The Year He Hated Me Most - Chapter 5

His expression was darker than I’d ever seen it.

I’d always been sure I hadn’t caused his first love’s death. But I had no idea what other secrets lay behind it.

Nan Heting sped all the way to my family’s gate.

The Yan family villa had fallen into disrepair. There wasn’t a single servant in sight as Nan Heting entered.

“Nan Heting, you dare show your face here!”

My brother grabbed him by the collar and punched him.

“Get out of my way!”

Nan Heting’s face was murderous. “I’m not here to fight you today. Tell me—where did Yan Mingmei get her heart?”

“Where did she get it?” My brother laughed wildly, with nothing left to lose. “From your old flame, of course.”

He swung at Nan Heting again.

The two men fought, eyes red with rage.

I stood by helplessly. I couldn’t stop them or pull them apart.

“Enough!”

At the familiar voice, tears sprang to my eyes.

My father had aged so much. His voice was rough and worn.

He took out the heart-transplant agreement from years ago and a donation contract I’d never seen before, then flung them in front of Nan Heting.

“Mingmei’s heart was donated through legal channels. Afterward, I gave the family a ten-million-yuan thank-you payment. All the paperwork is right here. What else do you want to ask?”

“That can’t be…”

Nan Heting’s hands trembled as he read through the documents. His face grew paler with every page.

I stood beside him, just as nervous, not knowing how to face this reversal.

Of course I was glad to be innocent.

But who could make up for the suffering I’d endured this past year?

“I don’t believe it… I don’t believe it.”

Nan Heting had lost his mind. He just kept repeating those words.

Then his phone rang at just the right moment.

“Mr. Nan…” His assistant sounded hesitant. “We… we found Madam’s prenatal checkup report.”

Only my doctor and I had known I was pregnant.

Back then, things between Nan Heting and me hadn’t fallen apart yet. I’d loved him so desperately.

I wanted to make it special, so I hadn’t told him right away.

I planned to surprise him on our first wedding anniversary.

But that day, I’d waited alone by the cake for what felt like forever. He never came home.

A storm raged outside, and his phone wouldn’t go through. My heart ached with worry as I clutched my phone and prayed he was safe.

He didn’t come back until midnight, wrapped in the smell of alcohol.

“Hu Die…”

He lay back on the sofa, murmuring her name as he stared at the butterfly on the ceiling.

Thinking he was confused, I went over to help him.

“Honey, let’s get you to bed.”

“You’re… not Hu Die…”

“Of course I’m not. I’m Yan Mingmei.”

I answered softly.

But my words seemed to strike a nerve. He shoved me hard. I stumbled and fell against the sofa.

“Honey…”

Nan Heting had never been this rough with me. I nearly burst into tears.

Half-sober, he gazed at me in a daze.

Then he slumped back down.

I swallowed my hurt and took off his coat.

As he kept murmuring “Hu Die,” a photograph slipped from the inside pocket.

That was the first time I saw his unforgotten love.

A sweet-looking girl with a bright, charming smile.

On the back were the promises they’d made as teenagers.

“Nan Heting and Hu Die will be happy together forever.”

I felt as if lightning had struck me.

Why did Nan Heting love butterflies?

Why did he think of her whenever he was drunk?

Only because the woman he loved was named Hu Die.

I didn’t tell anyone what had happened that night.