On Graduation Day, I Received a Cry for Help from Ten Years Ahead Chapter 03

On Graduation Day, I Received a Cry for Help from Ten Years Ahead Chapter 03

The living room went quiet for a moment.

Then I heard Ethan say, “Fine. We’ll do it your way.”

Sophia’s voice softened. She sounded as if she were speaking right beside his ear.

“Tomorrow, I’ll take Liv to that old bookstore. It’s quiet there. If things get physical, no one will be able to prove what really happened.”

Ethan asked, “Is that place safe? Don’t go too far. If it gets out of hand, we’ll have a problem.”

My mother spoke too.

“Be careful, both of you.”

I leaned against the door as my nails dug slowly into my palm. Back then, during the custody battle, my mother had refused to give an inch. She had held me and cried, saying she could not live without me. I had lived with her for so many years.

Now she was sitting in the living room, helping my boyfriend and my best friend discuss how to injure me.

I exhaled slowly, returned to bed, and closed my eyes.

The next day, I deliberately got up very late. When I walked out of my room at noon, they were already sitting in the living room. Ethan and Sophia sat side by side on the sofa, while my mother busied herself with lunch in the kitchen. They all looked well rested.

The moment Sophia saw me, she came over.

“Liv, come with me to that used bookstore on the west side. I want to buy an out-of-print art book.”

“Sure.”

I gave her a small smile. Ethan offered to drive us.

After the car stopped in front of the bookstore, he stayed inside and waited. On the second floor of the used bookstore, there was an old wooden staircase. Sophia said she wanted to go up and look for a book, so I followed behind her.

She had only climbed a few steps when she cried out and threw herself backward. Her hands clawed wildly through the air, as if she wanted to drag me down with her.

I was ready. The second she fell back, I grabbed the railing with both hands, pressed my body against the side of the staircase, and forced myself steady. Sophia failed to catch me. She crashed hard onto the floor and cried out in pain.

Ethan heard the noise and rushed in. The first thing he did was look at Sophia on the ground. Then he lifted his head toward me, his voice going sharp.

“Why didn’t you grab her? You just stood there and watched her fall?”

I stood on the stairs and looked down at him.

“You rushed in and looked at her first, and the first thing you did was blame me. Ethan, are you my boyfriend or hers?”

His jaw tightened. For one instant, the guilt in his eyes gave him away.

Sophia spoke at exactly the right moment, her voice so weak she sounded seconds from tears.

“It hurts, Ethan. My leg hurts so much.”

Ethan crouched, lifted her carefully into his arms, and walked out. The whole time, he never looked at me again.

At the hospital, Ethan ran around checking her in, paying the fees, and helping her get X-rays. He looked more anxious than I did, and I was supposed to be her best friend. He was so tense that he forgot to keep up the act in front of me.

I stood outside the ward with my arms folded and watched him the entire time. Only when he finally noticed my stare did he realize he had been too obvious. He walked over and swallowed once.

“She’s your best friend, Liv. Of course you’d feel awful if she got hurt. I was worried about how this would affect you. That’s why I panicked.”

I almost laughed. His acting had always been good. Today, it had failed him.

I walked out of the ward and dialed a number I had not called in a long time. When the call connected, my father’s voice carried obvious surprise.

“Liv, you’re finally willing to call me?”

I said, “Dad, you once said you wanted me to go to New York and take over your company. Does that still stand?”

“As long as you want it, anytime.”

“Then help me arrange it. The sooner, the better.”