He fell for me in the game

?
Three years after I announced my death due to illness.
My son ran into Simon Sander, who had just returned to the country, at the airport.
He let Simon lead him along, blinking his eyes and speaking to him, Uncle, you look just like my dad.
Simon squatted down, smiling as he ruffled his hair. "But your mom didn't choose me in the end, did she?"
*****
Today was my fifth anniversary with Simon, and his idealized first love, Lydia, suffering from depression, called again.
Her voice was soft and sweet, as if it held a magic, easily stirring up deep memories and emotions within Simon.
"That ocean view we saw before, it was so beautiful. Will you remember Lydia in the future, Simon?"
Simon's hand, which had been fiddling with his hair, froze. His voice trembled slightly, "Lydia, what are you saying? Simon really likes you."
"I'll come pick you up. Shall we go to your favorite seafood restaurant for crab, okay?"
Simon's voice carried a tension others might not have noticed. I watched him turn away without hesitation.
My phone smashed onto the floor. Simon heard the sound and turned back, looking apologetic.
He rushed over to me and knelt down. "Baby, I'm so sorry. I'll make up our anniversary to you another day."
"You've always been an understanding girl. Lydia has been by my side all this time."
"I can't just leave her alone."
I looked at his almost pleading eyes, slowly, imperceptibly, I loosened my grip on his sleeve, though my heart was screaming. Still, I couldn't help but demand, "If you walk out that door today, we might really be over. Don't you care?"
"Even if her leg can't dance anymore because of you, it's been so many years. Whatever you owed should have been paid back long ago."
Simon's eyes hardened instantly, sharp as a blade. "Hilary, stop being unreasonable. You shouldn't be so jealous." My vision blurred as his figure shrank, disappearing into the distance.
Lydia was his untouchable. No one could mention her, no one could touch her.
His words from when he was deeply in love still echoed in my ears, "You'll always be my first choice. I'll never let you be sad."
Simon, you broke your promise.


?
I couldn't help but recall our college days, me, Simon, and Lydia.
I always thought Simon and Lydia had met through me.
It wasn't until the second year Simon and I were together that I accidentally overheard a conversation between them.
That's when I found out they had known each other for a long time and shared some unforgettable memories.
"Now that you're with Hilary, treat her well. She's a very good girl."
"As for me, a cripple won't have a bright future." Her face was devoid of expression, utterly bleak.
Lydia's words successfully stirred up Simon's guilt. He hugged her tightly. "Lydia, I'm so, so sorry! I'll stay with you until you truly find your own happiness."
"Hilary won't mind."
Many things I didn't realize at the time. He called her Lydia, he called me Hilary.
I actually wanted to rush out then and ask, "By 'forever' staying with her, do you mean the three of us will live together?"
But as an understanding girlfriend, I couldn't do that.
It wasn't until I returned to the dorm that night, looking at each other, us two girls who shared a strange similarity. Lydia spoke with a triumphant sneer, "See? Just a few words, and he can't bear to leave me. You're just a disposable replacement."
"You probably don't know this, but Simon studied medicine because of me. He came to this university because of me too."
I said nothing. Lydia slowly, leisurely, stood up from her wheelchair and limped towards the bathroom.
"He's with you out of guilt, unable to get past a hurdle in his heart, that's why he found you."
She smiled sweetly as she said that.
A knot of unease tightened in my stomach. I vaguely guessed they had a complicated history.
Looking at the wheelchair Lydia had left aside, I chuckled, "Well, you're in the past, after all. Does Simon know your leg is almost healed?"
Simon came from a prominent family. Lydia's father was a murderer, and her mother was a gambler.
Simon's father was obsessed with appearances, so as long as he was alive, he would absolutely never let Simon and Lydia be together.
At the time, when Simon's father found out that Simon, still in high school, was dating a girl from a troubled background, he was furious. He went straight to the school and took Simon home.
Lydia was lost and desolate all day until the news of Simon going abroad broke. She got into a car accident on her way to the airport.
"For a dancer, not being able to dance is like taking my life."
She went on hunger strike, cut her wrists, took sleeping pills. And Simon stayed by her side through it all.
In the end, her voice choked. "But your appearance gave me a sense of crisis. Hilary, I'm not like you. I only have Simon."
The next day, Lydia was found having cut her wrists in the dorm.
I was scared by the blood everywhere and instinctively stepped back.
She looked at me, her face pale. "Do you think Simon will blame you for provoking me?"


?
Less than half an hour later, Simon burst into the hospital room, breathless.
He slammed into me, sending me sprawling. My arm hit the nearby metal cabinet.
"You were supposed to have moved out. Why were you even here, near Lydia?"
He took out the soup from the meal tray and carefully fed it to Lydia. He then thoughtfully propped a pillow behind her back, before fixing me with a cold stare, his voice laced with accusation. "You knew Lydia's situation was delicate. Why didn't you stay away from her?"
Lydia gently wrapped her arms around his neck, whining softly, "Simon, it hurts so much. I can't walk like a normal person anymore."
But her triumph was impossible to hide in her eyes.
Someone genuinely suffering from depression wouldn't have that look in their eyes.
Yet Simon hugged her tenderly, gently rubbing her leg. "Lydia will get better. Simon's here for you."
His entire focus was on Lydia, he didn't notice my bleeding arm, covered in cuts.
I comforted myself countless times, telling myself Simon was only acting out of guilt.
Every time, I compromised. I knew exactly what he was thinking.
He knew Lydia's illness wasn't severe to this extent.
But later, on a mountain drenched in a downpour, amidst a howling blizzard, on a deserted highway in the dead of night, even at our own wedding, Simon abandoned me without a second thought and chose Lydia.
This was his last chance. I ran after him. "Simon, have you really thought this through?"
Simon's footsteps faltered. From a distance, I saw guilt in his eyes.
"Hilary, I'm sorry. I can't abandon Lydia. Her leg is like this because of me."
The outcome was clear long ago. For the first time, I used a hidden ability and heard Simon's inner thoughts: "Hilary, I'll make it up to you properly when I get back."
I shook my head, my voice raw and strained. "Simon, no need. We're breaking up."
Simon finally turned and walked towards me, his brows furrowed, his tone filled with displeasure. "Stop being unreasonable! Our relationship and helping Lydia recover aren't mutually exclusive. Why do you have to make it a competition?"
"Lydia's by the ocean, it's dangerous. Her life is on the line, what are you even thinking about?"
The atmosphere between us instantly solidified.
People around us cast curious glances, eager for drama. A lump formed in my throat, choking back the words.
It was useless because Simon's mind was completely consumed by Lydia at the beach.
I managed a faint smile, opening my mouth to speak.
But before I could say anything, Simon's phone rang.
It was our mutual friend, saying Lydia's condition was very bad.
In just a few seconds, Simon made his choice. He abandoned me again without a second thought.
Right then, I thought my decision to give up a prestigious university's exchange program for Simon was absolutely terrible.
I dialed that number, hidden at the very end of my contacts for a long, long time.
"Rex, I'm giving in. I accept your offer."
?
Back home, I threw away all my things that were connected to Simon.
I only took a few pieces of clothing.
Yes, I left. I walked away from Simon.
My name is Hilary, because my mom hoped I'd live my life open-minded, optimistic, kind, and proactive.
But I failed not only to do that, I even lost myself.
"Hilary, long time no see."
Rex, long time no see.
I looked at the man before me. He was still as radiant as he'd been years ago.
"How did you end up so miserable without me around?" Rex took my suitcase, a hint of schadenfreude in his voice.
Hearing his familiar voice, my nose stung, and my voice involuntarily caught in my throat. "Yeah, I'm pretty miserable. And I'll have to trouble the great Rex, top influencer, for a while."
Rex haughtily snorted twice. "Hilary, I told you long ago to leave him."
"Rex, I'm pregnant."
Rex's grip on my hand tightened abruptly. He seemed agitated. "And you? Do you want to keep it?"
I pulled my hand from Rex's grasp. "I'm ready to start a new life."
In the following days, I steadily began my new life.
I paid no attention to the chaos that had erupted back home.
When Simon returned home the next day, he unexpectedly noticed many things missing from the house.
He called our mutual friends. "Has Hilary contacted any of you?"
All he got were words of advice: "Simon, I'm just telling you, in this toxic relationship with Lydia, you might as well let Hilary go."
Everyone's consistent answer was that they had no idea where Hilary went, until Hilary's family was asked.
"Hilary has a really good friend overseas. You actually know him – Rex."
Simon didn't understand why everyone thought he had wronged me.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the prenatal check-up results on the vanity table.
Simon left the country that very night, taking Lydia with him.
The next time I met Simon was at the supermarket downstairs.
"Hilary!"
Rex reacted faster than I did, swinging a punch at Simon's face. "You bastard! How dare you show your face?!"
They wrestled, their identities too prominent. If no one pulled them apart, tomorrow's headline would be "A-List Celebrity and Corporation Heir Brawl in Public: What's the Real Story?"
"We broke up. Don't come looking for me anymore." I shielded Rex behind me, casting a cold gaze at the man and woman opposite us.
Simon pulled out the prenatal check-up results. "Hilary, stop messing around. You can't let our child grow up without a father."
"I terminated the pregnancy."
He froze.
He threw down the suitcase he was holding and clamped my arm tightly.
"You're lying to me, aren't you?"

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