Chapter 1
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On the day I was supposed to marry Rachel Quinn, the beautiful rich girl, she abandoned my mother, Susan Sullivan, and me on a remote road to meet up with her childhood sweetheart.
Susan suffered a sudden heart attack from the shock. I called Rachel, sobbing, begging her to come back and help save my
mom.
She coldly dismissed me. “Here we go again. Every time I leave, your mom fakes a heart problem. Your family really knows how to put on a show.”
Because of her delay, we missed the crucial window for treatment, and Susan passed away.
That night, one of our mutual friends posted a picture on Instagram with the caption: [Nothing beats childhood sweethearts!]
The photo showed Rachel perched on her childhood sweetheart’s lap, his hand restine intimately on her waist. The
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With a blank expression, I liked the post and commented: [So this was why you have got to run?]
My friend mockingly replied: [It was just a round of Truth or Dare. Why so serious?]
Rachel seemed indifferent.
But when I left without a word, she completely lost it.
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[Rachel, let’s break up.]
After packing up my mom Susan’s belongings, I sent Rachel this message, my face expressionless.
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Rachel thought I was just throwing a fit. She immediately posted screenshots of our chat on Instagram, saying: [Jeez, wonder where he learned to be such a drama queen.]
Rachel’s friends, always eager for drama, chimed in with
comments.
[Like mother, like son. Probably learned it from that hick mom of his.]
[He’s just a simp who thinks he’s hot stuff.]
[Rachel, don’t forgive him so easily this time. Show him who the boss is in this relationship!]
Rachel replied with a smile: [Of course.]
I smashed my fist into the picture frame. Blood seeped through my fingers as the photo of Rachel and me shattered.
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Chapter 1
For six long years, I’d stood by Rachel’s side, catering to her every whim, cherishing her with all my heart.
She was a rich man’s daughter, and I came from an average family. The designer bags she loved took me months to save up for.
But I didn’t mind. Just seeing her smile made it all worthwhile. I’d work three jobs a day without complaint, even if it meant my hands were calloused and bleeding.
She was my whole world. When the flu hit and pharmacies were out of meds, I braved a raging fever just to get some to her door. She was that fragile.
And how did Rachel repay me? She blew through the money I’d worked so hard to earn. Worse still, she’d been secretly investing in her childhood friend Nathan’s business ventures behind my
back.
Susan, taking Rachel’s words to heart, emptied our family’s savings. She said we couldn’t let Rachel down and had to give Aer a fancy wedding.
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In the end, on the day we were supposed to get our marriage license, Rachel received a call from Nathan while we were on the road. Without hesitation, she abandoned Susan and me on a deserted highway.
I desperately reached for her wrist. “We’re not even married yet…”
She jerked her hand away and started the car. “Nathan just got back to the country. Starting a business isn’t easy. He needs me. Don’t worry, honey. I’ll be right back.”
With tears in my eyes, I shouted, “Rachel, if you leave now, wedding is off!”
this
Rachel fixed me with a confident stare. “You can’t live without me, Ryan Sullivan.”
Her words rooted me to the spot.
Susah, witnessing Rachel abandon us for another man,
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from the shock, clutching her chest in pain.
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There was no one in sight. I frantically dialed Rachel’s number, desperate for her to come back and help Susan.
Rachel coldly dismissed my plea, hanging up with a scathing remark, “Here we go again. Every time I leave, your mom fakes a heart problem. Your family really knows how to put on a show.”
As I watched the life slowly drain from Susan, I couldn’t hold back the tears, overwhelmed by despair.
When Rachel and I first got together, Susan had offered me all her savings. “Ryan,” she’d said, “it’s been just the two of us for so long. I know my heart’s been holding you back. But I want to help you one last time.”
Now she lay in my arms, her breath shallow, her face deathly pale. “Ryan,” she whispered, “I wanted to see how handsome you’d look in your wedding suit…”
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But she would never get that chance.
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In the end, all that was left of poor Susan was a small pile of
ashes.
Susan never liked crowds, so I kept the funeral small. Some friends came by to say goodbye, but I moved all the flowers outside.
I sat in the bedroom, clutching Susan’s urn and sobbing uncontrollably. Bottle after bottle of liquor was emptied as their cruel laughter filtered through the door.
Seriously, what’s the deal with him, Rachel? Is he trying to open a flower shop with all those lilies?
He’s pathetic, just like his mother. What a loser.
Leaving lilies is like wishing Rachel an early death. Come on, Rachel, it was just a game of Truth or Dare with Nathan. Is he leally that petty? Talk about a man who can’t take a joke.
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I’d heard these insults countless times, and each time, Rachel remained silent, never defending me.
She had promised me that this place was our secret hideout where no one else was allowed. Just the two of us.
But now, she had broken our promise. She even brought her group of fair–weather friends into our home, with Nathan by her
side.
To her, Nathan was the one who got away, her idealized first
love.
Ever since he returned to the country, Rachel’s eyes had been constantly drawn to him.
When I was starting my business, I asked Rachel to spot me
a few thousand dollars to get things rolling. I didn’t want to always be in her shadow. I wanted to be able to take care of the woman I loved.
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But then she turned around and threw a lavish birthday bash for Nathan.
When I expressed my hurt, she simply said, “Nathan’s my childhood friend. Don’t be silly. He won’t come between us.”
Was that true? Later, a single phone call from Nathan was enough to make her rush out, leaving me to stay up all night, sick with worry.
Her excuse was that work at the company was too busy.
But I knew the truth. It wasn’t that she was too busy. It was that her heart was no longer with me.
So even if Susan had a heart attack, she’d think we were just faking it.
Rachel’s eyes
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“What game are you trying to play now?”
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Nathan took a step back, looking me up and down. “Ryan? What’s gotten into you, man? Even if you got the wrong idea about me and Rachel, that’s no excuse to let yourself go like
this.”
His words drew the attention of Rachel’s group of friends, their gazes settling on me.
Susan’s passing had left me sleepless for days, dark circles prominent under my eyes.
Their judgmental stares cut deep. One of them sneered, “Wow, Ryan, you’re really pulling out all the stops to win Rachel back, huh?”
Another chimed in, “Let me guess, Rachel mentioned she’d be here. So you showed up looking all heartbroken, hoping she’d fall for your pity party?”
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I bet Rachel had no clue I blocked her ages ago. Not a single one of her messages had gotten through.
All those nights she was out partying with her friends, carelessly plastering her drunk selfies all over Instagram, I was at home, clutching Susan’s ashes, crying like a child.
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