Chapter 5

There wasn't anything left for me to bring along. The only love I ever had was completely used up by that point.

I thought Elena wouldn't take things this far. I thought it really was just some fling, and once she got it out of her system, her heart would finally return to me.

It didn't.

I sat slumped in the back seat, feeling nothing but exhaustion. I bought a place near the ocean a while back, so I figured I'd stay there for a while. I barely had a few quiet days to myself when Zach came to me with shocking news.

Jasper had faked his own death.

The whole thing had been a setup he orchestrated against me, meant to drum up publicity and pressure me into stepping aside so he could take my place for good. What he hadn't counted on was me walking away on my own first.

According to Zach, Elena already knew Jasper had faked his death but still hadn't found him. She abandoned her work and threw herself into the search, tearing the city apart to find him. When they finally tracked him down in some corner of the city, he was still speaking to her in a wheedling voice.

"I knew you loved me, Elena. Don't be mad at me, okay? I just didn't feel secure enough. I wanted to test how you really felt about me."

Elena just frowned a little. She didn't scold him at all. Instead, she comforted him.

"You know you're the one I love most. How could I ever be mad at you?"

It was almost funny, comparing that to how quickly I'd been forgotten when I disappeared. But the funniest part of all was that promise of "forever" she once made me.

Zach kept trying to talk me into staying hopeful.

"Owen, honestly, I still think Elena has feelings for you somewhere in there. Maybe once she finds out Jasper lied to her, she'll come to her senses."

Three years of marriage was a lot to walk away from, and no matter how you looked at it, I was the one losing out by cutting ties.

But here was reality. Paparazzi had caught plenty of intimate photos of the two of them. It was never officially announced, but everyone understood exactly what was going on. Anyone who didn't know the truth probably thought I was the villain, some minor supporting character trying to steal the leading man's spot.

Love could change in a single instant. Once I knew I was done loving her, there wasn't any point in chasing after what we used to have.

She had wanted to force a confession out of me before she even knew the truth. Was I really nothing more than some seasoning in their little love story?

I was a person too. I had my own dignity and self-respect. Going back just to keep playing a supporting role in their on-and-off-again romance, being nothing but a stepping stone for the two of them? That wasn't something I was interested in.

[I already signed the divorce papers.]

When I saw that message from Elena, I actually felt relieved. It meant we were finally done, clean and complete. There was no reason left for me to stay.

I told Zach I was moving abroad and rebuilding my career there. I planned on leaving him a good amount of money instead of dragging him along with me, since I had no idea how things would turn out. But no matter what I said, he insisted on staying by my side. I never expected that in the end, he'd be the only person left beside me.

My phone's lock screen was still a photo of me and Elena, taken back when we first got together. Some people say love is forever. I always knew that was just a lie people told each other while they were still in love.

My parents used to love each other deeply. For as long as I could remember, they had the kind of relationship everyone envied. I used to imagine having something like that for myself one day.

But at some point, my dad stopped coming home, and my mom started forgetting to pick me up because she was too busy going on dates. At first, I told myself they were just busy with work.

Until one night… I still remember exactly how frantic my dad looked, wiping lipstick off his collar, and how flustered my mom got trying to hide the hickey on her neck.