Love Like You Never Loved Before

To my surprise, the persistent man called me in an attempt to confront me. Unsure of the things to talk about, I hung up his call and made up my mind to deny I had dropped him the embarrassing message.

As he wouldn’t give up and continued calling once after another, I forced myself to calm down and picked it up, replying in a callous tone, “It was a mistake, okay? Can you forget about it?”

Nancy, who was on the other end, asked, “What sort of mistake are you talking about? Are you having a fight with Lyle again?”

My heart skipped a beat when I heard Nancy’s voice. I was grateful I hadn’t addressed him as Christopher. Otherwise, things would get awkward. Although Nancy was a reliable friend of mine, it would be a hassle for me to explain everything to her.

At the very least, I had to keep everything confidential until I could sever ties with Lyle. Otherwise, we would both end up miserably should things spiral out of control. “Are you shocked when it’s like something that occurs on a daily basis? What brings you to me today?”

“You’re the one at fault for spoiling him! He’s going to take you for granted if you don’t teach him a lesson! He should’ve seen it coming the time we were at the clubhouse! I tried to stop him, but he decided to humiliate you in front of others!”

Nancy once urged me to take everything into considerations before making the call to get married to Lyle. However, I wasn’t in my right mind because I was overly thrilled. As a result of not taking her words seriously, I had to bear the consequences of my rash decision.

If I have exercised caution and thought things through, things won’t end up as such. I left everything behind, including my job, to get married to Lyle. Over the past two years, he was the center of my life. Now that I think about it, no one is going to enjoy my presence when I don’t even like my current self.

I brought something up and diverted her attention for a change of mood. “Alright, shall we talk about something else since I’m in a great mood for once? What are you up to? As long as I have time to spare, I don’t mind tagging along with you.”

Nancy announced, “My bad! I have received the invitation card to the banquet held by the Tanner family, but I won’t be able to make it because I’m up to something else! I’m calling to beg for mercy!”

It was another one of the many absurd things I had to go through as an outcast of the Tanner family – I knew nothing about the banquet that would be held until a friend of mine told me about it.

Calm down, Yvonne! Haven’t you gotten used to it after being ignored, neglected, dismissed, and picked on over the years? Apart from being biologically related, I don’t think I have anything to do with the Tanner family at all!

I deadpanned my question, “Is the banquet held to celebrate Crystal’s return?”

Nancy noticed something was wrong when she caught me asking indifferently. She queried, “Are you telling me they have not informed you? I-”

I knew she would want to console me, but that wouldn’t be necessary at all. In return, I chuckled and said, “Well, you’re aware of the things that have occurred over the years, aren’t you? Since it’s not a banquet held for me, feel free to tend to the things you have instead.”

On the day of the banquet, I received a call from my father. He reprimanded me the moment I picked up the call, “Crystal was back since a few days ago, yet you didn’t bother to pay her a visit! Do you really consider yourself her sister? Have you forgotten I’m your father as well?”

I had long gotten used to being reprimanded for every trivial issue. Crystal was the family’s sweetheart, while others had always deemed me the jinx of the family. “Dad, I have just been discharged from the hospital after a miscarriage. As of now, I’m still in the middle of recovery.”

It was not my intention to play victim, but he seemed to have misperceived it that way. He got increasingly infuriated and yelled, “Can’t you even take good care of yourself when you’re just a housewife? Just how useless can you be?”