Chapter 1

My girlfriend Rachel was sick and hospitalized. When I arrived with the soup I'd made, I overheard her conversation with her friends:

"Connor's back. Time to dump that substitute you've been keeping around for three years, don’t you think?" Vivian’s voice was teasing.

"After you two break up, let me have a shot at him. I've never dated that type of guy before," Madison said with a laugh.

Rachel's cold voice drifted out from the hospital room:

"Do whatever you want. He's easy to get anyway."

I stood outside the door, clutching the thermos, my fingers tightening bit by bit.

That night, I discovered her secret Instagram account, filled with years of pining for her first love.

No arguments, no confrontations. I calmly booked a flight to Paris.

On our three-year anniversary, Rachel fell down the stairs at her office and sprained her ankle.

When she called, I rushed to the hospital. She explained she'd been hurrying to the restaurant, worried about keeping me waiting, and accidentally missed a step.

I took several days off work to stay by her bedside and take care of her.

On the day of her discharge, her friends came to visit, so I felt comfortable heading home to make soup.

The thermos in my arms held freshly made chicken soup. I planned my return to the hospital so that I would arrive at just the right time.

The hospital room door was slightly ajar. As I approached, I heard voices inside.

Rachel's friend Vivian was patting her shoulder, barely suppressing a grin.

"You don't need to be that happy that Conno'rs back, do you? Rushing to pick him up from the airport and falling down the stairs."

Hearing the name Connor made my heart skip a beat.

He was part of her close circle of friends from college—two girls and one guy, all very close.

Connor Hayes had been Rachel's first love. They'd dated for two years in college before he went abroad.

Even after their breakup, they were still considered the perfect couple by their circle. I'd occasionally hear the two girls tease Rachel about him.

To them, if Connor hadn't left, I would never have had a chance with Rachel.

She used to argue against it every time.

But this time, perhaps because I wasn't there, Rachel remained silent.

Madison was still joking around:

"Your unforgettable guy is back. When are you dumping the substitute boyfriend?"

"After you break up, can I go after him? I've never dated a guy like that before."

Rachel finally looked up, frowning slightly as she swatted at her.

"Connor hasn't made his intentions clear yet. Why the rush?"

"Besides, I'm not fully recovered yet. I still need him to take care of me when I get home."

My ears were ringing, as if something was muffling my hearing. After the shock came a numb sense of disorientation.

Madison seemed unbothered. She casually peeled one of the oranges I'd bought.

"He looks pretty clean-cut, but you're always telling me how proactive he is in intimate situations."

"I'm really curious about that contrast."

I stood there holding the warm thermos in the heated hallway, but my whole body felt like it had fallen into an ice cave.

I'd never imagined that my girlfriend of three years would talk about me like this behind my back.

Rachel's voice came through the door, so cold it had no warmth at all:

"Go ahead and pursue him if you want. He' starved for affection anyway—easy to get."

"I just sweet-talked him a bit back then, and we ended up sleeping together."

I caught my breath. The pain in my chest was excruciating.

I heard the two women in the hospital room laugh quietly, and I instantly felt sick enough to vomit.

I covered my mouth and rushed to the bathroom, dry heaving.

So my girlfriend of three years had only seen me as a substitute for her first love.

I'd thought she just didn't love me as much as I loved her. I never imagined she actually despised me.

Not only did she not love me—she didn't even see me as a person.

To her, I was apparently no different from trash on the street.

The illusion shattered. I could barely fathom that the person I'd wanted to spend my life with was so deeply vile.

Looking back now, I realized that Rachel's friends could openly joke about her and other men right in front of me because they had no respect for me at all.

When they came over to our place, they always ordered me around like a servant.

And the fact that my girlfriend's friends didn't respect me fundamentally came from her permission and encouragement.

The gentleness she showed me was just an act.

I threw the chicken soup I'd spent two hours making into the trash.

The thought of breaking up had never been clearer than in this moment.

When I walked into the hospital room, I'd mostly stabilized my emotions.

Seeing me return empty-handed, Rachel's expression immediately changed, her face full of displeasure:

"Didn't you say you were going home to make me soup? Why did you come back empty-handed?"

Madison chimed in from the side.

"Yeah, Adrian, Rachel was just telling me how thoughtful you are."

Madison's expression was like she was watching a show, and she added meaningfully:

"Adrian, you might not even get the chance to make soup for Rachel anymore."

I instinctively looked at Rachel, only to find she had no intention of stopping Madison.

Probably because Connor was back and she wanted to dump me immediately, Rachel wasn't even pretending anymore. Or maybe she wanted to give my "rebellion" a little "punishment."