chapter Two

Not far from were she was standing, she saw the woman's black lace underwear, intertwined suggestively pired with a blue boxer 

She wouldn't be naive enough to think this was some kind of joke or strip show between a man and a woman. 

The clothes were strewn about so chaotically and intimately that looking at them made her blush, further fueling her imagination of the intense passion that had erupted here. 

The sounds coming from the room was clear now, as it to comfam her worst fear. Each moan, louder than the last, made it impossible for her to pretend she don't understand 

“Liam, Liam…. ah…”the woman's voice, laced with desire, called out sweetly. 

The response was nothing but series of deep heavy breaths 

Ruth's face turned deathly pale, she kept biting her lip hard and her vision blurring as her trembling hands gripped the phone tightly. 

How absurd, she had been waiting for him since 5 pm, anxious and restless,not even drinking just to be ready for him. 

She struggled to move her feet forward, refusing to believe that the man would treat her this way. 

Grabbing onto her sleeve, no Matter how humiliated she felt, Ruth was not one to retreat. Carefully stepping over the scattered clothes on the floor, each step felt like a dagger to her heart, as if she wasn't treading on the floor but on her soul. 

The sounds in the room grew more intense, and she could clearly smell the suffocating stench of lust in the air, making her want to vomit. 

She forced herself to hold back, slowly raising her head. In the center of the room, on a large double bed, a man and woman were entangled. 

Then man's broad, strong back was facing her, obscuring his face, while the woman's face and vivid red lips moved sensuously. Bold and seductive, she arched a brow and met Ruth's gaze. 

The woman wasn't surprised at all. 

Instead, she raised her voice, a smug smile playing on her face, and her eyes filled with mockery. 

The man collapsed like a deflated balloon. 

In that in3, Ruth felt dizzy, her mind going blank as if she were about to suffocate and die. 

That face……. SheShe 

knew it all too well, she had seen it since she Was in high school, for over five years, she would recognize it even if it turns to ashes. 

Chloe Miller! Her sister ! 

It's really her! She didn't misheard! 

Ruth fought back the tears, threatening to spill from her eyes. 

She trembled uncontrollably, she used all her strength to grip the phone, as if it's was the only thing keeping her upright, her back straight 

Her phone slipped from her hand, hitting the floor with a soft “thud.”

Liam noticed something and slightly lifted himself, turning his face to the side. 

Ruth realized Liam was about to turn around, and suddenly, she panicked. 

She wanted to run! She didn't want to see that face, didn't want to believe that the man with her best friend was him…. 

But it was too late.. Before she could take a single step that familiar face appeared before her eyes. 

The face was just as stunningly handsome as the first time she had seen it. 

But now, that face filled her with dread. 

His sweet soaked bangs clung to his forehead, his eyes still hazy with the remnants of passion. 

When his eyes met Ruth's, his brows furrowed slightly as if in pain. He rubbed his forehead, looking at the woman beneath him with confusion 8n his eyes. 

Ruth's couldn't stay a moment longer.The strength that had been drained from her body suddenly returned. 

She forgot to pick up the phone from the floor and turned to flee as if escaping monstrous beast. 

***

The bustling night scene of the city and the intoxicating music seemed to fade away into nothingness. Ruth's worlds had turned completely blank. 

All she could think about was running away, desperately trying to escape…. escape…. 

Beep beep…. 

Honk honk…. 

“what the fuck are you doing?!”

“Gotta fuck outta here!!”

Car screeched to halt as Ruth recklessly dashed across the street, causing a chorus of angry shouts and the sound of tires skidding. 

But she couldn't hear the outside world appy all and all she could think about was her deceased mother's wishes before she died. 

“Ruth, a man doesn't have to be wealthy;as long as he has a sincere heart that's enough, you must always beware of those men who are beasts in human clothing,. Don't be fooled by their sweet words and handsome appearance….”

After her  mother's death, she has treated her advice as his last will. 

Two years! Liam had pursued her relentlessly for two years. No matter how cold or even cruel she was to him, he seemed unaffected, always meeting her icy demeanor with a warm smile. 

For two years, she had guarded her heart, never wavering. 

The man believed in the adage that sincerity could move even the hardest of hearts, convinced that even if Ruth was as cold as stone, she would eventually warm up him. 

And so, it wasn't until she graduated from university that his sincerity moved her, and she cautiously handed over her heart. 

For someone like her, who was so careful and unwilling to take a leap easily, once she's committed, she did so with all her heart and soul. 

That's why, when she saw her best friend with the man she had sworn to spend a lifetime with tangle in bed, her fragile heart was shattered immediately. 

He had said, “Ruth, you are my moon, and sunshine, the stars that twinkle around my heart and each one represents my ture heart.”

Those words kept playing on her mind, But bearly two months after she had finally offered him her warm, tander heart, he trampled on it, leaving it bloodied and broken. 

“Liar…..liliar…..” she cover her face, tears seeping through her pale fingers. 

“This is your first heartfelt gift to me..

I'll treasure it and keep it close always.” 

“Haha….” Ruth laughed and cried like a mad woman. 

It's all bullshit lies! 

“Ruth, tomorrow, I will give U a gift U will never forget. 

Trust me!”

Indeed, of all the things of the world and of all the things he had said, perhaps only one sentence was true. 

It was definitely a different valentine's day, one she would likely never forget, onr that would be etched into her body and soul forever. 

 “mom….” she collapsed by the fountain, calling out desperately, “ I was wrong… It hurts so much…… So..so…much….”

It was because she hadn't heeded her mother's teachings that she's now experiencing this gut.. Wrenching, soul… CuCursing pain once again.. 

The last time she felt like this was when she lost her mother. 

But this time, the pain  seemed even worse and more unbearable, leaving her gasping for breath, on the verge of suffocating….