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“Mom! That’s enough!” Lennox interrupted his mother, his voice laced with anger.
At that moment, my good neighbor pushed through the crowd. She raised her voice as she shouted, “Kelly has
never clung to your son! It’s your son who keeps harassing her!”
“For the past few days while she was gone, your son has been acting like a lunatic, loitering around her door every day,” she continued.
“He keeps asking me about her, but he never mentioned that they’d broken up! I have surveillance cameras at my door. If you don’t believe me, I can show you the surveillance video!” she added.
Her testimony made those who had been looking at me with judgmental eyes suddenly avert their gazes in guilt. Even Lennox’s smooth–talking mother was rendered speechless.
Even though his action got exposed, Lennox didn’t get angry. Instead, he admitted calmly, “Yes, she never clung
to me. I was the one chasing her all along.”
His words carried an undeniable sincerity. His eyes, filled with helplessness and regret, locked onto mine.
Lennox’s mother flushed with anger. She let out a cold huff as she fled the scene.
Lennox seemed like he still wanted to talk to me, but before he could speak, I cut him off. “Everything I said
earlier was true. I don’t want to see you again. Please, stop looking for me.”
Without waiting for his response, I opened my door and walked inside, ignoring his plea.
Later that night, as I finished washing up and was preparing to tackle some unfinished work, a string of
notifications from shopping apps popped up on my phone.
Curious, I opened one of them to check.
To my surprise, I saw several recent orders placed using a linked family account. The items were all baby
products.
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That’s when I remembered that I had linked a family account with Lennox a long time ago. Anything either of us
8:56 AM •
When Love Fades with the Wind
bought would appear in the other’s shopping history.
Seeing those disgusting orders and recalling his earlier desperate pleas, a wave of irony washed over me.
I quickly went into the app and forcibly unlinked the family account. I double–checked my phone to make sure nothing related to Lennox was left.
When the weekend came around, my neighbor invited me out shopping. She was worried I might overthink
things if I stayed home too long.
At the mall, she waved her hand generously and said, “What kind of milk tea do you want? Pick anything, it’s my
treat today!”
We often shared good things with each other and it wasn’t unusual for us to casually buy drinks for one another.
So I didn’t hold back and let her order for me.
While we waited for our drinks, a familiar figure caught my eye. I squinted my eyes for a closer look, then I saw a woman in the distance who looked just like Anne. However, this woman was arm–in–arm with a man I didn’t
recognize.
Before I could get a clear look at her face, they entered a hotel across the street.
“What are you staring at?” my neighbor asked.
“Nothing,” I replied.
I reminded myself that, whether it was her or not, it had nothing to do with me. So I brushed it off and didn’t dwell
on it.
That night, just as I was about to fall asleep, an unexpected call from an unknown number shattered the silence.
The moment I answered, loud, anguished cries erupted from the other end.
“Kelly, you heartless woman! How could you stand by and let someone harm my daughter–in–law and grandson?
Give me back my grandson’s life!”
The nonsensical accusation left me utterly baffled.
Before I could say a word, the sobbing faded, replaced by Lennox’s hoarse voice.
He said that Anne had been assaulted, had suffered massive blood loss and had been rushed to the hospital.
Apparently, as she was being wheeled into surgery, she kept calling my name.
The absurdity of it all made me laugh out of sheer anger.
