Chapter 9
603words
They kept glancing nervously in my direction, as if worried about offending me.
"Why do you keep looking at irrelevant people?" Danny Lawrence snapped.
His friends laughed awkwardly and stopped looking our way entirely.
Henry Growth, already tipsy, stumbled to his feet. "That bastard..."
"Already has a girlfriend but still wants mine..."
"You're no better," Sansa Woods said flatly.
"It's different!" Henry Growth protested. "Kara doesn't even like him! He's the real third wheel!"
I twisted the knife. "But Cersei Wright clearly prefers Danny Lawrence, so you're still the third wheel."
Henry Growth looked crushed.
Sansa Woods went off with her suited man as usual, tossing me her car keys and asking me—the only sober one—to drive Henry Growth home.
The puppy boy and I dragged Henry Growth outside. He was deadweight. We stumbled, and all three of us crashed to the ground.
The commotion drew attention, and as someone who values dignity, I felt utterly mortified.
A pair of black sneakers appeared in my vision. I looked up to see Danny Lawrence fresh off the dance floor.
He was drenched in sweat, one arm around a disheveled Cersei Wright.
I thought he might help me up, but the jerk just glanced down and walked past with Cersei Wright.
The puppy boy helped me to my feet.
Eventually, security helped us load Henry Growth into the car.
I returned to my apartment—a college graduation gift from Mom. She'd bought one for me and one for Danny Lawrence. Different buildings, same complex.
For some reason, I pulled that suit from my closet.
I still hadn't given away this birthday gift, and I couldn't return it. It was expensive.
My phone rang. It was Danny Lawrence's mom, vacationing in the Maldives.
I answered the video call.
A gentle-faced woman appeared on screen.
"Yuan Yuan, what are you doing? Why aren't you with Little Wang?"
Danny Lawrence was sickly as a child. Auntie Lu, soft-hearted as she was, never pushed him to exercise and build strength.
Uncle Lu, knowing his wife admired my mother, suggested Danny Lawrence live with us to be raised "free-range" like me.
Danny Lawrence was adorable as a child. I'd kiss his cheeks, and he'd follow me around calling "sister, sister."
Like a baby duckling.
But somewhere along the way, my dad brainwashed him, teaching Danny Lawrence that a proper man should be virtuous and domesticated.
Soon Danny Lawrence was handling all my affairs—cooking, cleaning, everything.
With this routine, Danny Lawrence's health improved dramatically. He even became the school tough guy.
Both families relaxed after that, taking frequent trips and spending most of the year abroad.
So mostly, it was just Danny Lawrence and me, inseparable, growing up together.
Later, I started feeling lonely again. I wondered if, like my parents, marriage would give me a permanent companion.
Snapping back to reality, I answered, "Oh, he's probably still out with friends."
Auntie Lu sounded displeased. "It's so late! Leaving you alone at home—he's really gone too far."
I smiled awkwardly. "We don't actually live together."
Auntie Lu looked confused. "That's not right. Last month he said you two were planning to move in together."
If I'd been drinking water, I would have done a spit-take.
Was I living in a parallel universe? Where was this coming from? I had no memory of any such conversation.
"That naughty boy," Auntie Lu tutted. "Don't worry, Yuan Yuan. I'll scold him properly. He married into your family but has no sense of his responsibilities as a husband raised from childhood."
This was insane.
