"I've been studying abroad for the past few years and all this time, Kenneth has been waiting for me to come back and marry him."

"Look, this is a photo from last year when he flew to Luxford to celebrate my birthday."

In the photo, Kenneth was holding Yara's shoulder and the two of them were standing in front of the Tower Bridge in Luxford, smiling brightly. The date on the photo was exactly my birthday last year, the day he had told me he couldn't join me because of an academic conference.

Yara walked towards me and leaned in to whisper in my ear.

"You think he really likes you? Don't be so naive. Do you know why he chose you? It was just because your silhouette in front of the school bulletin board resembled mine."

A cold shiver ran down my spine and my thoughts flew back to four years ago, the moment I first met Kenneth.

I stood in front of the bulletin board, focused on the IELTS exam information.

He walked over and asked me if I wanted to study abroad. It was then that he offered to teach me.

It turned out that I was just a substitute from the very beginning.

"Do you know why he always had you use the contraceptive injection?"

Yara continued to whisper in my ear, "Because I'm allergic to both birth control pills and condoms. He didn't want me to get pregnant, so he had you try the contraceptive injection instead. After all, who knows if there will be any side effects?"

At these words, my stomach suddenly twisted and a strong wave of nausea surged up my throat.

I couldn't hold it any longer and violently vomited.

Yet Yara continued, taking out her phone, opening the album and showing it to me.

"There's also this."

The photo showed me while I was asleep, some even from private moments after lovemaking.

"What is this?"

Yara sneered, "Every time he sleeps with you, he sends the photos to our friends’ group chat and lets everyone rate them."

A chill ran through me and my stomach twisted in pain, but I still forced myself to hold on.

Yara suddenly grabbed my hand, "Nyta, I really didn't mean to come back and compete with you for Kenneth."

When Kenneth saw us pulling at each other, he rushed over and shoved me away.

He carefully checked on Yara, then looked at me with a face full of anger.

"Nyta, what are you making a scene about?"

Before I could say anything, Yara spoke in a tone full of grievance, "Kenneth, I think I twisted my ankle."

Kenneth didn’t even look at me. He just picked up Yara and rushed out.

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through my abdomen, much stronger than before and blood poured out from between my legs.

"Help, help..." I weakly called out, my consciousness starting to fade.

In my daze, I heard hurried footsteps and panicked voices.

"Nyta! Nyta!"

In my haze, I heard the doctor’s voice. "Placental abruption, massive bleeding, surgery immediately!"

As my consciousness slipped away, there was only one thought in my mind. My baby was gone.

When I woke up, I was in the hospital.

"You're awake?" My best friend's anxious voice came through.

I tried to move my body, but I felt a tearing pain in my lower abdomen, causing me to gasp in pain.

"Don't move."

She pressed down on my shoulder, "You lost a lot of blood and had surgery... the baby..."

She couldn't finish her sentence, but I already understood everything.

Tears silently slid down my face and I didn’t even have the strength to lift my hand to wipe them away.

"How long was I asleep?" I asked.

"You were unconscious for a whole day and night."

My best friend handed me a cup of water, "The doctor said your condition was critical. We almost couldn't save you. Why are you so silly? You were pregnant and didn’t even tell me."

I looked at my best friend and forced a smile, "I was going to tell you, but now... it's probably for the best. This child shouldn't have come in the first place. Where's my phone?"

My best friend hesitated for a moment, then took my phone out of the cabinet and handed it to me.

I unlocked the phone and there wasn’t a single message or call from Kenneth.

However, Yara had sent a bunch of photos, proudly showing off.

In the photos, Kenneth had his arm around her waist and the two of them were smiling brightly, looking like the happiest couple in the world.

The photos were posted yesterday.

While my life hung in the balance, he took Yara on a trip.

"I want to be discharged," I suddenly said.

My best friend looked at me in shock, "Are you crazy? Your physical condition doesn’t allow it! How can you not take better care of yourself?"

"I’ll take good care of myself." I tightly grasped her hand.

Seeing the determination in my eyes, my best friend sighed in resignation.

"At least stay for another day, so we can make sure there are no complications before you're discharged."

The next day, my best friend helped me complete the discharge paperwork.

The doctor repeatedly emphasized the precautions, especially stressing the importance of uterine recovery.

The doctor said seriously, "The endometrium is severely damaged, you must take care of yourself properly. You also need to prepare yourself mentally. It will be very difficult for you to get pregnant in the future."

I calmly accepted the news.

When I got home, I started packing my things.

IELTS score, admission letter, passport, flight ticket, everything was ready. Looking at the things that reminded me of the past with Kenneth in the house, I only felt disgusted.

I grabbed a trash bag and threw everything related to him into it.

In the end, our four years together amounted to nothing more than eight bags of trash.

Before I left, I sent Kenneth one last message. [Thank you for the 'guidance' over the past five years. I wish you and Yara a lifetime of happiness.]

I deleted all of his contact information and blocked him on social media.

As I stepped into the taxi heading to the airport, I felt an unprecedented sense of relief.

‘Goodbye, Kenneth. Goodbye, my once naive love.’