Chapter 2

02

Ten years represented the entirety of my youth.

We met back in high school, fiercely competing for the top rank in every advanced placement class.

Through endless academic battles and late-night study sessions, our rivalry bloomed into a deep, unshakable bond that carried us to the same university.

Standing shoulder-to-shoulder through every challenge made me believe she was not just my intellectual match, but the love of my life.

Then came the freak explosion in the chemistry lab, tearing my picture-perfect world to shreds.

Alarms wailed across the campus as black smoke poured from the shattered windows.

Ignoring the panicked crowd and the security guards holding people back, I threw myself into the blaze.

I had only one single thought in my mind: keep her safe.

Because I reached her in time, Fiona escaped with barely a scratch.

The falling debris and raging flames, however, permanently scarred the left side of my face and neck.

“Gavin... you did this for me...” she had sobbed in the hospital room, holding my bandaged hands.

“Let us get engaged. Promise you will be my hero for the rest of our lives.”

“I promise,” I had whispered back, my heart full despite the agonizing physical pain.

She had even pulled out her phone to record our vows, swearing she would love me forever.

In that fleeting moment, I genuinely believed I was the luckiest man alive.

How foolish I was.

The cheap drugstore concealer she sent, the disgust she could barely hide whenever she looked at my face, and the cold indifference she showed me daily all pointed to one undeniable truth.

I was nothing more than a joke.

Her promise of “forever” had barely survived two years before running straight into the ground.