I returned to Southside Psychiatric Center.
The roses in the garden were in full bloom, all planted by Ethan’s own hands.
The last time he came to see me, Ethan had said:
“Rachel, when the roses bloom again, I’ll take you away from here.”
At the time I was fiddling with a teddy bear, not even looking at him or responding.
I didn’t want to leave, and I didn’t believe him.
A young police officer with a bright future, marrying a mentally ill murderer.
Pipe dream.
Ethan didn’t say anything else. He just told me: “Rachel, trust me. I’ll come for you with a ring.”
His expression was so serious and determined.
It made me start to struggle – if he really came, should I go with him?
Now it seems that struggle was completely unnecessary.
He didn’t come. He would never come again.
With no one to keep me company, I could only lie in the rose garden, watching the sun rise and set.
News notifications on my phone told me Lucas and Olivia were getting married.
They held an engagement party.
They took wedding photos.
3:27 pm DDDD
<
They traveled the world, with Lucas proposing to Olivia again in every new place they visited.
The comment sections were full of people swooning over their love story. Lucas was handsome and rich, Olivia was sweet and gentle. They were truly a perfect match made in heaven.
No one remembered Ethan anymore. Human memory is so short–lived. Besides, what little reporting there had been online about the incident had gradually been scrubbed clean by the Lu family.
But Ethan, why do I still remember you?
Perhaps it’s because I was so annoyed by you.
I closed my eyes. Warm liquid seeped out from my eyelids.
I just kept crying and crying.
Until someone stood in front of me.
He asked in a low voice: “Are you that upset?”
It was Lucas.
