Chapter 2

2.

Kelsey, Brynn, and I had known each other since elementary school.

We went to high school and college together, entered the corporate world side by side, and were the textbook definition of inseparable childhood sweethearts.

Back then, they never called me by my full name.

They used to trail behind me, happily chanting my name with pure adoration.

We joined campus clubs together, sat by the university lake watching the night sky, and traveled across the country during every holiday.

From my tenth birthday to my twenty-sixth, they had never missed a single one.

Every year, they would send me a massive bouquet of 999 red roses.

They always told me those roses symbolized their unwavering, eternal devotion to me.

They once spent a fortune tracking down a signed jersey from my favorite athlete just to see me smile.

They even rented an entire private island once, hosting an extravagant banquet just to give me an unforgettable birthday.

Whenever I casually mentioned craving a specific brand of artisanal chocolate from abroad, they would literally charter a private flight the next morning to buy it for me.

After graduation, Kelsey and Brynn inherited their respective family businesses.

To make sure we would never be separated, they merged the companies and named the new firm after my surname.

Kelsey and Brynn managed internal operations and corporate strategy.

I was terrified that two young women would be taken advantage of by cutthroat industry veterans.

So, I took on all the grueling client acquisitions and outside networking myself.

I couldn't count how many times I drank myself into the ER for stomach pumping, only to discharge myself the next morning and head straight to another business dinner.

Even when security guards kicked me out of corporate lobbies, I swallowed my pride and begged for meetings just to secure contracts.

After three grueling years, the company finally flourished and dominated the market.

We popped champagne and celebrated, truly believing our golden future had arrived.

Then, Ian returned from abroad.

Back in college, I had already noticed that Kelsey and Brynn treated him differently.

They were far more patient with him, and their smiles were always brighter around him.

Back then, a knot of dread would tighten in my chest, and I often asked them if Ian had replaced me in their hearts.

They reassured me over and over, swearing that would never happen.

They swore that the only man they wanted to spend their lives with was me.

Later, when Ian went overseas, Kelsey and Brynn went back to treating me with warmth and care, which finally put my anxious heart at ease.

I never imagined that four years later, he would come back.

The moment Ian returned, Kelsey and Brynn became erratic and cold toward me.

Sometimes, when I merely asked why certain business contracts hadn't been processed, they would explode with rage and storm out of the office.

Only later did I discover that they neglected the company solely to accompany Ian on his luxury shopping trips.

At first, they only chose Ian over me in small, trivial matters.

As their impatience and resentment toward me grew, they stopped hesitating to discard me entirely whenever Ian made a demand.

Just like that bouquet of 999 roses, and the birthday cake that never used to miss a year.

All the love and loyalty they once promised me had been transferred to Ian.

I foolishly believed that if I held on patiently, they would eventually remember all the beautiful years we shared.

I forgot that once people abandon their vows, they never look back.

The love between us had already drowned the moment they left me behind in the ocean depths.