Chapter 3

3.

Just then, the front door swung open. Sadie stormed in, fuming with rage.

“Sawyer! What is wrong with you? Why did you make the wedding planner send me the bill?!”

Fighting back the dizziness, I kept my tone deadpan. “It was my money, and I booked the venue.”

“Since I canceled, they naturally have to refund me.”

“Canceled? Who gave you the right to cancel?!”

“If you cancel it, what are Parker and I supposed to use?!”

I didn’t say a word. I just stared at her silently.

Under my piercing gaze, her fiery momentum began to wither.

“Fine, I’ll pay for it,” she mumbled. “Look, Parker and I are just going through the motions.”

“I was going to talk to you about it today, but I didn’t expect you to find out beforehand.”

“You have to believe me, it’s just a ceremony, nothing real.”

“His mom has terminal cancer and her final wish is to see him get married.”

I lowered my eyes, hiding the cold sarcasm burning inside.

If I hadn’t discovered those items, I might have actually believed her.

After all, we had spent so many years together, why would she lie to me?

Yet she did.

“Let’s break up.”

She was about to snap at me again when her eyes fell on the open medicine box. Her face drained of color in an instant.

She snatched the box away, seeing the unpacked items exposed on the counter, panic flaring in her eyes.

“Th-these belong to my best friend! I hid them here because I was afraid you’d see them!”

I gave a vague nod. The throbbing dizziness in my skull left me with no energy to tear down her pathetic lies.

What kind of friend hides used intimacy toys in another person’s home?

Eight years together meant I knew every subtle twitch of her face and every nervous habit.

Whenever she lied, her eyes darted away and her fingers twisted together.

Right now, she was putting on a textbook performance.

“Just give me the fever medicine,” I murmured, leaning against the wall for support. “I feel awful.”

Sadie finally noticed my pale, ghastly face and soaking wet clothes, her brows knitting together.

“What happened to you? Why are you completely drenched?”

Before she could finish, her phone rang.

She picked it up, her tone instantly melting into pure tenderness.

“What? You caught a cold? Okay, hold on, I’m coming right over to make you some ginger soup.”

She hung up and turned around in a hurry, clutching the box of fever medication tightly as if afraid I might snatch it.

“Order some takeout medicine yourself. I need this box.”

My head was pounding, but I still tried to speak calmly. “Just give me two pills. My fever is really high.”

She clicked her tongue in annoyance. “You’re a grown man! Do you really need me to babysit you over a tiny fever?”

“Order some food and take a nap, okay?”

“I have to go. Parker is waiting for me.”

Watching her rush out the door, a crushing sense of powerlessness washed over me.

Eight years of devotion couldn’t even compare to a guy she had known for three months.

Just last month, she had sworn to me that Parker was nothing more than an assistant.

I dragged my heavy body across the floor, managed to order some medication online, and collapsed into a feverish sleep.