Chapter 3

3

I cleaned up the mess and took the ruined scarf with me.

I threw it into a trash can down the street.

A few minutes later, my phone buzzed with a video call.

It was Macy.

I wiped the sweat from my forehead and ducked into a dark alley before answering.

"Silas, I'm so sad you couldn't be here for my birthday. I miss you so much."

On the screen, Macy's face was flushed and glowing.

Her hair was draped over her neck to hide the hickeys Miles left behind.

Hearing her sweet, fake voice made my stomach churn.

I almost vomited right there.

"Wait, you look pale. Are you feeling okay, honey?"

She noticed my stiff expression and frowned.

I forced a fake smile and nodded.

"I've just been working too many late shifts. I'm exhausted."

Macy's eyes immediately filled with fake concern.

"Oh no! I told you to take care of yourself. That job isn't worth it!"

"If you get sick, I'll be heartbroken. My poor baby."

I used to love hearing her say these things.

Once, when I had a small cold, she flew back immediately to take care of me.

She even cooked soup for me with her own hands.

She stayed by my bed and fed me spoonful by spoonful.

I thought I was the luckiest man in the world back then.

Now, thinking about what I saw in her apartment, I couldn't even smile.

She wasn't worried about me.

She was worried her spare part for Miles might get damaged.

She had spent years taking me for checkups and buying me expensive vitamins.

Now I knew why.

She wasn't a loving girlfriend.

She was a farmer raising a lab rat.