Chapter 4

“Do you want me to act like a shrew—screaming hysterically? Or rush over and slap her a few times?”

He frowned deeply and let out a helpless sigh.

He took out an exquisite velvet box, his tone apologetic. “Lyra, I told you—she is just someone I am playing around with.”

He opened the box, revealing a dazzling diamond ring inside. “The wedding preparations are already underway. Once we get married, I will cut her off completely.”

So he could see it after all— that I loved him, that I wanted to marry him.

But such meaningless attempts at holding on were useless now.

I did not stop. I lifted my foot and walked straight past Kael.

Behind me came the man’s unmistakably angry warning. “Lyra, this is your own choice.”

That very night, Kael treated the entire company to dinner and proposed to in public.

At the table were all Elara’s favorite dishes.

Elara blinked her bright, starry eyes and leaned against Kael’s shoulder, her face full of bliss.

Everyone else took photos and posted them to their social feeds, the captions filled with congratulations for this so-called golden couple.

The spiciness made my stomach ache. I rose apologetically, about to leave.

But Elara swayed her wineglass and blocked my path. “Miss Veyran, are you not going to toast me? Or do you harbor resentment towards me?”

She hooked an arm around Kael’s neck and acted coquettish.

Kael lifted his gaze, a half-smile playing on his lips. “Miss Veyran, do us the honor of a drink.”

The tone left no room for refusal.

Just last week, my gastritis had flared up again. It was Kael who took me to the hospital and stayed by my side for three days without leaving.

The doctor had specifically warned me to avoid spicy, irritating food for a month. And with the abortion I had just undergone yesterday, my body could not possibly handle this glass of alcohol.

I smiled faintly and kept walking.

Kael sprang up quickly, interlacing his fingers with Elara’s to block the doorway.

He filled a tall wineglass to the brim and forcefully pressed it into my hand.

“Today is a good day for Elara and me. How could you not drink a glass, Miss Veyran?”

As the standoff dragged on, someone let out a soft cry. “It is snowing.”

White snow filled the sky, just like the day Kael confessed to me.

He had said that as long as he was there, no one would ever be allowed to bully me again.

Yet in the end, it was only him, relying on my wholehearted love, to hurt me without restraint.

I took it and drained the full glass of wine. The sharp burn brought tears streaming down my face. The alcohol scorched my throat and I coughed in misery.

Elara nodded in satisfaction and pulled Kael toward the floor-to-ceiling window, acting sweetly.

In the thick night outside, countless drones had gathered at some point, releasing a romantic rain of rose petals.

Red and white intertwined as the drones formed glowing words in the sky:

“Kael and Elara, together till old age.”

I hoarsely read the sentence aloud, then burst into laughter and hurried away.

Behind me came hurried footsteps, Kael calling my name again and again—but then it stopped abruptly.

Before the taxi arrived, I still softened and turned back for one last look.

In the rain of rose petals, Kael kissed Elara passionately.

What was I even hoping for?

Sitting in the taxi, I watched the scenery outside the window blur and change.

Every first-snow night in the past, Kael would always pick a sentimental romance film. Crying my eyes out, he would pull me into his arms and promise he would never let go of my hand.

But this year, Kael broke his word.

Tears welled up and spilled over. I tried to dab them away, but the tissues quickly became soaked.

My phone chimed. A message from Kael popped up.

I ignored it, shut the phone off and boarded the plane without looking back.

“Kael, I will not give you another chance to ever find me again.”