The hospital director was in an unusually good mood and even forced her to take the afternoon off so she could properly celebrate her birthday.
Elina walked out of the hospital, feeling hollow and lost.
She checked her phone more than once. Even a single birthday message from Jack or Jaslyn would have made her happy. But no one remembered.
She wandered the streets aimlessly. Ding. Her phone buzzed. She opened it eagerly, only to find it was a birthday coupon from a shopping app.
Staring at the screen, her eyes filled with tears.
She wasn’t the type to get sentimental. She quickly pulled herself together and called her parents. “Mom, Dad, want to grab dinner tonight? I’ll book a place.”
There was a long silence on the other end before a heavy sigh came through.
“Lina, I know you’re upset that today Elowyn and Jack are celebrating Jaslyn’s birthday, and you want to make her uncomfortable, but she’s your sister. Can you really bring yourself to do that? Think about it. If you hadn’t gotten pregnant before marriage, the one married to Jack would have been Elowyn… Don’t you see? Jack never loved you. Even after having a kid together, his heart still belongs to Elowyn… Lina, I’m begging you. Let them be together.”
So this was how her parents saw her.
All she wanted was to have dinner with them. All she wanted was someone to spend her birthday with. Every bit of hope turned to ashes. Something inside her shattered completely.
Elina listened quietly. Was she hurt? She didn’t even know anymore. Maybe she had gotten used to it.
Her parents had always favored Elowyn growing up. They constantly reminded her she was two years older, so she should give in to her sister. Whenever Elowyn was upset, it was always Elina’s fault. If making Elowyn happy meant letting Elowyn hit her, their parents would even hold her down so Elowyn could get her anger out.
They never denied her material things, but they never once cared about her feelings.
Just like her husband and daughter now. Did it still hurt? Maybe once. Now she was numb.
Her stomach grumbled in protest. She found a small diner on the side of the street and went in, only to realize it was the same one she and Jack used to visit during college. The moment she stepped inside, the owner and his wife recognized her and welcomed her warmly.
They served her a huge burger with way more meat than usual. The owner’s wife smiled and said, “It’s been so long! You must’ve missed this. Eat up while it’s hot. By the way, did you end up with that handsome guy you used to come here with?”
After all these years, the owner’s wife still remembered Jack.
Elina’s hand froze halfway to her mouth. “No.”
The owner’s wife let out a relieved sigh. “Good. You have no idea how many times I wanted to warn you about him. Sure, he looked good, but he was no good. I could tell he was just using you to get close to your sister. I wanted to say something back then, but I was afraid you’d be upset with me. Thank God you were smart.”
The woman kept chattering on about people and events from the past.
Elina smiled faintly. Turns out, everyone has seen it clearly—my parents, friends, even strangers. Everyone but her, convincing herself that Jack had only changed because she was too busy.
On her way home, she happened to see Jack’s car.
Jack was driving, and Elowyn sat in the passenger seat. They were laughing and exchanging glances full of intimacy, like a couple in love.
Their daughter was asleep in the backseat, her little belly peeking out from under her shirt.
Elina instinctively pulled out her phone. She was about to call Jack, but she stopped herself and hung up. She shook her head. She shouldn’t interfere anymore.
When the light turned green, she sped back to the villa and started drafting divorce papers. If she could do it all over again, she would never have slept with Jack the night he got drunk. She wouldn’t have gotten pregnant. She wouldn’t have wasted the last six years of her life.
At ten that night, Jack came home carrying a sleepy Jaslyn. The little girl mumbled, “Daddy, why do we have to come home? I want to sleep with Aunt Elowyn.”
If only Mommy weren’t around, then she could stay with Aunt Elowyn all the time. Jack didn’t correct her. It seemed like he agreed.
“Elina?” Jack’s voice called from downstairs, asking her to come bathe Jaslyn.
Elina didn’t move.
A moment later, she heard the nanny’s voice. “Mrs. Mansor must’ve fallen asleep. I’ll bathe Jaslyn.”
The nanny took Jaslyn from him, hesitating before finally speaking. “Today’s Mrs. Mansor’s birthday, too. Didn’t you celebrate with her?”
Jack froze, then brushed it off. “She’s almost thirty. Why would she still care about birthdays? Plus, she’s been busy at the hospital.”
The nanny sighed and didn’t press further. Upstairs, Elina listened to Jack’s dismissive tone and smiled bitterly. He seemed to forget that just a few months ago, he had thrown Elowyn a grand birthday party. What had he said back then? Every birthday is important for a woman.
Elina felt like her heart had been hollowed out. Love and indifference really were so obvious.
After her bath, Jaslyn asked Jack, “Daddy, will Mommy be mad that we didn’t celebrate her birthday?”
Mad?
In Jack’s mind, Elina rarely got mad. The only two times she had were about Elowyn, and after he snapped at her once, she never dared bring it up again. He liked how obedient she had become.
He answered without much thought. “Don’t worry. Even if she’s mad, she’ll get over it quick.”
“Yeah! Mommy’s a pushover,” Jaslyn giggled.
Pushover? Elina stared blankly at the ceiling, unable to sleep the entire night.
Jack didn’t come back to the master bedroom.
The next morning, Elina got up, planning to talk to him about the divorce, but he had already left to drop Jaslyn off at school.
Fine then. She applied for an employee dorm at the hospital and started packing.
In the six years of marriage, she had accumulated a lot of stuff.
It took her nearly two hours to sort through everything, but in the end, it was all just memories. Her mouth tasted bitter. In the end, she left with only a few changes of clothes and some medical textbooks.
She tucked the divorce papers into an envelope and placed it on her vanity table. As she closed the door behind her, a gust of wind blew the envelope into the gap behind the vanity table.
Elina moved into the dorm that day.
She thought she would struggle to sleep in a new environment, but surprisingly, she had the best sleep she had had in six years.
Since it was only temporary, she didn’t bother decorating or buying unnecessary things. Her life returned to the simple routine she had in college—work, home, work.
Until her phone rang urgently.