Chapter 3

Once everything was packed, I decided that before I left, I'd go to the hospital and say goodbye to Lloyd Raynor, Diane's father, in person.

Marrying Diane had always been the thing he most wanted for me, and after he fell ill, he'd come to depend on me more with each passing month. I'd long since come to think of him as my own father.

I was just about to knock on his hospital room door when a familiar voice from inside stopped me cold.

"You're a fantastic actor. Even faking an illness, you make it look completely real.

"Brad still has no idea. Every time you had a flare-up, it was always right before one of his big competitions, just to get him out of the way so Andrew had a shot at winning."

Lloyd's voice carried a laugh.

"Brad is a fool, indeed. I don't know who in your family he takes after. I only ever mentioned once that I'd like to see him marry Diane, and after that he started treating me like his future father-in-law.

"My illness cleared up ages ago, honestly, but faking it a little longer gave Andrew and Diane more chances to be alone together, so it was worth it."

I stood frozen, and my gaze followed his voice to the corner of the room.

Diane and Andrew were wrapped around each other, kissing.

The next second, my ears rang and the world spun. My knees buckled, and I pitched forward without meaning to, slamming the door open as I fell.

The voices inside cut off instantly.

Before I could even find my footing, a huge force yanked me backward out of the room.

The old scar on my lower back caught the edge of the doorknob hard, and blood poured out. My vision went dark at the edges.

By the time I came to, Michael's furious, magnified face filled my view.

"Brad! How long are you going to keep this up? If you hadn't guilt-tripped Diane into being with you in the first place, do you think she and Andrew would've had to sneak around this whole time?

"Since you've already seen it, we're not hiding it anymore. Andrew and Diane have been together behind your back for a long time now.

"They're the real thing. If you have any self-awareness left, you'll stop clinging to Diane."

He looked furious, righteous even, as if I were the one who'd done something wrong.

I opened my mouth and took a step forward, and Dad rushed over in a panic and grabbed my arm.

"If you have a problem, take it out on us. Don't go after Andrew.

"You've always had a habit of taking what belongs to other people. It's not such a big deal if someone takes something back from you for once.

"Besides, Diane wants this. She's happier with Andrew."

Even Lloyd sighed and spoke, his tone pleading.

"Brad, can you please just let Diane go?"

I turned my head mechanically toward Diane and met her bloodless face.

Her eyes were full of panic. She took a step toward me like she meant to explain something.

Beside her, Andrew suddenly clutched his chest and let out a pained groan.

Diane's attention snapped to him instantly, and she spun around to steady him.

The people in front of me closed ranks and blocked my path, every one of them united, giving me no room to argue.

For a long moment, I summoned every last bit of strength and finally, hoarse and barely audible, I forced one blurred syllable out through my clenched teeth.

"... Fine."

The second the word left me, Diane's head snapped up.

I didn't look at her again. I turned and stumbled away.

Dead silence followed behind me, then chaos broke out all at once.

I heard Diane cry something out in shock, only to be pulled back by a flurry of hands.

"Leave him be! He can't even talk anymore. He's no threat to Andrew. He can't tell anyone anything even if he wanted to."

"Diane, calm down! Can't you see Andrew isn't feeling well?"

By the time I stepped out through the hospital's front doors, my phone was buzzing nonstop in my pocket. Michael's messages kept popping up one after another.

Michael: [You should really let it go. We've all seen how Diane feels about Andrew.]

Michael: [She's never once come to one of your competitions in all these years, but she's never missed a single one of his.]

Michael: [Every time she orders those dishes when she's treating people, it's not because she forgot you're allergic. It's because Andrew likes them and she wants him happy.]

Michael: [And that watch she gave you, the reason it was a size too big is because it used to be Andrew's, and he didn't want it anymore.]

Michael: [We only kept the truth from you because we were scared you'd hurt Andrew. We never meant for you to end up hurt.]

I stared at line after line of it, and it suddenly felt like even the air in this city had gone thick with something sickly sweet and metallic.

Whatever hope I'd had left drained out of me completely.

I took a deep breath and headed straight for the airport, without a shred of longing left behind me.