Chapter 3

3. I dialed the private number the receptionist gave me. Rhodes answered, his voice cold and distant.

"What do you want?"

"It's me. Rhodes, did you take the money from our joint account?"

He sounded bored. "Yeah. Lila is entering a major competition. She needed the entry fees and materials."

I felt a surge of rage. "But that was my money! My savings!"

"You're the reason she missed the last competition!" he barked, his voice vibrating in my ear.

In the background, I heard Lila's soft whimpering. "Rhodes, if Shae is upset, I don't have to go..."

I let out a shaky breath. "Even now, you don't believe me? Rhodes, if I told you that without that money, I might not survive, would you give it back?"

"No," he said flatly.

"You faked your mother's illness to get a wedding, and now you're faking your own death? You're truly sick, Shae."

The line went dead. My face was as white as a sheet.

Ever since everything fell apart, I had lost the will to keep going.

After three days of not eating and staring at the walls, I realized my condition was spiraling out of control.

Then, my phone rang.

It was Finn Jasper.

Finn was my childhood best friend before his family moved to London.

We used to talk every day, but Rhodes had been so jealous that Finn backed away to give me space.

I had told him I was dating Rhodes, but I hadn't told him we were over.

"Finn... my mom... she's gone..."

There was a long silence on the other end. Then, a soft, comforting voice. "I'm coming home, Shae. Hang on. I'm coming to take care of you."

My vision blurred. I hung up and finally let out the screams I'd been holding back.

Finn told me that if my mom were still here, she wouldn't want to see me like this.

A few days later, Finn arrived. When he saw me, he looked like he'd been punched. "Shae, what happened to you? You're skin and bones."

The dam broke. "Finn, I just want to be with my mom..."

At the hospital, Finn stayed by my side as I saw the psychiatrist and got my prescriptions.

I followed him like a lost child.

Finn reached out and ruffled my hair, just like he did when we were kids.

"It's my fault, Shae. I shouldn't have left you. I told you back in grade school I was the boss and I'd protect you. I failed."

Suddenly, a familiar shadow fell over us.

Rhodes was standing there, his eyes burning as he stared at Finn's hand on my head.

"Shae Lennox, what is this?"

His tone was accusatory, his handsome face twisted with anger.

Then his eyes dropped to the orange pill bottles in my hand. He looked shocked for a second.

But the shock quickly turned back into a sneer. "Another act? Is he the audience for your little drama this time?"

Finn started to step forward, his jaw tight.

I grabbed his arm. "Let's just go."

As we walked away, I heard Lila's voice from the end of the hall. "Rhodes, why are we in the psych ward?"

Finn was worried about me, but he didn't realize that when someone really wants to leave this world, you can't stop them.

That night, I told him to go home and get some rest.

Once the house was silent, the crushing weight of my mother's death returned.

I curled into a ball, whispering to the empty air.

"I'm so tired... Mom... I miss you so much..."

"I'm coming to find you."

My hands shook as I picked up the small blade. I laughed at how it had come to this.

I made the choice. The warmth that followed didn't even hurt.

I lay on my bed, clutching a photo of my mother. Everything started to fade.

The front door crashed open.

In my final moments of consciousness, I saw Finn's panicked face and my mother's sad eyes in a dream.

I also saw Rhodes's cold glare and Lila's smug smile.

When did living become such a chore?

I thought about the brooch I had designed―the one made of pure love. Rhodes would never know the secret hidden in its backing.

To him, I would always be the villain.

"Shae! Open the door! Shae!"

The noise was deafening. Finn's voice was breaking.

The bedroom door was kicked in. Finn ran to the bed, his voice trembling. "Shae, don't do this. Please, talk to me. Don't be so stupid..."

I saw him dialing emergency services through my tears.

Behind him, another figure stood frozen.

Rhodes looked paler than I had ever seen him. Unlike Finn's raw grief, he looked like he was seeing a ghost.

"How... how did this happen?"

His voice died in his throat when he saw the photo album in my arms. He seemed to realize something as he sank to his knees by the bed.

"Shae! Shae, look at me!"