Chapter 2

2.

Usually, I would have screamed at him.

Now, I was too exhausted to fight. My heart was cold, like dead ashes.

Why waste words on a piece of trash?

Stellan saw me staring at the earrings and assumed I was satisfied.

He always thought I was easy to appease.

"Nadia's career is peaking right now. She can't have any negative press. You understand, right?"

He reached out to hug me, just like he used to.

Back when we were secretly in love, he loved holding me close.

He used to whisper in my ear, "Piper, holding you makes me feel whole. I want to hold you like this for the rest of our lives."

Back then, his touch filled me with sweetness.

I really believed he loved me.

But this time, when he leaned in, I pushed his arms away.

Stellan frowned. I said softly, "I was stabbed several times. My stomach hurts. A hug isn't a good idea."

A flash of guilt crossed his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by annoyance.

"Fine, fine! Don't be so dramatic. It's just a little wound."

He paused. "Nadia told me to check on you. She feels a bit bad."

"Just stay here and rest. I'll stay the night with you."

As soon as the words left his mouth, his phone buzzed.

He checked the screen, and his expression went through a dozen changes.

Finally, he hung up and looked at me with shifting eyes. "Piper, I'll come back tomorrow."

"Nadia... she's still traumatized by all the blood from the other day."

"She's emotionally unstable. I need to go see her."

He was already backing toward the door before he finished the sentence.

I glanced at him indifferently. "Fine. Go."

I knew Nadia well.

In high school, I had a secret crush on Stellan.

But he only had eyes for the radiant Nadia.

I thought I'd never have a chance, but then Nadia cheated on him.

Stellan had confronted her, screaming in pain, only for her to say coolly:

"If you can't handle it, then let's just break up."

The young, hot-headed Stellan couldn't take the blow. They split up.

Nadia became a thorn in his heart―the person he hated most.

Stellan was depressed for a long time. I stayed by his side, took care of him like a servant.

During that time, he got drunk and mistook me for Nadia. We slept together.

When he woke up, he cried in my arms like a child.

He said he would take responsibility. He said I was the one person he could never betray.

Now, for the woman he claimed to hate, he was betraying the only person he promised to cherish.

He seemed uneasy about my coldness.

But his worry for Nadia won out.

He muttered a quick "I'll definitely be back" and fled the room.

I closed my eyes, tears soaking my pillow silently.

My heart felt like it had a giant hole in it. The cold wind of reality was howling through, making me shiver.