Something clenched hard in my chest, a pain so sharp it almost took my breath.

"Regina, what's your problem?"

"I already said I'd make it up to you. What more do you want?"

Morris's brow furrowed tight, as though I were the unreasonable one, the one who didn't know how to be considerate.

In all these years, I had rarely bothered him or disrupted his work.

I was about to speak when his phone rang.

He glanced at the screen, and the tension in his face melted away. He answered almost instantly.

"Morris, I think I have a fever. I feel so weak..."

The soft, helpless voice carried clearly through the quiet room.

I watched his pupils contract. He grabbed his jacket and turned for the door without a second thought, as if he'd forgotten his wife was standing right there.

"Cassandra, I'm taking you to the hospital. Get dressed and wait for me. I'll be there soon."

He hung up, pulled a bank card from the wallet on the shoe cabinet, and rushed toward the door.

"Morris."

I called his name.

He paused mid-step.

"Regina, Cassandra just got back to the country. I'm the only friend she has here."

"Don't be difficult. Don't read into this."

And then he left without looking back.

The lock clicked shut, and my mind went white.

Three months ago, I'd come down with acute appendicitis. The pain woke me at dawn, so severe I couldn't sit up.

I grabbed Morris's hand and begged him to take me to the hospital. He shook me off.

"Regina, I have to travel with my advisor today. This project is important."

"I'll call my mom for you. Just lie down and wait."

I didn't know when I'd passed out. By the time I came to, I was already in the hospital.

My mother was complaining:

"You just had surgery and he still has to go on a business trip? Morris is absolutely unbelievable!"

"Mom, stop. I'm fine, aren't I?"

"Morris has always been like that, completely devoted to his research. So focused, so dedicated. That's what I fell for in the first place."

Back then, I was still busy making excuses for him, forgetting that I was the one who was sick, the one being hurt and ignored.

My heart seized like a fist had closed around it, crushing everything inside my chest.

I dragged myself to the fridge and took out the cake I'd bought for myself.

I blew out the candles. The sweetness of the cake and the salt of my tears went down together.

Starting today, my own feelings came first. Always.

A birthday, and a clean beginning.