A Heart's Dilemma

After the mission to get the male lead to marry me failed, the male lead abandoned me on the highway in the pouring rain.

His childhood friend, Cecilia Barnes, was upset, and he had to cross half the city to comfort her.

Later he came to me and apologized with love in his heart.

But by then, I was no longer in this world.

1.

In the third year of my relationship with Owen Hansen, he suddenly proposed to me.

At the cinema, as the movie ended, Owen held onto me, not letting me leave.

The screen played snippets of our past together.

He tenderly presented a bouquet from behind, "Megan Dixon, will you marry me?"

A small, exquisite ring appeared before me.

People around us gathered and started cheering loudly.

"Say yes, say yes..." I took a deep breath.

The proposal was the last step to completing the mission, I should be happy.

I forced a smile and extended my hand.

"Yes, I do."

The atmosphere in the cinema was just right, with applause and cheers.

Amidst the noise, Owen's phone rang.

He glanced at the caller ID and then stuffed the bouquet into my hands, looking at me with an apologetic face.

Moments later, he said, "Sorry, Megan. Cecilia had a car accident. I need to check on her. Please wait for me patiently at home."

The movie screen showed scenes of him buying me cakes and doing crafts.

I held the bouquet from his proposal in my left arm, my right hand hanging by my side, slightly clenched.

It was ridiculous.

"It's okay, you go ahead."

In full view of everyone, he rushed out of the crowd without a second thought about how embarrassing this was for me.

I was disappointed.

I waved to the people around, "Everyone, just leave."

When I saw Cecilia's text, I had anticipated this moment.

In Owen's heart, I never held a place as important as Cecilia.

2.

In this world, I was an orphan, and Owen was my target.

I knew him for four years.

Since our junior year in college, he had always been my knight in shining armor, always there to protect and support me.

He was handsome, considerate, gentle... it seemed no good adjective was too much for him.

After three years of dating, I truly fell deeper in love with him bit by bit.

I always believed I could wait for the day he proposed to me.

By then, I would complete the mission and live happily with him for the rest of my life.

But in the end, I was just dreaming.

The clock ticked away.

I turned off the lights, and the living room was plunged into darkness.

I curled up on the sofa and called Owen.

He didn't answer.

Unwilling to give up, I repeatedly called him, and a voice finally came from the other end.

"Megan, can you stop bothering me? I'm out getting a comforting drink for Cecilia. Don't call unless it's important..."

Owen's tone had lost its usual gentleness, a tone I had never heard before.

I listened to the sound of the call being disconnected, stunned.

If Cecilia could drink a comforting drink, it surely wasn't a serious accident.

Besides, buying a drink for Cecilia couldn't be more important than my proposal, could it?

I couldn't help but wonder, did Owen truly love me?

Then what did my years of effort mean?

In college, I lived frugally with him.

After graduation, I supported him in starting a business, washing his clothes, and cooking for him every day.

I always worried about him, reminding him to take care of his health.

But now it seemed all his hard work and money were for Cecilia.

He wanted to be able to hold his head up in front of Cecilia one day.

I couldn't understand.

In a person's heart, was it true that no one could compare to his muse?

3.

A week later, Cecilia was discharged from the hospital.

Owen carried various nutritional supplements in his hand and held Cecilia's hand with his other hand, and they happily returned to our home. Owen's mother followed behind them.

"Megan, Cecilia hasn't fully recovered yet. She just returned to the country, and her parents aren't here. I thought she could stay with you for a while. You don't mind, do you?"

Owen's mother looked around the living room, presumptuously patting my hand as if we were close.

I always respected her, never expecting her to say such a thing to me.

"I do mind."

Owen's mother's expression changed immediately.

I always thought I had a clear understanding of relationships, never forcing what wasn't mine.

But this time, I wanted to try.

I looked into Owen's eyes and said, "Owen, if you still consider me your girlfriend, if you still like me, please don't disgust me like this."

Cecilia sensed the tension and quickly apologized.

She wiped her tears, looking helpless. "I'm sorry, Owen, for causing you trouble. I'll leave now."

I knew Owen was always swayed by her tears.

Sure enough, he stopped Cecilia just as she was about to leave.

Owen's mother seemed to be protective of Cecilia, as if she feared for her well-being.

"Megan, be good. Of course, I like you, but Cecilia is my friend. I can't just stand by when my friend is in trouble."

Owen came over and ruffled my hair, comforting me as he always did.

But this time, something felt different.

Suddenly, I felt tired.

I stopped being assertive and compromised.

"Cecilia can stay in the room on the far left. Just don't disturb me."

Owen immediately beamed at Cecilia.

Owen's mother then led Cecilia into the room with a grand air, the two of them looking like a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law pair.

Owen laid out all the snacks for me. "Megan, eat more."

Before I could respond, he eagerly turned to find Cecilia.

He was making her bed, finding her a cup...

These were things Owen had never bothered to do for me.

The room was filled with joy for the three of them, while I sat alone in the cold, empty living room.

I pushed away the snacks in front of me and got up to grab the small tangerine furthest from me in the fruit bowl.

I didn't want other people's leftovers.

4.

The system that assigned me the task told me that my task had failed since the proposal was unsuccessful.

Owen's affection for me peaked during the proposal, but before I could accept, he left.

After that night, with Cecilia's interference, my mission ended in failure.

I applied to the system to stay in this world a little longer before moving to the next.

I wanted to give Owen a gift.

A gift that would make him regret everything.

Cecilia stayed at the house for a few days, and Owen's mother visited her every day.

In their free time, Owen's mother would take her out for walks, and buy clothes, but never cared about me.

Owen left early and returned late for work every day, and as soon as he got home, he would check on Cecilia.

Sometimes, Owen would symbolically make me something nice to eat, take me out for a stroll, and occasionally pay attention to my moods.

I knew he was trying to ease his guilt towards me.

He knew clearly that what he was doing was wrong, but he still did it.

He must be a jerk.

And I intended to hold onto his guilt, making him pay for his actions.

Saturday was our third love anniversary.

Owen had booked a restaurant early, saying he wanted to surprise me.

He took me to a remote restaurant, filled with all my favorite dishes.

With romantic music playing, Owen and I toasted across the table.

Perhaps it was the alcohol, but at that moment, I felt his gaze was filled with affection as if the indecisive person from the past few days wasn't him.

I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts.

I asked, "Owen, will you always love me?"

Owen smiled, "I will love you forever."

His smile was so charming that I almost believed his words.

After dinner, Owen and I strolled quietly along the roadside.

The secluded road was nearly empty, with only a few passing cars.

Owen kept checking his phone, occasionally pulling it out to reply to messages.

I tightened my grip on his sleeve.

I knew who he was talking to.

I nudged his arm. "Shall we watch a movie later?"

He glanced at me absentmindedly. "Sure."

Then he opened his phone again.

Soon, his phone rang.

Owen looked embarrassed. "I need to take this call."

I nodded in agreement.

I could faintly hear Cecilia's tearful complaints to Owen.

The call lasted five minutes, during which I pulled weeds for five minutes.

After hanging up, Owen seemed anxious, looking at me apologetically.

"Cecilia is staying at my mom's tonight. She's feeling down and wants a cake from that shop in the north of the city. Otherwise, she'll throw a fit. I'll go get it for her. Megan, you head home first."

I pointed at the sky. "But it's about to rain."

He scratched his head in frustration, suddenly impatient.

"Can't you just take a cab? Stop making things difficult for me."

I was momentarily speechless.

He would never have let me go home alone so late before, but now he was leaving me to buy cake for another woman.

The wind howled around me, and light rain began to fall on my shoulders.

I held back my tears.

"Today is our anniversary..."