IGNORED! HE ALWAYS SAVED HIS RIGHT EAR FOR HER Chapter 01

IGNORED! HE ALWAYS SAVED HIS RIGHT EAR FOR HER Chapter 01

When the roller coaster reached the top, I quietly opened my eyes, wanting to reach for my boyfriend’s hand.

But the sight before me made my heart freeze.

My boyfriend was holding my best friend’s hand.

Their fingers were tightly intertwined.

His thumb gently traced the back of her hand, as if he were comforting her without saying a word.

“Ethan, I’m scared,” I whispered.

He didn’t respond.

Instead, he only tightened his grip on her hand.

Ethan had partial hearing loss in his left ear.

But every time the three of us went out together, he always kept Madison on his right side, leaning closer whenever she spoke and answering every word she said.

And I always stood on his left.

Separated from him by what felt like a whole galaxy.

The roller coaster started moving again.

I closed my eyes, and my heart sank along with the ride.

Ethan, if there was already someone else living in your heart…

Then I would stop loving you.

…

Finally, the roller coaster slowly returned to the platform.

Only then did their tightly clasped hands finally pull apart.

Madison Blake was jumping around excitedly, her cheeks flushed.

“My heart rate hit 150 just now! That was crazy!”

Ethan looked at her and smiled.

“Mine too.”

The two of them laughed and chatted like they always had, talking about how thrilling the ride had been.

But a chill ran down my spine.

Suddenly, Madison looked at me.

“Claire, what about you? I didn’t hear you scream at all.”

“I…”

I froze for a moment, not knowing what to say.

“Achoo!”

Madison sneezed softly.

The sneeze was barely noticeable.

But Ethan heard it.

He immediately took off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders.

“You insisted on wearing that short skirt on a roller coaster. Look at you. Now you’re freezing.”

“I wanted to! It was fun!”

Madison stared straight at Ethan and raised her eyebrows slightly.

The next second, I saw the blush on Ethan’s face spread all the way to his ears.

His Adam’s apple bobbed slightly.

Maybe it was because of the lingering feeling of weightlessness.

Or maybe it was because the pain of betrayal cut too deeply.

The scene in front of me made my vision spin.

I felt dizzy.

Nauseous.

“Ethan, my blood sugar is crashing…”

I crouched down painfully and reached my hand toward him.

There was no response.

When I looked up again, Ethan and Madison were already thirty feet away.

Under the sunlight, his shadow stretched across the ground.

It moved closer to hers and farther away from mine.

A staff member from the amusement park helped me up and handed me an energy drink.

“Miss, make sure you take care of yourself when you’re traveling alone. I hope you have a wonderful day. Happy birthday!”

I forced a bitter smile and touched the birthday pin on my chest.

Today was my twenty-fifth birthday.

Since entering the park, countless staff members had wished me a happy birthday.

But the two people closest to me hadn’t even said a single word of celebration.

My phone vibrated.

Ethan had sent me a location.

[Come here! We prepared a surprise for you!]

My fingers curled slightly.

After hesitating for a long time, perhaps because there was still a tiny bit of hope left inside me, I typed one word.

[Okay.]

When I arrived at the location, there were more than a dozen couples standing on the stage.

Ethan and Madison were among them.

A sign beside the stage read:

**Couples Compatibility Challenge.**

Couples?

Compatibility?

I looked up in confusion.

The host was asking the first question.

“What day is her period?”

“18th!”

Ethan and Madison answered at the exact same time.

“Was it love that developed over time, or love at first sight?”

“Love at first sight!”

Again, their answers matched perfectly.

…

After several rounds, only three couples remained out of the original ten.

The host asked the final question.

“What was your partner wearing the first time you met?”

“A blue and white dress. The color of the sky.”

Ethan’s eyes curved with a smile as he looked at Madison affectionately.

Madison nodded shyly.

“He was wearing a black basketball uniform. He had just finished playing basketball. He smelled awful.”

Ethan laughed.

The host laughed.

The audience laughed.

Only I couldn’t.

My heart felt like it had been ripped apart.

The first time Ethan and Madison met…

It was when I had collapsed from low blood sugar and fractured my ribs.

Back then, Madison had stood beside my hospital bed and scolded Ethan.

“What kind of boyfriend are you? If you can’t take care of Claire, I won’t forgive you!”

Ethan had held my hand with guilt in his eyes and apologized over and over.

For an entire month, the two of them had stayed by my hospital bed.

They brought me water.

Reminded me to take my medicine.

Delivered meals.

Took care of every little thing.

At the time, although my body was in pain, my heart had been filled with happiness.

So…

Had they fallen in love right beside my hospital bed?

Had my suffering become the reason they met and fell for each other?

A girl beside me poked my arm, pulling me back to reality.

“You came alone too, didn’t you? I’m so jealous of that couple on stage. You can tell he really loves her just by the way he looks at her.”

“They’re so sweet. I wish I could find a boyfriend who loved me that much.”

I looked at my boyfriend and my best friend standing on the stage.

Then I forced out a pale smile.

“Yeah. They are sweet.”

I paused.

“If that guy wasn’t my boyfriend.”

The girl’s eyes widened.

“Wait… he’s your boyfriend? How can you stand this?”

After a long silence, I quietly said:

“He won’t be my boyfriend for much longer.”