Chapter 2

The next second, a violent force grabbed my arm and threw me back onto the ground.

"Maxine, you lunatic! If you want to die, don't do it here! Is putting on a pathetic spectacle fun for you?"

Leonard had actually followed me up.

I stared at him blankly.

Why wasn't he at the wedding? Why had he come looking for me instead?

A tiny, uncontrollable flicker of hope rose in my chest.

"Why aren't you at Evelyn's wedding?" I asked, looking up at him, desperately searching his eyes for even a shred of concern or heartache. "Did you follow me here because you were worried?"

But the only answer I received was a harsh, stinging slap across my face.

"You pull a stunt like this just to get attention, and you still claim you're not here to ruin things?" Leonard sneered. "Were you planning to film a suicide video, hoping we'd halt the wedding to come looking for you? Maxine, you really are despicable."

My cheek burned, but Leonard's words sent a chill straight through me.

So, this was how he saw me?

For a split second, I had actually thought he came after me because he was worried.

I was wrong. As expected, I should never have allowed myself to hope.

Ultimately, he was just Evelyn's loyal lapdog, always putting her peace of mind above all else. He could watch the woman he loved marry another man, help organize her wedding, and even vow to remain unmarried for life in her honor.

Now, suspecting I would ruin the wedding and coming to stop me made perfect sense.

I tried to explain.

"I won't disturb them, and I'm not sending any videos. I really am going to jump."

Leonard scoffed, convinced I was merely putting on a brave face after being called out.

"Who are you trying to fool? Someone who clings to life as desperately as you would never have the guts to die. If you're so brave, then jump! Go on, jump!"

I stood up and walked back to the safety railing, then stepped right over.

Before my other foot could clear the ledge, Leonard yanked me back again.

Anger burned in those once dewy, puppy-like eyes.

"Did you have to pick Evelyn's wedding day to die? She's getting married right over there. If you cause a scene, what's going to happen to her wedding? I'm telling you—even if you want to die, you can't do it today. Don't you dare bring Evelyn bad luck!"

Still the same rhetoric. He truly had his heart and mind filled with nothing but Evelyn.

But what about me? What did all my years of devotion to him count for?

When he was bullied, I stepped up for him and fought those thugs in the alleyways.

When he had no money for food, I begged my father, Richard Swanson, to funnel my own allowance to him under the guise of a scholarship, just so I wouldn't hurt his pride.

When his grades plummeted, I stayed up late studying teaching materials and writing detailed notes just to tutor him.

When he said he had no family, I told him I was his family.

I had once asked the system, since Leonard was still so young, when would he finally understand what love meant.

The system had replied that the affection score encompassed not just romantic love but familial love as well.

Back then, I was so confident. I believed that even if Leonard didn't love me romantically, he still loved me like family.

But the affection progress bar, which had been rising little by little, plummeted after Evelyn's return.

His love for me vanished completely.

Leonard was still rambling on.

"No matter how big a scene you make, William won't give you the time of day. If you truly love him, then let him be happy. Do yourself a favor and just go home. Don't make things difficult for them."

With him standing guard here, jumping was out of the question. Besides, splattering my brains across the pavement would be an ugly, messy sight anyway.

I nodded, not bothering to waste another glance on him. "You're right. I'll be going now."