boyfriend back then, or that I was the one who suffered.
My friends angrily posted statements online, but they didn’t make a difference.
I didn’t pay it much mind. I just threw myself into work and composed myself before I recorded a video message to post.
“Many people want me to explain, but what can I say? I was with Hailey only after they separated. Later, Eric came back to her. It’s their mess, not mine. I loved her for eight years, held it in for eight years, and proposed 18 times, but I was rejected every single time. I think I’ve done all I could.”
By the time I was done, I had lost all my strength. I collapsed onto the couch and fell into a deep sleep.
Hailey was the first to appear in the comments. She insisted she and Eric were just friends, as well as how she only wanted to reconcile with me.
Many attentive netizens posted screenshots of Eric’s Instagram posts, showing them hugging and even staying in the same room together.
No friend would do this.
And so, Hailey was cyberbullied. This wasn’t the outcome Eric had wanted.
The next time I heard news of them was when Eric stood on a rooftop, forcing Hailey to marry him. If she didn’t agree, he would jump.
After all these years, he still had no idea how else to hold onto her.
The crowd below pressured Hailey to agree, as it was a matter of life and death. Moreover, it was her indulgence and actions over the years that had made Eric increasingly unstable. She had to take responsibility.
Hailey finally understood what true guilt-tripping meant.
However, she had no choice. Years of her involvement with Eric had determined their fate.
On the day the project fully ended, Hailey got married.
Due to the previous incident, their marriage received a lot of attention, with many influencers checking in.
As a result, I saw the wedding myself. It was absolutely chaotic.
It was different from what Hailey had imagined it would be. She was unhappy and spent the whole time looking miserable.
No one cared if she was happy, and the wedding still concluded with grandeur.
The first week after moving into my new home, Hailey came to find me. She cried and begged me to help her as she revealed bruises all over her body.
Eric had hit her. It was because she couldn’t forget about me and cried in secret. As such, Eric couldn’t stand it and beat her repeatedly.
After hitting her, he would stand on a high building, threatening to jump immediately if she dared to leave.
No one wanted a life on their conscience. Hailey, trapped in this cycle of torment, grew increasingly mad as a
result.
However, I wasn’t going to help her. Many of the choices we made in life were our own fate, and she had brought this upon herself.
“Hailey, perhaps you should seek the police,” I said flatly.
Seeing that I was truly indifferent, Hailey, who had persisted for days, never came again.
I also stopped asking about them, instead choosing to focus on my work and start a new life.
Curiously, Daisy often visited me, saying it was because of the project that we became close.
I could sense an unspoken affection in her shy gaze, but I didn’t point it out.
After all, we had plenty of time ahead of us.
