Part 1He Ruined the Girl Who Saved Him

On Valentine's Day, I happened to run into a live street interview for a popular online reality show.

The topic of the day was romance stories, and my random prompt was "First Love."

After a brief pause, I regained my composure and looked at the camera, my expression entirely calm.

"I've almost forgotten him," I said. "After all, the grass on his grave is probably six feet high by now."

The very next second, the massive screen next to the camera feed cut to the celebrity guests sitting in the observation studio.

Staring back at me was the very man I had just so warmly blessed with a premature death. He was my ex-husband, and we had been divorced for seven years.

He didn't seem to care about the curse I had just uttered. He simply stared at the screen, his eyes rimmed with red.

"Anna," he whispered, his voice trembling. "It's been a long time."

I nodded politely, showing none of the embarrassment one might expect after getting caught trash-talking someone behind their back. Given how disastrously our marriage had ended, my comment was actually quite mild.

The live chat on the screen began to scroll at lightning speed.

What's going on? Christopher, the superstar, knows this random girl?

Oh, come on, look at the way he called her name. There’s definitely history there, and he’s clearly not over her.

Can we please block these trolls? Christopher and Hailey are the industry's ultimate power couple. Who is this nobody trying to clout-chase?

Seeing the words "power couple" made me smile bitterly. Maybe they really were a match made in heaven. Because of that, Christopher's love had belonged to me first, and for that, I had to be punished.

My career, my love, my family, even half of my own life, I had lost almost everything to pay for that love.

Christopher quickly realized he had lost his composure. He cleared his throat and offered a hurried explanation to the hosts. "We were high school classmates."

The host looked apologetic, turning to me. "I'm so sorry. I didn't know your first love had..."

My initial answer had been a lie to get out of the interview, but Christopher’s sudden appearance made me freeze. I didn't want to run anymore.

"It's fine," I comforted the host, keeping my voice steady. "Go ahead and ask your next question."

Encouraged by my calm gaze, the host took a deep breath. "How did you and your first love meet?"

Christopher stiffened. His shoulders tensed, and he sat up straight, his eyes locked onto me through the monitor. He always pursed his lips like that when he was nervous. After all these years, some habits never changed.

Our first meeting was anything but romantic.

I had just come home from high school. The moment I stepped into the kitchen, I caught a boy shoving the leftover dinner rolls my grandmother had made for me into his mouth.

He didn't even try to run. He just stood there against the wall, chin held high like a soldier facing execution.

"Guess it's my bad luck getting caught," he muttered. "Scream, hit me, do whatever you want."

I stared at him for a few seconds. Then, I reached into my bag and pressed my entire week's lunch money into his dirty palm.

"Don't steal food anymore," I said softly. "It's bad for you."

His face flushed a deep crimson, the heat spreading all the way to his ears. "I owe you one," he stammered, gripping the crumpled bills. "I'll pay you back. I promise."

Then, he turned and fled.

The "later" Christopher promised came much faster than I expected.

A few weeks later, some older boys at school cornered me and snatched my hearing aid. My parents had died in a car crash years ago, and the accident had left me completely deaf in my left ear.

The ringleader dragged me by my hair, sneering insults like "freak" and "deaf girl" into my good ear.

That was when Christopher appeared out of nowhere. He fought them like a feral dog, throwing himself into the fray with no regard for his own safety. The older boys had metal pipes, but he had nothing but his bare fists, and he spent half the fight shielding me from their blows.

Later, as I tended to his wounds, the sight of his torn skin made me burst into tears. But he just smiled, casual as could be, looking at me with absolute warmth.

"You know, your tears hitting my skin... it actually hurts more than their pipes," he teased.

I tried to choke back my sobs, wiping my eyes. "You saved me. We're even now. Just promise me you won't fight anymore."

For someone who fought so brutally, the hand he used to wipe away my tears was incredibly gentle.

"That's not up to you to decide," he whispered. "We've got a long time ahead of us. I'm going to take my sweet time paying you back."

The live chat went wild.

Oh my god, childhood sweethearts are the best trope ever!

How could such a sweet guy pass away so young?

If I were her, I'd never be able to love anyone else for the rest of my life.

For the rest of my life.

I stared at the screen, momentarily lost in thought. We were so young back then, and the boy I met was so breathtakingly brilliant. Our textbooks never taught us about the impermanence of the world, or how easily a human heart could rot.

I had found love, and I truly believed it would last forever.

The host sighed, a dreamy look in her eyes. "Love at first sight. He must have fallen for you right then and there."

Unlike the host's excitement, my response was entirely flat.

"Yes. And I slowly fell for him, too. Back then, he was the absolute protector of my universe." I smiled faintly. "But later, he hurt me worse than everyone else combined. If I count the years, I think I've spent much longer hating him than I ever spent loving him."

In the studio, Christopher's posture shattered. He flinched so violently that he knocked over the small table beside his chair.