Chapter 3

3 At the next table, Gavin was still playing the hero.

"A real man shouldn't spend his whole life circling around a woman," he said smugly.

"That's the problem with these trust-fund babies. They have no ambition."

Liora didn't say a word to defend me. She just kept eating.

I felt my heart bleeding, but I sent her one last text.

"The lab is important, but you need to eat. Come meet me for dinner."

Liora must have felt like I was interrupting her date. She snapped back instantly.

"Are you mentally ill? I told you, I don't have time to eat!"

I couldn't hold it back anymore.

"You don't have time for our anniversary, but you have time for Gavin?"

Liora realized something was wrong.

She stood up and walked around the screen, finding me standing there.

Even though I had caught her red-handed, she didn't look guilty.

Instead, she narrowed her eyes. "Lucas, are you stalking me?"

The pain in my chest was unbearable. I showed her my phone with the GPS pin I had sent her.

"I booked this place weeks ago. If you had bothered to look at my messages, you wouldn't have brought him here."

Chloe looked down at the floor, too embarrassed to speak.

Gavin stood up and stepped in front of Liora.

"Lucas, don't be like this. I was the one who asked her out."

"If you're angry, take it out on me. Don't harass a girl."

I looked at him with pure disgust. "Gavin, stop acting. Where was this protective energy when her parents died?"

Gavin's face twisted in anger.

Liora grabbed his arm, pulling him behind her as if she were protecting him from me.

"That's in the past! Why do you keep bringing it up?"

"Yes, Gavin and I broke up, but that doesn't mean we have to be enemies. It's just a dinner. What's the big deal?"

My anger finally boiled over.

I pointed at Gavin and shouted, "You forgot how he abandoned you? Are you really that desperate to get back with a man who threw you away?"

"Fine! If that's what you want, just say the word and I'll leave!"

Suddenly, a sharp slap echoed through the restaurant. Liora had hit me.

She looked at me with pure rage.

"Lucas, your mind is filthy. Don't project your insecurities onto us!"

"If anyone is leaving, it's you!"

My cheek burned, but the pain in my heart was much worse.

I looked at her, nodding slowly. "Fine. I get it. I'm leaving. Enjoy your dinner."

I went home and locked myself in my bedroom. I stared at the red silk ribbon on my wrist.

We had tied these at the Chapel of Vows a few months ago. I wanted our relationship to be blessed.

Liora hadn't been interested at all. She said she didn't believe in fairy tales.

But I had insisted. I told her the priest promised the silk would keep us together forever.

She had just rolled her eyes and called it ugly.

Our entire relationship had been like this. Every mood swing of hers was a hurricane in my world.

I opened our chat, wanting to text her, but I forced myself to stop. I needed to have some dignity.

I fell into a deep, exhausted sleep.

In the middle of the night, my phone buzzed. It was a text from Liora.

"Still mad?"

I stared at the screen for a long time. I couldn't believe it.

Liora never reached out first. She was the Ice Queen. I was always the one begging for her attention.

She had strict rules for me. No texting during class, no texting during labs, no texting after her bedtime.

But for her, the rules didn't apply.

When I didn't answer, she sent another one: "Are you asleep?"

I waited before replying: "What do you want?"

She sent a voice note, her tone unusually soft.

"I was wrong today. I booked a table for us tomorrow. Let's have dinner, okay?"

Usually, after a fight, she would give me the silent treatment until I crawled back to her.

This was the first time she had ever apologized. My heart softened, despite everything.