After Annie's death, Sean often found himself deep in thought.
He wondered what she was thinking when she signed the donation agreement for her body.
He hadn't expected that dragging Zoey away that day would be the last time he saw Annie.
She had watched him and Zoey struggle, seemingly indifferent, as usual, not caring whether he fell for another woman.
But he always felt that was the moment Annie's heart truly died.
Thus, she didn't wait for him to return or give him a chance to explain. Her body was taken by the hospital, leaving him without even a handful of her ashes.
Annie had been merciless.
He regretted not telling her then that Zoey was indeed pregnant, but not with his child.
That night at the bar, she got too drunk and was taken advantage of in the restroom. By the time Sean arrived, it was too late.
Zoey was adept at playing the victim, claiming she wouldn't have gotten so drunk if Sean hadn't upset her, a situation she swore she'd never face otherwise.
Sean knew she was guilt-tripping him but seeing her cry so pitifully reminded him of Annie. He softened, helped prosecute the man who took advantage of Zoey, and even gave her money for an abortion.
But he couldn't offer more than that. He had always thought Zoey was a good girl, spoiled perhaps, but obedient. He never expected that he was nurturing a greedy viper that would strike when he least expected it.
He thought Annie must have hated him when she died. And yet, why should she? After all, she was the one who had left him.
He asked Annie repeatedly in his dreams, "Why did you break up with me? You loved me, didn't you?" Then Lily would step in, defending Annie in his nightmares.
She yelled, "What were you doing all this time? She tried to tell you, and you wouldn't listen. Now she's gone, and you come asking. Aren't you despicable?"
Sean would wake from these dreams, not afraid of Lily but terrified of hearing Annie say she no longer loved him. His heart began to fail, and although doctors advised him not to take things too hard, he insisted he was calm.
He even started gardening. On his balcony, he found the succulents Annie had cared for, all dead. He heard about their resilience and decided to see if he could revive them.
In the evenings, he would squat in front of the succulents and talk to them, just as he once saw Annie do on a sunny afternoon. She had squatted there, turning to see him return with another woman.
Sean slapped himself hard, starting to alter his memories. In these new memories, Annie was never alone; he was always there, holding her, kissing her, promising to be with her forever.
Later, at a party, he severely beat a man cheating on his wife. His former friends derided him, "Are you insane? You changed girlfriend every few days too, and you call us trash? Go to hell!"
He broke down, wrecking the room, shouting that they were all talking nonsense. He loved his wife more than anything.
When someone produced a photo of him kissing Zoey, he was stunned and fled. He thought he must have been set up. He needed to figure out how to explain it to his wife; he didn’t want to upset her.
After all, getting angry is bad for the health. He rushed home but found a pregnant woman at his doorstep.
It was the woman from the photo. Fear crept into his heart—had she already spoken to his wife? Was she spewing lies, making his wife sad?
He grabbed the woman by the hair and dragged her into the stairwell, cursing, "Zoey, you really aren't afraid of death, are you?"
He choked her, pushing her back until she stumbled and fell down the stairs. Watching the blood stain the steps, Sean smiled. Now, no one could ruin his relationship with Annie.
Two weeks later, Sean was admitted to a psychiatric hospital. His behavior was indistinguishable from that of a sane person, except he always talked to a broken figurine he called his wife.
The figurine was badly damaged, glued together with visible cracks, and missing a piece over its heart. Sean kept it by his bedside, smiling at it.
"Dear, why haven't you come to see me? I miss you so much. Do you miss me?"
After a moment, his eyes reddened, and he murmured, "I forgot that someone without a heart doesn't know how to miss."
He suddenly remembered. Long ago, he had lost Annie's heart.
