“Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” he barked the moment I picked up. “I’ve been hiding this from Paula for so long. Why did you have to show yourself now?!”
I bit back a bitter laugh, my voice calm and cutting. “Have you forgotten our three-year promise?”
Silence stretched on the line. Memories surfaced: the day I left for my studies abroad. Jason had hugged me tightly, tears streaming down his face. “I’ll wait for you,” he’d promised. “When you come back, I’ll give you the grandest wedding ever.”
He finally spoke, his voice softer but still dripping with condescension. “I haven’t forgotten. But you need to understand—Paula has suffered too much because of you. You need to beg for her forgiveness. Only then can we have a chance.”
His charity-like tone was laughable. I let out a dry chuckle.
“What’s so funny?” he demanded, irritation seeping through.
Before I could respond, I heard her voice—her voice—on the other end of the call. It was soft, trembling and dripping with pitiful sweetness.
“So, Jason… I really am just a stand-in, aren’t I? You promised you’d marry me… was that just a joke?”