When I came downstairs, I was overwhelmed by a pungent smell. Then I saw a durian cake on the dining table.

I held back my nausea and ran to the bathroom to vomit.

I hated durian.

My dad ran long distances when I was a kid. He was carrying a load of durian one day, and he got into an accident. By the time we got there, I saw my dad's body mixed with the broken durian. I passed out on the spot.

I had a high fever for three days before waking up.

Since then, whenever I saw or smelt durian, I couldn't help but feel nauseous.

Damian knew, but he still asked me deliberately.

"Alan, don't you like the surprise I had for you?"

I ignored him and turned to look at Andrea. "We haven't seen each other for three years. When have I ever had durian cake on my birthday?"

Before Andrea could speak, Damian quickly protected her behind him with a pitiful look.

"Alan, don't be mean to her. I ordered the cake."

I remembered that when I walked out of prison, Andrea was talking on the phone. She said to the person on the other end of the line to pick the cake.

She didn't remember my preferences, whereas he intentionally tried to mess with me.

Good for her. Good for him!

"I'm sorry, Alan, it's my fault. I forgot to tell him. He didn't mean to. Well, let's skip the cake and have dinner!" Andrea walked over and hugged my waist, apologizing coquettishly.

I didn't wanna make a fuss, so I sat down while suppressing my anger for the time being.

When the dishes were brought to the table, I looked at the coriander on all the dishes, feeling bitter.

In the first few years when I was with Andrea, every time we went out and had a meal, she would always tell the kitchen staff to skip the coriander. Once, the kitchen staff forgot to, and when she saw the coriander, she picked it out for me. Yet today, she didn't even notice there was coriander on the dishes.

She kept putting food on my plate, and I forced myself to eat it.

She forgot, perhaps.

Am I being too sensitive about everything? Or has it always been like this?

I started going out with Andrea when we were in college, and it had been eight years. Back then, Damian was her neighbor, and he had just started high school.

Damian always tagged along every time we went on a date, yet I never took it seriously.

Later, I found something in his eyes when he looked at Andrea. Then it suddenly came to me that at some point, he was nearly as tall as me. He was no longer just some boy and was already a mature man.

But Andrea just thought of him as her younger brother.

Back then, she loved me very much, and I always thought I was overthinking.

Now I realized how stupid I had been. I ignored such a big threat.

I had a few bites and then went upstairs.

When Andrea came in, I had already lied down.

She lifted the blanket and nestled into my arms.

We had slept together before. Yet since I hadn't had sex for three years, I couldn't help but hold her tightly.

My breath was a bit chaotic as I unbuttoned the collar of her pajamas.

Just as I was about to kiss Andrea, whom I had been thinking about day and night for three years, she tilted her face and said, "No!"

I looked up and saw tears in her eyes. Instantly, I was no longer turned on.

I held her tightly and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm just thinking about our baby."

I held her tightly, and neither of us spoke again.

At this moment, the bedroom door was suddenly pushed open.

Damian held a violin, his eyes bloodshot.

"Andrea, I broke the string. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."

He saw Andrea in my arms as well as her pulled-open collar.

His face instantly went pale.

I whispered in Andrea's ear as I saw him freeze in place, "We'll have another baby."

Damian's body trembled slightly, his knuckles pale as he held the violin.

I felt good.

Andrea pushed me away and stood up, saying to me, "Go to sleep. I'll go take a look at the violin."

I grabbed her. "I'll go. After all, I'm always the one who fixes your violin."

Back then, I put in a lot of effort to please her, my girlfriend who played the violin.

Damian quickly said, "Alan, you just got out of prison. Your hands are so rough, and the violin is so delicate."

"He's right. Alan, I'll go!" Andrea shook off my hand grabbing her and had already walked to the door.

I stood in situ dumbfounded, the blood in my body almost freezing.

I was in jail!

My hands had become rough during that time, and the violin was so delicate!

Didn't they know who I went to prison for?

I lay weakly back on the bed, recalling the bits and pieces of these years with my eyes open.

Back then, a lot of people wanted Andrea to be their girlfriend, but she chose to be with me.

And a lot of people didn't know that Andrea had a shadow who was always by her side since childhood.

It was Damian.

The Noble family and the Twitty family had been neighbors for many years. Once, Damian visited the Twitty family, and after he saw Andrea, he insisted on Luke Twitty, her dad, teaching him to play the violin.

But he wasn't talented and had always had average performance.

Andrea and I were so sweet at that time. Everyone saw us holding hands every day on the school's alameda.

I knew I still loved Andrea very, very much.

It was already three o'clock in the morning when Andrea came back.

"When did Damian move in? This is our wedding place." I turned on the light and lifted the blanket for her.

Andrea was startled, her eyes drifting.

"Alan, you were imprisoned for half a year, and I lost our baby. I spent every day feeling guilty and sad. Several times, I wanna kill myself. Damian saved me. He was there for me and talked me out of it. He was my savior. He moved in back then because he was worried about me."

Andrea cried while talking, and her words were deeply moving.

So, I was in prison for Damian, and because of that, I didn't get to see our baby or my mom. At the same time, he became my fiancée's savior?

How ironic!

I closed my eyes, not knowing whether to comfort her or myself.

She continued, "Alan, you have no idea. I beat myself up back then every day, and everyone I knew, including my friends and my family, wanted me to break up with you. For me, Damian didn't have time to go to school, and he didn't even get his graduation certificate."

Back then, Andrea said that Damian couldn't be without a graduation certificate.

So, she chose to force me to ruin my life using our baby as an excuse.

He ran over someone. Yet he got away with it, and then he gave up his graduation certificate just to be with my fiancée.

How ridiculous!

What was I? I was a worthless victim.

Maybe from the moment I was framed, I was destined to be the one who could be easily given up.