When chemotherapy became too much to bear, I would clutch the old photo of Liam and me until my fingers cramped. Some nights, that picture was the only thing that kept me from giving up.

I went through more surgeries than I could count, some minor, some so dangerous Mom signed the consent forms with shaking hands. More than once, I was rushed into the ICU and almost did not wake up again.

Every time, Mom stood beside my bed and shouted herself hoarse.

“Claire, have you forgotten? You said you were going to survive. You said you’d get better, go overseas, and explain everything to Liam yourself.

“You promised me. When you were well enough, you said you’d let me take you to find him. If you die now, you’ll never see him again.”

It was my mother’s voice, calling Liam’s name again and again, that pulled me back from the edge more times than I could count.

In the end, I still lost.

And Liam had a new life now. He was about to get married.

But in the last stretch of time I had left, I still wanted to be near him, even if only for a little while.

That was why, after I heard he had come home, I forced myself to leave the hospital, even though the doctor had already made it clear. Going home no longer meant recovering. It only meant waiting for what came next.

I did not expect Liam to show up at my house right after his mother left.

When I woke from a shallow, exhausted sleep, I heard his voice outside my bedroom.

For a moment, I thought I had imagined it.

Eight years ago, Liam hated me to the bone.

He had once stood outside my house for three days and three nights, waiting for me to come out so he could grab me by the throat and ask why I had betrayed him.

When I cried and told him I did not love him anymore, he punched through the glass window in the stairwell.

He never laid a hand on me that day.

But from then on, he despised me completely.

If he saw me in the hallway, he turned around and walked the other way. Even passing my front door made his expression darken with disgust.

He stopped going to the little corner store we used to visit together. He hated me so much that whenever someone mentioned my name, his face would go cold.

“Why are you bringing up Claire?” he would snap. “Maybe you can stand her. I can’t.”

On the day he left for the airport, I stood in the pouring rain just to see him one last time.

When he saw me, he only sneered.

Then he threw the matching rings we had bought together at my feet, along with the phone that held every photo of us.

The screen shattered against the pavement.

He left without looking back.

Yet now, eight years later, he had come to my house on his own.

A moment later, through the crack in the bedroom door, I understood why.

Liam was holding his fiancée’s hand.

“Mrs. Winters,” he said, his voice flat and controlled, “are you still angry about what happened eight years ago? Is that why you don’t want Claire to help us choose a wedding planner and pick out rings?

“I stopped loving Claire a long time ago. I’m over it. Besides, we grew up together. Even if we couldn’t be lovers, there’s no reason we can’t be friends.”

As soon as he finished, the woman beside him spoke with a gentle smile.

“Mrs. Winters, Liam has already told me everything about him and Claire. Yes, Claire cheated eight years ago, but they were young. Things like that never happen for only one reason. I’m sure Liam had his flaws too.

“And honestly, I should thank Claire. If she hadn’t let Liam go, I never would have met such a wonderful man.

“So there’s really no need to hold on to what happened back then. Besides, I was the one who suggested asking Claire to help with the wedding planner. Liam and I haven’t been back in eight years, so we don’t really know how things are done here anymore. And if we leave it to the older generation…”

She paused, then smiled as if she had said something charming.

“The taste level might be a little hard for me to handle.”

Eight years ago, when I had just been diagnosed with cancer, the thing I wanted most was for Liam to forget me and move on.

But now, hearing him speak so calmly about what had happened back then, hearing him mention me as if I were nothing more than an old mistake, I still felt something twist quietly under my ribs.

He had told his fiancée everything about us.

He had not hidden a single thing.

That should have meant he had truly let go.

My mother, meanwhile, could no longer bear listening to Vanessa bring up my “cheating” over and over again. Every word sounded polite on the surface, but each one carried a hidden blade.

Mom’s eyes turned red with rage. Her lips trembled several times before she finally snapped at Liam.

“You and your mother really are the same. Shameless, both of you.”

My heart tightened.

I forced myself upright against the pillows and called toward the door, “Mom, come help me into the wheelchair. I’ll talk to Liam myself.”

Mom came into the bedroom. When she saw me trying to sit up, her face was still dark with anger.

I simply reached for her and wrapped my arms around her waist.

“Mom,” I whispered, “please. Think of it as helping me settle one last regret.”

Her eyes reddened instantly.

Still, because she had always loved me more than anything, she went to the vanity, brought me lipstick and my wig, and helped me into my down coat.

The moment she wheeled me out, Liam frowned.

“What’s wrong with you? You were spoiled when we were kids, and now you’re still acting like this as an adult. It’s just a broken leg. Your mother is getting older, and you’re still making her wait on you hand and foot?”

I looked at the disgust on his face and smiled faintly.

“The doctor said the fracture is serious. I’m not supposed to put weight on it for a while.”

As soon as I finished speaking, Vanessa, standing beside Liam, gave me an apologetic smile.

“Claire, don’t take it personally. Liam has just gotten used to being blunt after living overseas for so long.”

Then she tilted her head toward him, her tone sweet.

“He’s like this with everyone except me.”

I lowered my eyes for a second.

Liam was cold to everyone. That much was true.

But he had never been cold to me.

Not before.

I pressed that thought down before it could show on my face and looked calmly at Vanessa.

“You really want me to go with you to choose a wedding planner?

“If you need me there, I’ll go.”

Vanessa nodded at once.

“Of course. We really do.”

After that, I exchanged a few polite words with them before seeing them out.

That night, Liam called me.

He said I should go with them to meet the wedding planner the next day.

My fingers tightened around the phone.

Part of me was greedy for the sound of his voice.

Another part of me was almost afraid of it.

After all, it had been eight years since I had heard him like this, alone, on the other end of the line.

Eight years ago, I used to hide under the covers every night and fall asleep listening to his low, warm voice.

But just as I slipped into the memory, a woman’s voice sounded on his end.

“Liam, come dry my hair for me…”

I snapped back to myself.

“Okay,” I murmured quickly.

The moment Liam heard my answer, he hung up.

I listened to the empty beeps until they ended. Only then did the tears come.

I had known this would happen.

I had prepared myself for it.

But seeing it, hearing it, knowing with absolute clarity that Liam belonged to someone else now still hurt more than I could admit.

Liam had told me to meet him at ten the next morning.

Because I was nervous, I asked Mom to take me downstairs at nine thirty.

But I waited until noon, and Liam never came.

When I called him, he hung up.

Mom asked me several times to go home.

I refused.

This trip had taken almost everything I had left.

After this, I might never have the strength to leave the house again.

Thankfully, at one in the afternoon, Liam finally called and said they were downstairs.

My mother was furious. It took me a long time to calm her down before she managed to keep her expression neutral.

The moment I got into the car, Vanessa turned to me with a coy little smile.

“Sorry, Claire. Liam got a little carried away last night. I couldn’t get out of bed this morning.”

My hand tightened slightly against my coat.

Liam folded my wheelchair and put it away, then got into the driver’s seat. Through the rearview mirror, he glanced at me once.

“Why are you explaining so much to her?” he said coldly.

I turned my face toward the window and waved calmly at my mother.

Liam drove fast.

The car lurched so badly I thought I might throw up, but I swallowed it down in silence.

It reminded me of the year he got his license.

Back then, he would often borrow his father’s car and take me out. He knew I got carsick, so he always drove carefully, slowing before every turn and braking so gently I barely felt it.

I used to feel sick in taxis and buses.

Never in Liam’s car.

Then Liam slammed on the brakes again.

My body gave out. I crashed hard against the back seat, my stomach twisting violently. A small sound escaped before I could stop it.

When Liam heard me, he sneered.

“Claire, you don’t actually think I’m still going to take care of you the way I did eight years ago, do you? No sudden stops. No sharp turns. No hard braking.”

I wiped the dampness from the corner of my eye and said softly, “No. You should take care of Vanessa now. She’s your girlfriend.”

Liam gave another cold laugh.

“You’re right.”

Then he stepped harder on the gas.

My back slammed into the seat again. Pain shot up my spine, sharp enough to steal my breath.

But I still smiled.

Hatred was fine.

At least while I was still alive, some part of me still mattered enough for him to hate.

It did not take long for us to reach the restaurant.

When we got out, Liam carried me from the car.

The moment I was back in his arms, I almost failed to hold myself together.

For one brief second, I could smell the familiar scent of him, clean soap and winter air. My fingers curled against my palm, but I did not dare touch him.

Liam carried me out quickly and set me into the wheelchair just as quickly.

Because the second he put me down, he turned to Vanessa and asked for wet wipes.

Then he scrubbed his hands hard.

Vanessa gave me an awkward smile from the side.

“Sorry, Claire. Liam’s a clean freak. If any woman other than me touches him, he gets uncomfortable.”

I lowered my head and pressed my lips together, pretending I had not seen what he did or heard what she said.

After that, I let Liam and Vanessa push me into the restaurant, walking arm in arm behind me.

As soon as we sat down, Liam picked up the menu and ordered several heavy, spicy dishes.

Listening to the server repeat the order, I quietly lowered my eyes.

I had never been able to eat spicy food.

Neither had Liam.

So it was obvious who he was ordering for.

I did not try to make things hard on myself.

In my current condition, even ordinary food was difficult. There was no way I could handle anything that rich or hot.

So I asked the server to add a plain vegetable soup for me.

For some reason, Liam suddenly lost his temper.