I watched as Clayton turned and walked towards his car, his lonely figure fading away.
The evening sun was suddenly swallowed by the horizon.
The sky turned a pale rose-blue.
Clayton's car gradually drove away,
and I felt as if I was watching the seven years of Sonia's life, from seventeen to twenty-four, vanish along with that speeding car, leaving no trace behind.
I knew that from this day on, the name Clayton would be just like any other ordinary name in this world.
I wouldn't deliberately forget it, but I would also never consciously recall it again.
"Sonia..."
Jaydin gently pulled me into his arms.
I turned back, looked up at him, and smiled softly: "Let's go to the hospital."
On the night Jaydin proposed, he drank a lot and said many, many things while holding me.
But what I remember seems to be only those two simplest sentences.
"Sonia, we will never have a seven years like that."
"Sonia, we will never break up."
Everyone, when making a vow, must truly believe it at that moment.
But later, when they break that vow, they wonder how anyone could believe in such things.
But I choose to believe in Jaydin.
In truth, I am choosing to believe in myself.
Believe that I am worthy of love, believe that there will always be a time when true feelings won't be betrayed.
On the day Jaydin and I got engaged,
I received a gift sent from B City.
It was the wedding dress I had once bought.
It had been restored by a master craftsman, arranged by Clayton.
Inside the box, there was also a card.
The handwriting on it was Clayton's.
It read: "Sonia, I will always wait for you."
Jaydin, standing beside me, also saw the card.
He smiled confidently, kissed me hard on the cheek, and said, "Too bad, I won't give him the chance."
But that night, the wedding dress mysteriously disappeared.
As for me, I no longer let such trivial things weigh on my mind.
In the third year of our marriage, I gave birth to our daughter, Amiya Mcmillan.
Shortly after our daughter was born, Clayton sent numerous expensive gifts.
I asked Jaydin for his opinion.
He remained confident, yet decidedly ungenerous.
"Our daughter doesn't need these things. Let's donate them to the orphanage."
"Tsk, look at him, old enough to get married, yet still single, constantly fixated on someone else's wife and child. Must be a glutton for punishment."
I couldn't help but smile, "Why bother with other people's business?"
For some reason, Jaydin suddenly seemed very happy.
In front of the whole room full of servants and nannies, he picked me up and spun me around.
"Sonia, what you just said sounded so nice. Can you say it again, please?"
"What did I say? Hey, put me down first, you're making me dizzy...!"
But Jaydin didn't let go, he sat down, holding me in his arms, and kissed me over and over: "Just that line you said earlier, 'Why bother with other people's business?'"
I couldn't help but find it amusing, yet there was also a pang of unspoken heartache.
My best friend once told me in secret.
