Chapter 4
That night, I opened my laptop and searched for one–way flights from Boston to Barcelona.
I had just finished paying when Ryder walked in with Elle.
“Autumn, I’ve got great news–Elle has agreed to be my girlfriend! See, I’m a goo bro–telling you first.”
Looking at their tightly clasped hands, I nodded, my voice flat.
“Congratulations.”
Elle’s eyes were brimming with happiness as she gave a shy smile. “Thank you for your blessing. Your mom told me you were badly hurt. Are you feeling any better? brought some fish soup for you to try.”
As she spoke, she urged Ryder to serve it quickly.
Seeing him obediently doing as she asked, I stared in disbelief for a moment befor finding my voice.
“Thanks, but I’ll pass on the soup.”
Hearing this, Ryder’s face immediately darkened as he glared at me. “Elle made thi soup herself. I didn’t even want to share it with you. She’s the one concerned about your injuries, which is why I reluctantly agreed to bring you some. How can you be so ungrateful?”
As he spoke, he poured a bowl and shoved it into my hands, insisting I drink it right away.
I tried to explain, but he grabbed my wrist, not letting me speak.
In the struggle, the bowl tipped over, and hot soup spilled all over my wounds. “Ahh!”
The pain was so intense that cold sweat broke out on my forehead. My face contorted in agony, white as paper.
Elle was startled and pulled out tissues with a guilty expression, trying to help. Ryder, afraid she might get burned, quickly pulled her behind him. “Elle, this isn’t your fault. Autumn’s always been tough as nails. It’s not serious–don’t blame yourself.”
The tissues trembled in my hand as my chest tightened.
A second later, my father walked in. Seeing my bandages starting to soak through with blood, he frantically called for a nurse.
My mother was heartbroken but managed to explain to Elle as she put the soup away.
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“Elle, Autumn is allergic to seafood and can’t have fish soup. We appreciate the thought, though. Thank you.”
Ryder stood frozen, his expression suddenly uncomfortable.
“Why didn’t you say something earlier?”
Looking at the blood–soaked bandages, my heart filled with bitterness.
In the past, he’d always remembered my allergies.
Whenever we went out to eat, he’d remind the server multiple times: no seafood, no onions, no cilantro.
But now that Elle was in the picture, his mind was so full of her that he’d forgotten these little details about me.
A heart only has so much room, I guess. It can only truly hold one person.
And his most beloved person wasn’t me.
After a long silence, I finally answered him, my lips barely moving.
“You never gave me a chance to speak.”
The room fell silent. Elle looked like she was about to cry with guilt.
Ryder, concerned for her, said nothing more and quickly led her out.
Because my wounds got infected, I had to stay in the hospital for three more days before being discharged.
With our move getting closer, everyone in my family was busy packing.
My parents couldn’t get away, so they prepared a gift and asked me to visit the Caldwells.
As soon as I walked in, Ryder’s parents pulled me aside, apologizing repeatedly. “Autumn, we’re so sorry. After all these years of friendship between you and Ryder, for him to only protect Elle in such a dangerous situation and leave you so badly injured–we feel terrible. We’ll make him apologize to you.”
I shook my head, my voice gentle as I reassured them.
“Elle is Ryder’s girlfriend. Of course he’d protect her. I’m fine, really. Don’t worry about it.”
Seeing that I didn’t take it to heart, they seemed relieved.
After chatting for a while, I brought up the real reason for my visit–to tell them about our family’s plan to move overseas.
They were completely shocked by the unexpected news.
“So suddenly?”
“It’s a company restructuring. We’ve actually been planning this for six months, but
it
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was only finalized recently. My parents wanted me to let you know personally.” Sad about their old friends leaving, they asked with evident reluctance, “Will you come back to visit?”
I smiled, my voice ringing clearly in the quiet living room. “Once we leave, we won’t be coming back.”
Just then, Ryder walked in, frowning as he looked over.
“Who’s not coming back?”
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