My Parents Neglected Me Until I Died Novel by yueji

I couldn’t remember how I left that day, lost and disoriented as Stella took me back to the hotel. She held me close, gently patting my shoulder, but words of comfort eluded her.

Eventually, my tears flowed uncontrollably, as if a dam had burst, and I clung to Stella’s hand, sobbing heart-wrenchingly for the first time. The unfamiliar and distant look in Damian’s eyes at the bar was like a blade, carving away at my soul.

I hardly slept that night. The next day, we returned to the bar. Calista was on stage again, singing with the same soft, lyrical tone as before. I scanned the room and finally spotted Damian.

He watched her with such focus and earnestness. The person he used to look at like that was me. I fought back the tears that felt like they might burst my heart. I took a seat next to him.

I intended to subtly ask about his life these

past years, but Damian spoke first: “Did I know you before?”

I nodded but didn’t elaborate on the past. He didn’t press further.

“Calista mentioned that the songs she sings were written by you. What’s your favorite?” I asked.

He smiled with a warmth that was almost intoxicating. “My favorite song isn’t finished yet. I’ll play it at our wedding.”ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

In an instant, my tears sprang forth. I knew he meant “our” in reference to him and Calista, not me and him.

Suddenly, I remembered how he used to scribble in his notebook during his free time. Once, I hugged him from behind and asked what he was doing. Looking down, I saw a lyric written on the page: “With a tender whisper of the breeze, you unveil the depth of my truest love.”

At that time, he had looked at me with a beaming smile and said, “I’m writing the background music for your entrance at our wedding.”

Unable to bear the contrast between who he was and who he is now, I turned my head and took a moment to compose myself. “It’s fine,” I managed to say.

Calista finished her performance and came over to us, surprised to see us again. “You’re here again! So, Kia, did you like my singing?”

She sat down next to Damian, leaning affectionately on his arm, and he absentmindedly stroked her hair. It was an action he used to do with me. The sight filled me with a deep sense of helplessness, and I didn’t know how to find a way through it. The emotions swirled violently within my chest.

I looked down, not wanting to see them, but I could clearly hear Damian’s soft voice saying, “It sounds good.”

Stella patted my hand and whispered in my ear, “Anna, maybe we should just… let it go.”

I didn’t respond. Instead, I turned to Calista and asked, “Callie, when is your wedding?”

Damian glanced at me, his expression obscured in the dim light, barely visible.

Calista smiled and said, “It’s set for the fifteenth of next month. If you’re not in a hurry to leave, you should come. It’s just a small gathering of friends, no gifts needed, just for the fun of it.”

“Sure,” I replied.

Back at the hotel, Stella asked, “Anna, what are you thinking? Are you going to tell him?”

After a moment of silence, I shook my head and said with a wry smile, “No, I won’t tell him.

He’s found new love, and it’s better for both him and me. You know, I don’t have much time left.”

Stella’s eyes immediately welled up, her face filled with sadness. “Don’t say things like that. If a man is gone, he’s gone. You still have me. What if… what if you… leave?”

“I’m sorry, Stella. I just wanted to see him as a groom, even if I’m not the bride.”

“I imagined countless scenarios of meeting him again-whether I would scold him or hit him for making me worry for so long. But over time, I just wanted to give him a hug and tell him welcome home. Now I realize I can’t even do that.”

What more could Stella say? No one was at fault in this situation, but why was it only Anna who suffered?