I understood my parents’ concern. They had seen how adamant I’d been about being with Dante all these years, and they’d long since sensed his attitude toward me.
In the past, they’d subtly tried to warn me. They didn’t think I was of much importance to him, so they wanted me to give the relationship some careful consideration. But at the time, I was fully confident and firmly believed that I could change him—that I could get him to accept me completely.
Thus, they decided not to convince me otherwise.
Yet, I was now the one choosing not to have the wedding. After informing my parents of this decision, they remained silent for some time.
I didn’t tell them that Dante had gotten Isobel pregnant. I was worried that they wouldn’t be able to take the blow. Instead, I told them I wanted to continue pursuing my work in medicine and make a contribution to the industry.
In the end, Dad simply sighed and patted my shoulder, saying, “As long as you don’t regret this.”
When I got back to the house, I invited my friend, Linda Gardner, over to help me get rid of the items I’d packed. The boxes took up a lot of space in the living room. We had to make several trips to get everything out. Once we tossed all of the boxes into the trash, the house immediately looked rather empty.
Linda took it all in with mixed feelings. She still remembered how excited I’d been when Dante said yes after I proposed to him two months ago. In my exhilaration, I made her spend an entire night drinking with me. I kept going on and on about how my dreams were finally coming true.
Who would’ve thought that just two months later, I’d decide to call off the wedding?
“I can’t believe you’re serious about it. I thought you were joking when you mentioned it the other day,” Linda said with a look of disbelief. “I saw the way you spent all these years going after Dante. What on earth happened? Why have you suddenly decided to let him go?”
Perhaps the fact that I was leaving in a few days stirred up my urge to confide in someone. I told Linda about everything that happened recently, including Dante’s relationship with Isobel, as well as the baby.
Once she heard the whole story, she let out a bunch of expletives, snarling, “To think of all the things you’ve done for him, only for him to get another woman pregnant before the wedding! And he even expected you to give your permission? What the hell is he thinking?”
I lowered my head and quietened the surge of sorrow I felt.
“Who knows? He said that Isobel saved his life, so he wanted to fulfill her wish.”
Linda looked positively outraged. “You saved his life, too! How dare he treat you like that!”
I said nothing in response.
