I Thought I Was The Joke, I Was The Punishment Chapter 03

I Thought I Was The Joke, I Was The Punishment Chapter 03

The words had a double meaning.

Callan sobered instantly.

Surprise crossed his face, followed by irritation at being exposed.

“Merritt, what are you talking about?”

“Could you stop being so sensitive? You’re reading way too much into one pastry.”

“Sabine and I are over. I’m tired of you acting like this.”

I couldn’t stop myself from demanding an answer.

“You’re tired of being with me?”

“Or are you tired from keeping me in the dark with everyone else for so long?”

Callan and I had dated for a while in high school.

After he moved overseas, we were long-distance for four years.

I waited for him to return, only for him to keep delaying the wedding he’d promised.

Everyone around me told me marriage wasn’t something I could force.

I believed them and kept waiting.

Only today did I learn that four of our seven years had overlapped with his relationship with Sabine.

No wonder Callan had never made our relationship public.

Whenever I suggested using matching profile pictures, he said it was childish and that it wouldn’t look good if his advisor saw.

If I accidentally appeared in one of his social media photos, he’d delete it and repost it without me in it.

Once, I cried and asked whether he was hiding something. He rubbed the top of my head and laughed.

“Baby, I’m protecting you.”

“We’re too happy. People would get jealous.”

I’d believed him. I’d even thought he was caring and considerate.

Now I understood that he’d only been afraid the woman he truly cared about would get the wrong idea.

Looking at him, I felt ridiculous.

“Callan, Greer told me everything. Are you still going to lie?”

Panic flashed across his face as he reached out, trying to pull me into his arms.

“Merritt, it’s not what you think. Let me explain…”

I wrenched myself out of his hold.

In the struggle, I accidentally shoved him in the lower back.

Callan immediately dropped into a crouch in pain.

I froze, unsure what to do.

He had a serious back injury, and he’d gotten it because of me.

During senior year, a group of men cornered me in an alley at night.

Callan appeared out of nowhere just in time and fought off four or five men armed with clubs.

The attack broke three of his ribs and permanently damaged his lower back.

He was never able to swim again, ending any chance he had of becoming a professional athlete.

I’d even thought I should’ve let them assault me instead of calling him.

But he’d held me and gently comforted me.

“If anything happened to you, I’d have no reason to win anymore.”

Back then, his love for me had felt real and undeniable.

Now, he’d truly broken my heart.

I called 911 and went with him to the hospital.

After taking care of the registration and billing paperwork, I started to leave, then remembered I’d left my coat in his hospital room.

When I hurried back to his room, I heard a soft, tearful voice from inside.

“Doesn’t she know about your back? How could she shove you that hard?”

From the doorway, I saw Callan gently wipe away her tears.

“Don’t cry. It doesn’t hurt. I’m the one who owes her an apology.”

Anger edged into Sabine’s voice.

“Do you really have to marry someone like her? You’ll never be happy together.”

“I regret disappearing on you just because I was angry. If I hadn’t, we’d be getting married now…”

Callan said nothing. His silence was an answer in itself.

If Callan hadn’t eventually decided I was the most suitable choice, and if his father hadn’t been critically ill and desperate to see him married, he never would have chosen me.

As she spoke, Sabine seemed unable to stop herself from leaning in to kiss him.

My heart nearly stopped, and I instinctively moved to burst into the room.

Before I could, someone yanked me backward with tremendous force.