Part 3Love's Endless Resentment

The next day, as I was packing my things to leave the hospital, I ran into Cole in the hallway.

He didn’t even see me. All his attention was focused on the girl beside him. She was wearing a hospital gown, her face pale, and he was half-supporting, half-carrying her, like a frightened fawn.

So this was the woman who had made him abandon me at our wedding.

My stare must have been too intense, because Raven saw me first. She instinctively shrank behind Cole, her fingers clutching the hem of his shirt.

Only then did Cole turn to look at me. His brow furrowed instantly, his tone laced with impatience. “Jasmine, Raven is not stable. Whatever you have to say, we can talk about it at home. Don’t make a scene at the hospital. You’ll scare her.”

Raven peeked out from behind him, her voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz. “Jasmine… there’s really nothing between me and Cole… please, don’t misunderstand.”

I clutched the ultrasound report in my hand, my knuckles turning white. But I managed a faint smile. “You’re overthinking it. I’m just here to check out.”

With that, I turned and walked toward the billing office, ignoring them.

Cole’s expression was strange for a moment, as if he hadn’t expected me to be so calm. An odd, empty feeling stirred in his chest.

He reached out to grab my arm. As I instinctively turned, my eyes fell on a faint smudge on the lapel of my favorite trench coat, which I was wearing.

His eyes followed mine. He saw me take off the coat. He started to take off his own jacket, intending to drape it over my shoulders, but I stepped away.

He froze, then followed me, reaching for the coat in my hands. “Give it to me. I know how much you love this coat. I’ll have it cleaned for you.”

I shook my head and tossed the coat directly into a nearby trash can. My voice was flat. “Just throw it away. I don’t like things that are stained. You know me, I’m a bit of a perfectionist.”

Seeing my cold expression, the smile on Cole’s face froze. He knew I wasn’t just talking about the coat. I was talking about our relationship.

By the time he opened his mouth to say something else, I had already paid my bill and was gone.

Not long after I left the hospital, my phone vibrated. It was a text from Cole.

[Don’t be mad at me. I bought you that napoleon from the bakery you like. It’s on its way.]

When the delivery arrived, I stared at the familiar pink box and laughed. Whenever he’d made me angry in the past, he’d always bought me this pastry to appease me.

I mechanically took a bite. It used to taste so sweet. Now, it was just bitter and hard to swallow.

That night, Cole didn’t come home.

Untangling myself from a seven-year relationship was more painful than I had imagined.

I lay awake until dawn, then finally gave up and started packing.

The matching couple’s hoodies in the closet, the framed photos on the bookshelf, the sticky notes on the fridge… every object was a thorn of memory.

I remembered the year we graduated. Cole had just become a firefighter and was constantly busy. But he would use his days off to come see me, his eyes shining like stars. “Jasmine, as soon as I save up enough for a down payment, I’m going to marry you.”

Three years later, he stood before me with the deed to a house and a diamond ring, his voice trembling. “I did it. I’m giving you a home. I kept my promise.”

The sun was so bright that day. I hugged him and cried for a long time, feeling like the happiest person in the world. We painted the walls together, assembled furniture, and filled the balcony with sunflowers, my favorite. He said he wanted sunlight to always fill our home.

But now, this home had no place for me.

As I closed the last storage box, the sky outside was beginning to lighten. When I called for a moving truck, both sets of our parents arrived. I hadn't told them the details about Cole, so they were still confused as to why a couple who was about to get married just two days ago was suddenly separating.

My parents sighed but didn’t press. They just said, “Come home whenever you want.”

But Cole’s mother grabbed my hand and wouldn’t let go. “Jasmine, please, just give Cole one more chance. What happened at the wedding… he was just confused for a moment…”

I didn’t say anything. I just motioned for the movers to continue.

Just as his mother was about to wear out her welcome, the door opened.

Cole was back.

And he had brought Raven with him.

She was wearing Cole’s jacket, clinging to his arm like a newly adopted kitten.

The room fell deathly silent. Every gaze was fixed on them.

Cole’s mother’s voice trembled. “Cole… did you… did you do something to betray Jasmine?”

His father was shaking with rage. “Who is this woman?!”

Cole didn’t answer. He just scanned the empty living room, his eyes finally landing on me. “You’re moving out?”

“Yes,” I answered calmly. “Back to my parents’ house.”

He seemed to relax a little. “Okay. I’ll come get you before the next wedding.”

He said it so casually, then stepped aside, pulling Raven in front of him. “This is Raven. She’s a patient I rescued who suffers from depression. The department has asked me to look after her for a while to help stabilize her condition.” His straightforward explanation made our earlier suspicions seem petty and small-minded.

Raven offered a sweet smile and reached for his mother’s arm. “It’s so nice to meet you. Cole takes such good care of me. He even brought me home for dinner today. Since everyone’s here, why don’t I cook? You can all taste my cooking.”

Cole’s mother looked at me, her expression pained. “Jasmine, maybe… maybe we should all sit down and talk this out?”

I was about to refuse when Raven cut in, her eyes glinting with a provocative light. “Yes, Jasmine, you should stay too. The more the merrier, right?”

Smack.

The sharp sound of a slap echoed through the room.

My eyes flew open in shock. My mother had just slapped Raven across the face.

“Mom!”

My mother’s eyes were red, her voice trembling. “I gave birth to you. You think I don’t know you? You were with him from seventeen to twenty-four. Seven years! You quit your job at the design firm to be a housewife for him, learned to cook his favorite sweet and sour fish, you even knew exactly where he kept his socks… If your heart wasn’t completely broken, would you leave?”

Her voice rose, filled with a mother’s righteous anger. “I don’t care if you marry a rich man or a poor man, but today, he brings this tramp to our home to humiliate you, and I will not stand for it! If you won’t fight back, I will!”

Her words hit me like a thunderclap, and my eyes burned.

Raven clutched her cheek, tears welling in her eyes, but she didn’t dare cry out.

Cole immediately shielded her, his face dark and menacing. “Jasmine! You’re a grown woman! Are you still running to your parents to complain—”

I didn’t let him finish. I surged forward and slapped him across the face.

“Cole, you’re the one who deserves to be hit!”

I then snatched a piece of paper from the coffee table drawer and threw it at him. It was the ultrasound report.

“You know what my biggest regret is?”

Cole picked up the paper. When he saw what was written on it, his pupils contracted. “Jasmine… you’re pregnant?”

I watched the wild joy ignite in his eyes. I watched him lunge towards me, shouting, “I’m going to be a father!” and I was struck by the bitter irony of it all.

He had forgotten about Raven standing right there. He had forgotten his desertion at our wedding. He had forgotten his coldness over the past few days. It was as if a baby could erase everything.

But those moments of abandonment, those sleepless nights, that shattered trust… how could they just be forgotten?

I shoved him away, my eyes blazing. “Don’t celebrate too soon!”

My voice was a raw shout. “This baby… yesterday, when you came to the hospital begging me to help you protect Raven, I scheduled the abortion.”