Chapter 2

The next seven days were a special kind of hell. I holed up in the empty apartment we were supposed to share, the one filled with half-unpacked boxes of her art books and my old gaming trophies.

Peace was impossible. My phone was a window into my own torture. Nicole and Ryan were in Aspen. A trip I had saved for two years to take her on for our honeymoon.

Their social media was a flood of perfect moments. Them laughing on a ski lift. Them clinking champagne glasses in a hot tub, the snow-covered mountains in the background. Her captions were full of phrases like "second chances" and "true love always finds a way."

Then the private messages from Ryan started.

A picture of them kissing, with the caption: "This is what real passion looks like. Thanks for taking such good care of her for me."

Another one of her sleeping in his arms: "She never looked this peaceful with you, did she?"

I blocked his number, but the damage was done. Andrew, my best friend, came over. He saw the state of the apartment, the state of me.

"Just say the word, man," he said, his fists clenched. "I'll fly to Aspen and break his other leg. The one that isn't attached to his lying mouth."

"It's not worth it," I said, my voice hollow. "It's already over."

He didn't know about the pact. He just knew I'd sacrificed my career for a woman who threw me away like trash. He saw the betrayal, but he couldn't see the death sentence.

The final blow came on the fifth day. A live-streamed news segment from some charity gala in Aspen. And there they were.

Nicole, stunning in a silver dress, took the microphone on stage.

"Some of you know my story," she said, her voice trembling with emotion. "You know the man beside me, Ryan Clark, is fighting a brave battle. And I've realized that life is too short to not be with the one you truly love."

She turned to him, getting down on one knee. The crowd gasped.

"Ryan Clark," she said, holding up a diamond ring, "will you marry me?"

Ryan, the master actor, wiped away a tear. "Yes," he choked out. "A thousand times, yes."

The crowd erupted in applause. The camera zoomed in on their passionate kiss.

I turned off the TV. It all clicked into place. All my sacrifices, the quiet devotion, the steady support-it meant nothing. She didn't want a partner. She wanted a grand romantic gesture. She wanted the drama, the public spectacle.

She just didn't want it with me.