Chapter 3

After the party, Julian wrapped his arm around Madelyn’s waist as they walked to his car.

He leaned over to fasten her seatbelt.

The air inside the car grew warm and heavy. Julian stared into her eyes, slowly leaning in for a kiss.

The moment his lips touched hers, Madelyn flinched as if she had been shocked.

She quickly pulled back and wiped her mouth. Julian’s face immediately turned incredibly dark.

"Maddy, what is wrong with you?"

Madelyn seemed surprised by her own reaction too. She sat up straight, flustered. "Just drive. I'm tired. I want to go home."

Watching her pull away, I remembered how I used to protect her.

Madelyn was beautiful, and she used to get harassed quite a lot.

Every single time, I was the one who stood up to chase those creeps away. Afterward, I would look at her seriously and say, "Maddy, you're my girl. Promise me you won't let other guys get too close to you."

"I get jealous easily."

She would hug me and pout, "I know, dummy. My heart only has room for you. Why would I ever look at anyone else?"

Was she... remembering those times now?

I laughed at my own foolishness.

To a rich girl like Madelyn, I was probably just a temporary distraction. Why would she ever care about my words?

To her, I was just an entertaining clown.

Madelyn had Julian drop her off at our apartment. Before leaving, she gave the still-pissed-off Julian a brief hug. "Don't be mad. If I don't go back tonight, Ethan will get suspicious."

Julian spat coldly, "Why don't you just dump him already?"

Madelyn hesitated for a second before mumbling, "I’m not bored of him yet."

After watching Julian drive away, she walked into our apartment.

In the past, whenever I didn't have to work late, a warm, home-cooked meal would be waiting for her on the table.

But lately, she had been coming home later and later, and she hadn't touched a single bite of my food.

Now I knew why. It all started when Julian came back.

Madelyn called out into the empty, dark apartment. No one answered.

Annoyed, she threw her designer bag onto the couch. "Still throwing a tantrum? Get over yourself."

*I won't. I will never fight with you again, Madelyn. Because I will never appear in front of you again.*

I whispered the words into her ear, but she couldn't hear a thing.

After removing her makeup, she sat on the couch scrolling through her phone until midnight, but the front door never opened.

She cursed under her breath and dialed my number. It went straight to voicemail.

Her anger flared. She slammed her bedroom door shut and locked it.

"Fine! If you don't want to come back, then never come back!"

She kept checking her phone, but there was not a single Snapchat notification or text from me.

Eventually, she fell asleep with her phone in her hand.

I stood by her bedside, quietly watching her all night.

The next morning, Madelyn rubbed her sleepy eyes and opened her bedroom door, habitually calling out, "Ethan, I want bagels from the bakery down the street. Go grab them."

It had been her routine for years, and eventually, it became my habit too.

Every single morning, before the sun even rose, I would stand in line to get her favorite fresh bagels.

But today, there was only silence.

The apartment was exactly as she had left it last night. No one had been home.

Her face went cold as she dialed my number again.

After a long ring, just when I thought it would go to voicemail, the call actually connected.

But a stranger’s voice came through. "Hello? Do you know the owner of this phone?"

She had blocked my main number during our last fight, so she must have used her work phone to call me this time.

Madelyn frowned, her voice icy. "Where is Ethan? Put him on the phone!"

There was a long pause on the other end. "He's... he's dead."

"It looks like a homicide. The police are currently investigating. If you know him, please contact the station immediately."

My breath caught. I stared intently at her face, searching for any sign of grief.

But after a brief shock, she actually laughed out loud. "Are you kidding me? Has Ethan gone completely insane with this acting?"

"Tell him to stop playing games. I'll find a way to give him back that fifty thousand."

The voice on the other end sounded incredibly weary. "Ma'am, I am serious. He is dead..."

Madelyn’s tone snapped. "Are you done? Is Ethan really going to act like this just because he's throwing a fit?"

"Fine! Tell him he never has to come back!"

She slammed the phone down, turned on the TV, and began aggressively flipping through channels.

Then, a local news broadcast caught her eye.

I looked at the screen too. It was a breaking news report about a homicide. A male body had been found in a warehouse. His face had been heavily mutilated beyond recognition.

Looking at the blurred-out photo on the screen, the feeling of my blood draining away rushed back to me.

The phantom pain made me want to scream.

There was no doubt about it. That mutilated corpse was me.

But Madelyn merely scoffed, quickly switching the channel. She muttered, "Why is the news always so depressing? Ethan actually thinks he can scare me with this cheap drama."

"So pathetic."

3

The doorbell rang. Madelyn opened it to find Julian standing there with breakfast.

Julian looked around the modest apartment with clear disgust before handing the food to her.

Madelyn smiled, taking the food and curling up on the couch to eat.

Julian paced around the small living room, finally stopping in front of a framed photo on the shelf.

It was a photo from our very first trip together, after we had saved up for months.

We had taken so many photos that day, but this was the only one Madelyn had liked.

Julian frowned, picking up the frame and walking over to her.

Madelyn glanced at it casually. "Oh, that's just a photo from some old trip. What about it?"

Julian leaned in close, his breath brushing against her ear, his voice dropping low. "I don't like seeing photos of you with him."

"Throw it away, okay?"

Madelyn stared at the photo, showing a rare moment of hesitation before gently pushing him back.

Seeing her hesitate, Julian’s expression soured. "Madelyn, you know Ethan was nothing but a toy to you."

"I am your real fiancé. You are supposed to marry me."

"Our families arranged this years ago."

Madelyn quickly softened her voice to soothe him. "Okay, okay, I know you get jealous easily. It's just a stupid picture. If you want to throw it away, go ahead."

Satisfied, Julian pulled the photo out of the frame and slowly tore it into tiny pieces right in front of us.

I lunged forward, trying to grab the pieces, but my hands swept through nothing but air.

I could only watch as our only memory was shredded into dust.

Just like the love I once had for her.

I had cherished that photo more than anything. Madelyn knew that.

She just didn't care about my feelings. To her, I was just a fool she could manipulate at her whim.

She and Julian were the ones who truly belonged together.

Once the photo was completely destroyed, the playful mood seemed to vanish. Madelyn asked quietly, "What are we doing today?"

Julian took her hand, gently rubbing his thumb over her skin.

"Let's go shopping."

Madelyn hesitated. "Today..."

She unlocked her phone, checking the date.

An alert popped up on her screen—it was the same news report from earlier.

The police were now desperately trying to identify the victim's body.

Madelyn frowned, quickly swiping the notification away and locking her phone.

"Not today..."

Julian cut her off. "Why? Do you have other plans? With Ethan?"

Madelyn remained silent. Her silence was the answer.

Because today was our scheduled appointment to finalize the wedding suit and gown.

I stared at her quiet face, a pathetic spark of hope rising in my chest.

Did she... actually remember?

Julian’s voice broke the silence, cold and demanding. "Madelyn, choose. Me or Ethan?"

"Don't tell me you actually fell for that loser."

Madelyn’s eyes widened, and she immediately denied it. "Are you crazy? How could I ever be serious about Ethan?"

"I don't have any plans today. Let's go."

Once again, when given a choice between me and Julian, she chose Julian.

It wasn't the first time. Ever since Julian returned, she had made this choice countless times.

And no matter how much I begged, she always chose him.

Because she knew I would never truly get mad at her.

She knew how desperately I loved her, which was why she felt she could trample all over my dignity without consequence.

On Madelyn’s last birthday, both Julian and I had prepared celebrations for her.

I had booked the absolute best restaurant I could possibly afford.

She had invited a group of her friends, and after dinner, I drove her and Julian to a club.

On the way there, a truck suddenly lost control and swerved directly into our lane.

My instinct took over instantly. I threw my body over Madelyn in the passenger seat. The impact was deafening, and the entire world spun as our car flipped over.

The driver’s side door was crushed completely, pinning my legs beneath the steering wheel.

But my first thought was still Madelyn’s safety.

When I blinked through the smoke, my heart shattered.

Madelyn had a small cut on her forehead, but otherwise, she was completely fine.

Because I had shielded her with my own body.

But she was already dragging a semi-conscious Julian out of the backseat, walking toward the crowd gathering on the street. She never once looked back at me.

Shard of glass dug deep into my legs, the agonizing pain keeping me brutally conscious.

I croaked her name, begging for help, but she kept walking.

Only when the ambulance arrived did she finally mention to the paramedics that someone was still trapped in the front seat.

I was rushed into emergency surgery. Julian, having received immediate attention, was completely fine.

But my leg was permanently damaged from being pinned under the wreckage for too long.

During my entire hospital stay, Madelyn only visited me once.

She looked at my bandaged leg, a flicker of guilt and disgust crossing her eyes. "About that night... I panicked and forgot you were still in the car. It wasn't on purpose."

I had stared at her quietly, feeling something die inside me.

But I still forced a smile. "It's fine. I know."

I loved her so much that I chose to ignore the obvious truth: her heart had already left me.