My Best Friend’s First Love

My best friend had a first love she couldn't forget.

Often, late at night, shed drink herself silly, murmuring how much she missed him. Id wipe away her tears:

If you love each other, you should be together.

She pushed me away: Zara, you dont understand.

On the eve of my wedding, I was in a car accident and miscarried.

The next day, texts of my best friend being harassed came through. Ignoring my own pain, I braved a blizzard, driving four hours to Riverton.

Outside her building, I watched her being pulled into a man's embrace.

My best friend's familiar voice drifted to me:

Why are you even here?! You should have just stayed away six years ago when I abandoned you, never to reappear.

I felt as if the snow had frozen me solid.

That man was my fianc, Frank Hayes.

I couldn't believe it.

Just a few hours ago, he was at my bedside, gently wiping away the tears from my eyes:

Zara, Ill go make you your favorite corn and pork rib soup, okay?

He kissed the corner of my mouth, promising to be right back.

So, it must just be a similar silhouette.

I hid behind a lamppost, my fingers stiff as I texted Frank:

[Frank, where are you?]

A minute passed. No reply.

He usually replied instantly.

Under the streetlight, Layla forcefully pushed away the man in her arms.

Get away from me!

The dim, yellow streetlight illuminated his profile: his nose, the faint scar between his eyebrows.

That scar, he got it protecting me.

It really was Frank Hayes.

I gripped my phone, my knuckles white.

His voice was cold, unfamiliar,

Layla, dont flatter yourself.

Tell me to get away? Who was it just now, clinging to me, saying they were scared? Six years have passed, and when trouble hits, the first call is still to me. Is that all you amount to?

Layla looked up, her eyes crimson.

Im flattering myself?

Then what are you doing here?! Frank Hayes, abandoning your miscarried fiance to rush here for what?!

She laughed, tears streaming down her face.

Are you happy to see me like this, so pathetic? Feel relieved? Do you think I deserve this for all the bad things Ive done?!

Franks face tensed for a moment, but he didn't answer.

Layla wiped her face, turning to leave.

Frank reached out and gripped her wrist.

Let go.

He didn't.

Frank Hayes, I told you to let go!

He pulled her into his embrace.

She struggled, hitting and kicking him, but he remained unmoving.

I didnt mean it that way.

Finally, her strength gave out. She buried her face in his chest, her shoulders shaking.

Do you think I wanted to find you?

Frank Hayes, do you know, when that person blocked my way, all I could think of was you? You never used to let me suffer such indignity.

Do you really think Ive been doing well these six years without you?

He lowered his head, his chin resting on her hair.

Layla, if you hadnt left back then, in my plans, we should have a child by now.

But why now, of all times?

The surroundings fell silent.

The cold wind seeped into my collar, numbing my hands and feet.

My phone screen glowed.

Franks message, still unanswered.

I slumped against the lamppost, utterly drained.

My heart felt as if it were being squeezed, too painful to speak.

So, Laylas first love was Frank Hayes.

The first love shed always mentioned whenever she drank too much.

She would repeatedly talk about how much he loved her.

How he would awkwardly write a love letter every day, how he would light up the entire city with fireworks for her, how he would give up an opportunity to go abroad for her.

Id asked, "Then why did you break up?"

She'd propped herself on the bar, eyes red:

"I was terrified of being poor. I took his mother's five million and ran. Even when he knelt in the rain for two days, begging me, I didn't waver."

"Love and romance mean nothing compared to tangible money. I'm just that kind of wicked person."

The first time I introduced them, they clearly didn't get along, barely even glancing at each other.

After that, neither attended any gatherings where the other was present.

I never would have imagined they had such a dramatic past.

The year I met Frank, I was only seventeen.

My teenage worries weren't about grades or a secret crush; they were about my grandfather, who would knock on my door every night.

That day, he got drunk and started smashing the door.

I jumped out the window and ran, finding refuge in a bar. I sat in a corner, trembling, hugging my knees.

You shouldnt be here.

I looked up.

Frank stood before me, his gaze sweeping over my school uniform.

I assessed the mature man before me, then whispered:

What do you mean, shouldnt? Then why are you here?

He sat down, pushing a glass of warm water towards me.

Got dumped, alright?

Said it was forever, then just tossed it aside.

We talked for a long time. Later, Wednesday nights at that bar became our unspoken ritual.

The day my grandfather picked the lock, Frank kicked in the door.

He took off his jacket and draped it over me, pinning my grandfather to the ground, punching him repeatedly until his face was covered in blood.

Everyone told me to tolerate it, that he was my grandfather.

My father even threatened that if I called the police, the house would no longer be mine.

It was Frank.

He told me not to be afraid; he would handle it.

He found me a lawyer and had my grandfather sent to prison.

He took me into his apartment, letting me focus on my college entrance exams.

That was the first time I knew that someone would truly protect me.

In my first year of college, I plucked up the courage to ask him:

Frank Hayes, will you love me?

He froze.

After a moment, he said, What if one day, someone becomes more important than me?

I stood on tiptoe and kissed him.

Youre the most important.

We became a couple, and he truly was wonderful to me.

Things I didnt know, he patiently taught me.

Experiences I hadn't had, he guided me through one by one.

He said, Zara, you dont need to feel inferior. What you can do, others might not; what you cant, Ill slowly teach you.

He knew I had nightmares, so hed call every night before bed to tell me stories.

He knew I loved roasted chestnuts, so hed travel halfway across the city in winter to buy them for me.

There would never be another person in this world who would be so good to me.

I believed we would live happily ever after.

But now.

He stood there, abandoning me, who was still waiting for him.

Lost in an embrace with my best friend.

He had taught me so much.

How to solve problems, how to protect myself, how not to trust others easily.

But he never taught me.

What to do when I discovered his heart belonged to someone else.

My mind was a chaotic mess.

One moment, it was him making soup for me; the next, it was him holding her.

One moment, it was his promise of Ill be right back; the next, it was his question, Why now, of all times?

I gripped my phone tightly.

Just give our six years a chance.

What if?

What if he just wanted closure? What if he was still the Frank who would fight for me?

I pressed the call button.

On the third ring, he answered.

Zara? Whats wrong?

I opened my mouth, but my throat was too dry to speak.

Frank. Where are you?

A second of silence on the other end.

Something urgent came up; I left in a hurry. Ive asked the housekeeper to make your soup and send it over. Youll drink it all, wont you?

I stared at the man ten meters away.

He held his phone, his back to me, his shoulders dusted with snow.

Youre not here, I cant drink it.

His voice softened:

Be good. Ill be back as soon as Im done. Are you feeling better? Does it still hurt?

Zara, once Im through with this, Ill take you away to relax. Havent you always wanted to go to Seaside City? Well stay there for a few days, and Ill spend some quality time with you.

As he said this, Layla lifted her head from his embrace, her eyes red.

He reached up, gently brushing the snowflakes from her hair.

Frank, I called him.

Hmm?

Where are you on your business trip?

Layla pulled free from his arms, dragging her leg as if to leave.

He reached out to grab her, his tone anxious: Zara, I have an emergency here. Can I call you back later, okay?

The moment my phone screen darkened, he gripped Laylas wrist.

She looked up, her eyes crimson, staring at him.

Youre talking to her on the phone, telling her you care, while standing here holding onto me?

How can you do both at the same time?

Yes. Frank Hayes.

How could you tell me you loved me on the phone, only to turn around and hold her?

Layla pushed him away, dragging her injured leg outwards.

He chased after her, scooping her up into his arms.

Your foots hurt. Im taking you to the hospital.

She froze, then began to struggle.

Frank Hayes, put me down!

He said nothing, walking towards his car.

Youre holding me, and youre still wearing her ring. Its a constant reminder that youre going to marry someone else!

How can I feel safe accepting your kindness?!

He stopped, looking down at his hand.

On the day he proposed, he knelt on one knee, holding that ring, his hand trembling.

Zara.

This is the only proposal Ill ever make, the only person Ill ever love.

Beneath the Whispering Peak, by Emerald Serenity.

I was utterly defeated by his sincerity.

I said yes.

He put the ring on my finger, his eyes red-rimmed.

Once its on, dont ever take it off.

No matter what happens, dont take it off.

That was the first time Id ever seen him cry.

After that, he truly never took it off once.

But now.

He lowered his head, biting the ring with his teeth, and removed it.

Stop making a fuss, okay?

She froze, allowing him to carry her and place her in the passenger seat.

I stood rooted to the spot, unable to move a single step.

The car slowly pulled away. As it passed me, I was only two meters from him.

If he had just turned his head slightly.

He would have seen his fiance, having just suffered a miscarriage, standing behind this lamppost in a blizzard, trembling as she watched him.

He would have seen the tears on my face, my frozen hands, my phone clutched in my grasp, its screen still lit with the message he hadnt replied to.

He never once turned his head.

I looked down at my hand.

The ring was still there.

The same plain platinum band.

The same initials.

Frank Hayes.

These past six years, was I just a substitute, a shadow you used to fill the void after she left?

Did you ever truly love me?

My stomach twisted in agonizing cramps, as if something was being torn from me.

I collapsed onto my knees in the snow, watching the car disappear into the distance, unmoving for a long time.

My phone vibrated.

It was Layla.

[Zara, Im at the hospital, dont worry.]

[Im planning to get back together with him.]

[All these years, I thought he would hate me, but he didnt. The moment something happened to me, he was more frantic than anyone. When he pinned the person harassing me to the ground and beat him, I realized he could go crazy for me to that extent.]

Tears splattered on the screen, blurring the words.

[He said he waited six years for me.]

[Zara, Im so happy.]

[Youll bless us, wont you?]

I don't know how I drove to the hospital.

My hands, gripping the steering wheel, wouldn't stop trembling.

The hospital corridor lights were blindingly white.

Through the glass on the door, I saw them.

Layla leaned against the headboard, her face pale, her foot wrapped in bandages.

Frank held a bowl of chicken soup.

Eat something, he said.

She didnt move.

Layla.

She turned her face away, her voice muffled:

Its all oil, so many calories.

Im a model. If I get fat, how will I work? Who will feed me if I lose my job?!

He offered the spoonful of soup again, sighing:

Havent I given you enough work already? Not enough? Well, you can worry about that after youre well.

The year Layla said she wanted to be a model, I asked him for help.

He hadnt even looked up: Someone with her conditions cant be a model.

Yet he found people, taking her from Riverton to international stages.

At the time, I thought, hes so good; he cares about my affairs.

Now I woke up to the truth.

Was it really because of me, or was it because of her, the one he couldnt forget?

I rarely saw Frank in such a humble posture. Layla lowered her head and drank the chicken soup he offered.

Remember the cereal you loved most in high school? After you left, I searched every supermarket and couldnt find it. I realized the company went out of business and stopped producing it.

But I bought that cereal factory. Youll be able to eat it again soon.

Laylas tears slowly welled up, her voice trembling.

Frank Hayes, why are you so good to me?

He didn't answer.

Then she raised her hand and knocked the bowl of chicken soup to the ground.

Soup splattered everywhere, the bowl shattered, porcelain shards flying to his feet.

Layla, what madness are you indulging in now?!

Frank Hayes, dont you know, I dont deserve any of this!

Zaras car accident and miscarriage, I arranged it!

A deafening boom echoed in my mind, as if something had exploded.

I leaned against the wall, my fingertips digging into the tile grout.

So that nightmare, it wasnt an accident after all.

The voices from the hospital room continued.

Shes my best friend, but I still did it.

Because I knew! Between you and her, I had to make a choice. I love you! I couldnt let you go, so I had to do this!

Six years ago, I abandoned you. Now Ive killed your child. Im so wicked. Do you still dare to be good to me?

Laylas sobs were broken, but he still didnt speak.

A long, long silence.

So long that I thought he would lash out at her.

So long that I thought he would demand justice for me and our child.

Then he raised his hand and wiped away her tears with his thumb.

Dont cry.

She froze.

Frank Hayes, are you deaf? I said I arranged it. I had someone hit her

I heard you.

Then you still

Before I fell in love with you, werent you always this kind of person?

Frank pulled her into his embrace.

She no longer struggled, resting quietly against his chest, her shoulders trembling.

Through that glass door, I watched it all.

Many images suddenly flooded my mind.

The day the pregnancy test showed two lines, he had joyfully spun me around the living room until I was dizzy.

He had chosen so many names, for a boy, for a girl, covering the refrigerator with them.

That day I woke up in the hospital, he held my hand and said it was okay, we were still young, we would have another.

But then he turned and called someone in the hallway, saying the other party must pay the price.

It turned out his anger was only reserved for strangers.

When that person was Layla.

He didn't care about anything.

I wanted to rush in and confront him.

How could you do this to me?

I wanted to say, do you know how much pain Im in?

Do you know I still cant sleep, and when I close my eyes, all I see is the blinding light of the operating room?

But I didn't even have the courage to push that door open.

I ran, fled in despair.

Bursting out of the hospital, when the wind blew, I realized my face was drenched in tears.