Eleven.

Three inseparable best-friends, but it was love that destroyed their insoluble bond.

Liling’s eyes were trained only on the man standing at the end of the altar, her lips were stretched in a coy smile, and her cheeks were flushed pink which added more glow to her beautiful, bright visage. Her arm was looped securely around her father’s as they took slow steps down the aisle. It was everything she had hoped for, a simple yet elegant church whose walls were decked with seasonal flowers, her loved ones watching as her as she descended down to walk towards the man of her dreams.

Her smile never faded as her father handed her over to the groom, who took her delicate hands gently, smiling slightly in appreciation. His gaze bore straight into hers while the priest began reciting, except she knew him well enough to know he wasn’t exactly looking at her. Luhan’s eyes seemed distant, as if he had been thoroughly distracted. She couldn’t help but get anxious. He suspicions were confirmed when the priest cleared his throat, he had asked Luhan if he’d take Liling as his lawfully wedded wife and cherish all the moments to come. The answer they had been looking for was a simple ‘I do’.

However, as Luhan regained his senses, he answered to the priest, in words Liling had never wanted to hear.

“I cannot, I’m sorry.”

He didn’t wait for her answer; he simply got off the altar and ran towards the entrance. There seemed to be a huge commotion amongst the guests, Luhan’s parents had grown flustered as they tried to calm down Liling’s father. Liling, on the other hand, dropped down on the altar, bouquet in her hands as everyone shot her sympathizing looks.

“You’ve won, Michelle Yang,” she whispered softly.

Luhan ran as fast his legs could bear to, his heart racing rapidly. He had been geared up to get through with the wedding and lead a happily married life with Liling, but something hadn’t felt right. It was as if something was utterly wrong and that was when one of his trusted housekeepers walked in. His heart had momentarily stopped at the news being delivered; it had all been his fault. He had caused this. How could he even think of finding his happiness after making Michelle, his best-friend and the girl he loved, miserable, so much that she had tried to end her life.

∻∻∻

The rhythmic beeps of the equipments were the only sounds that filled the room. She turned her head sideways, trying to adjust herself. Her heavy eyes failed to open and the distant voices seemed to get louder with the approaching footsteps. She strained her ears to grasp the murmurs.

“… do everything you can…”

“…those drugs are illegal…”

“…name the price…”

“…the best, intensive therapy and rehabilitation... to rule out a pre-existing psychiatric illness.”

“Are you calling my daughter crazy?”

“She tried to kill herself, Mr. Yang. You can’t expect everything to be fine.”

“All right, go ahead. I want what is best for her.”

“We understand, Mr. Yang. First, we’ll take care of the miscarriage.”

She shot her eyes open, only to shut them close immediately as the bright lights in the room hit her sensitive irises.

“Michelle, child, are you awake?” She heard a familiar, anxious voice. No it couldn’t be. She was definitely dreaming again, she was visualizing things which weren’t real. Where was she? The last thing she remembered was meeting Luhan. And after that…Michelle got up abruptly from her bed, only to be met with a pair of warm eyes.

She looked around anxiously, trying to familiarize herself with her surroundings. The last she remembered was when she was in her room; she had consumed all of those pills. She had wanted to end her life and end her misery along with it. She wasn’t dead? But, she hadn’t seen the woman in front of her in so long. How could she appear miraculously? Was it her mind playing tricks with her again? She extended her arms towards the lady, only to hold it back in pain.

“They’re giving you an i.v drip, child. They said your body was in a severe state of shock and malnourishment,” the woman said grimly. Michelle opened to speak, but her dry throat restricted her from doing so. She stared at the woman in front of her, flipping the woman’s hand over to inspect it. Her breath hitched when she found the familiar flame-shaped birth mark.

“N-nana!” she croaked, her eyes bleary with tears. “I-is that really you?” She looked up slowly to see if the woman would nod and to her relief she did, with the same, bright smile she vividly remembered. The girl hugged her tightly, sniffling as the woman patted her back. It was most certainly a dream.

“It’s alright, child. I’m here now,” Nana cooed gently, caressing the girl’s hair.

“My head hurts, Nana,” Michelle cried, ignoring the nauseous feeling in her gut. She wasn’t certain if it had been because of meeting Nana unexpectedly or something else. Had she been given another chance to live? Somehow she felt grateful, she had been scared, and she hadn’t wanted to do it. It was as if her mind had been fighting against her.

“I’ll go get the doctor, okay?” Nana got up slowly to walk towards the door, when Michelle protested.

“No, Nana, please don’t go. You’ll leave me!” Michelle shouted. Everything still seemed like a trance. What if Nana walked out the door and never came back? She had already lost her once; she didn’t wish to lose her again. What if she was trapped in this room forever? And the room wasn’t even dark, it was bright and she hated it. What happened to her now? Would she be labeled as the crazy girl who tried to kill herself, would she spend the rest of her days tied to a hospital bed? She wanted to leave, she wanted to run away, but her body seemed feeble. She barely had any strength to sit up.

She felt groggy; every inch of her body seemed to be heating up. She didn’t want to get carried away again. It hadn’t been the first time such thoughts had come to her mind, but she never dared to do it. It was as if there was a sane, rational part of her brain that stopped her from doing it. But what had happened that day? Why had she seen DO? She thought she had left him behind; she had made it quite clear that she didn’t wish to be his friend anymore. He simply meant trouble.

It had taken her a while to realize that DO was only her friend, that he could be seen only be her and no one else. She had asked him about it and he had simply laughed in response. It was when she grew older that she realized he had been a figment of her imagination, she had never disclosed this secret of hers to anyone. She didn’t want to be called as the mad girl who saw things. So, she refrained from telling so, not even to Luhan.

“I’ll be back soon, child,” Nana assured. She felt awful hearing the girl’s pleas; it was evident that she hadn’t taken her sudden absence from her life well. But she had been left with no choice, she was merely a caretaker, she couldn’t possibly go against the child’s mother’s words.

 She couldn’t even describe what she had felt when Mr. Yang had come looking for Yixing, his face bearing a look of remorse she had never witnessed before.

“Michelle’s at the hospital,” he had said. “She tried to kill herself.”

She hadn’t waited a moment before barging out of her house to run towards the hospital. Michelle needed her and this time she wasn’t going to leave her alone. The doctors had informed them that she had been brought in at the right time, any longer and her organs would have failed. She had missed most of her adolescence after leaving her, but she had never expected Michelle to grow up into such a conflicted young girl, that she would try to end her life. She felt as if it had been her fault, while Mr. Yang had been blaming himself f