- 15.
Through hard work and dedication, I became
the youngest attending physician in the
hospital’s history. The art gallery thrived. Ryan
and I, both with modest needs, donated a
significant portion of our earnings to support
girls‘ education in rural areas.
I occasionally sent money to my parents, but
L
we had no other contact. I once saw Lily on
the street, completely blind, slowly navigating
with a cane. David had to work, so she
seemed to have moved back in with my
parents. The triumphant glint in her eyes was
gone, replaced with a dull resignation. The
family that had once doted on her now left
her, a blind woman, to fend for herself.
A child deliberately placed a rock in Lily’s
path. I kicked it away. I didn’t pity her. She
had brought this upon herself. If she hadn’t
cheated on the exam, she might still be the
celebrated, albeit disabled, artistic genius,
cherished by the Evans family.
Despite my contentment with this life, I
wouldn’t forgive her.
I called Ryan, inviting him and the principal to
called Ryan, inviting him and the principal to inner. The Evans family no longer mattered. They, the Hugheses, were my real family, the
most important people in my life.
I had a fulfilling career, a loving partner, and a
supportive family. This happiness, this life I
had built for myself, was mine and mine
alone. No one could ever take it away.