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Chapter 2

Penulis: Appearances are Delusions
Seeing the unfamiliar number, Stacy knew right away that it was Rachel Fox.

After all, she had sent Stacy a photo of herself in Martin's arms, who was looking downward at her and smiling affectionately, and they were clearly at Rachel's place.

On top of that, the photo was captioned: We're getting married soon because Martin finds you worthless. Know your place and make yourself scarce already.

Stacy's fingers clenched around her phone as the words were knives that cut into every fiber of her being, leaving her unable to breathe.

Soon, the fireworks show had ended, leaving the peak at once dark and silent.

Stacy's phone turned off on its own from the cold, and without any light, she had to walk down the hill with the faint moonlight.

It started to snow, and she knew that if she stayed above the hill, they would find her dead the next morning.

She had no choice but to keep heading down the hill, a chill creeping up her spine as her fear of the dark engulfed her.

She was afraid of the dark and the paranormal too, but Martin seemed to have forgotten about that.

Even so, she kept trudging on despite her fear and the freezing cold, and felt totally numb by the time she arrived at a place she could get a taxi four hours later.

By the time she reached home, her face was deathly pale and her lips blackened.

It was pitch-black in there too—the servants had left, while Martin was busy keeping his fiancee company.

Stacy pursed her numb lips then. After all, was this not the natural course of things?

She was nothing, and Martin had every reason to stay with his fiancee.

-

Martin shook her awake the next day, and Stacy found herself staring at his worried face as she opened her groggy eyes.

"You have a fever. Let's get you to the hospital," he said.

Stacy could vaguely feel him carrying her into his car, although only one thing came to mind: what was he doing here, instead of staying with his fiancee?

Still, when her mind cleared and she saw the bright sun outside the car, she realized that it was already noon the next day.

In the car, Martin held on to her tightly, even carrying her to the ER.

He stood at her side as she was too dizzy to sit straight, holding her upright in a rather strange position.

Through it all, Martin appeared very worried and kept asking what he had to be worried about.

While giving her IV, the doctor smiled at her, "You have a really good boyfriend. You should really cherish him."

But at that instant, Stacy picked up Rachel's scent that was clinging to Martin's clothes.

Although Stacy smiled at the doctor, it was a smile of faint bitterness.

A good boyfriend? As in the one who just left his fiancee's bed?

Nonetheless, Martin was still carrying her here and there, refusing to let her walk at all.

He even kept her head in his embrace as she was given an injection, assuring her endlessly like she was a child, "It's alright. It just hurts for a second."

But it was his fault she was in the state in the first place, and she wanted to say that she was fine—because this pain was far less from the terror she had gone through last night.

Hence, she didn't argue and let Martin keep up his perfect boyfriend act. No one would know otherwise that he actually had another woman for a fiancee, and Stacy herself was almost fooled too.

As she lay on her sickbed, he tucked her in, asking if it hurt anyway.

She quietly shook her head and closed her eyes, refusing to speak further.

Eventually, she dozed off, and Martin wasn't around by the time she woke up.

She pulled out the IV needle which was used up, and headed to the restroom.

When she was done and left, she found Martin leaving the gynecologist's office, his hand around Rachel's waist.

She hid in the restroom, but overheard them anyway.

"You're a mother now," Martin said mildly. "The fetus is two months old, so quit being such a child."

Rachel tugged on his arm playfully. "Then you have to keep both eyes on me. The baby needs Daddy, see?"

Martin flashed a loving smile. "Alright. And don't worry about the wedding, or you'll tire out yourself and the baby…"

Their voices faded into the distance, but Stacy remained where she was as if frozen stiff.

By the time she came to her senses, she had her hand pressed on her own chest as she arched her back, wheezing from the heartache while large drops of tears rolled down her cheeks.

Martin and Rachel were already having a baby—they had already been together since two months ago, and who knew how long Rachel would be kept in the dark if not for the conversation she had overheard yesterday.

Laughing bitterly and wiping the tears off her cheeks, all Stacy felt was a chill. She opened her eyes to find herself staring at a ring.
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  • Love Faded in the Wind   Chapter 20

    Early next morning, Martin dragged his ailing body along as he boarded the flight to Uyo.Concerned, his assistant tagged along.After they landed, the assistant was going to get a cake from a bakery, but Martin insisted that he do it himself.By the time everything was done, it was afternoon.Still, he brought the cake along as he headed to Stacy's homestay, quaking with anticipation.However, she wasn't there, so he asked the front desk, who flinched in surprise upon seeing him.As such, he had to repeat himself, and she replied, "She's out at the beach."He turned and hurried to the beach before she could finish, and she noticed then that he had a limp too.Still, Martin told his assistant not to follow as he trudged along the beach, and kept walking until he found a certain figure sitting on the beach.He tried to walk as normally as he could, and crouched down despite the pain in his left leg.Stacy was more confused than shocked to see him, though those thoughts faded a

  • Love Faded in the Wind   Chapter 19

    Martin's father simply hoped that his son would understand.As he closed the door behind him, the villa was once again engulfed in darkness, with Martin still caught off guard by his father's words.But he understood no one liked irresponsible individuals, so he couldn't stay a loser—somehow completely ignoring the fact that Stacy had completely gotten over him.He went to work the next day, using work to ease the thoughts of Stacy weighing down on his mind.And Rachel Fox had been waiting downstairs.-After that press conference, Rachel's father had her grounded for almost a year.When she regained her freedom, she was told that Martin wasn't even in Arondam.She waited for a long time, and rushed over to his office building when she finally received word that he had returned.She hated him so much she could kill him now.She really loved him before, but now all she felt was hatred after he so ruthlessly made her get an abortion.She would never forget that feeling of the

  • Love Faded in the Wind   Chapter 18

    Noticing that Stacy was not alone, Martin was relieved as he realized that she might have been going on a trip and not trying to run away.He held back, and quietly followed her until she was alone.Unable to stop himself right then, he rushed to her, the rim of his eyes reddened as he gripped her shoulders, not even noticing his panicky tone, "I thought you were leaving again… leaving me again… Good, good…"As he trailed off, he was left wondering—what was good about this?Just because Stacy wasn't running away, it didn't mean she had forgiven him.Despair consumed him again and his tears rolled, and he lowered his head, refusing to let her see him vulnerable.Even so, his voice was cracking with tears. "Please, Stacy… I can't live without you. Please don't leave me, okay? I'm begging you..."He no longer came up with any idea to make her stay, and could only hope that this plea of desperation could get her to relent.But there was no doubt about it—he never really understood

  • Love Faded in the Wind   Chapter 17

    The thought left Martin with a sharp pang over his chest, as if someone had plunged a blade in his heart and twisted it, leaving him breathless.Even so, he bore with the pain and stared at her cheek, raising his hand before he knew it as if to grasp something.But he touched nothing but air, and that was when Stacy turned toward him.She didn't notice his strange gesture, while he seemed to notice something familiar in her eyes.It was soon gone, however, and she asked, "You've been here for two weeks. What do you really hope to achieve here?" Two weeks?Right, it had only been two weeks.Even as he realized that, he thought it felt way longer than that.Chuckling awkwardly, he rasped, "I've done a lot of thinking after you left. About the pain you felt. About the terrible things I did… And eventually, I lingered on the good times we had."I eventually came to the conclusion that I can't let you go… That I can't live without you. I truly—deeply, understood that I've made a

  • Love Faded in the Wind   Chapter 16

    Stacy was at first confused by the crowd, and only understood when she stepped outside and saw the drones outside—hovering in formation high above the air, they were forming words and sentences with every passing dozen seconds.And Stacy knew that it had to be Martin—in this place, he was the only one who knew her as Stacy Lynd.And when she turned, she found herself staring into his loving gaze.She wasn't moved, however—he already did it for her before, and much had changed since even though the people stayed the same.Her hair danced against the wind as it brushed against her cheek, and Martin slowly walked towards her, his gaze locked on hers.At that moment, he felt as if he was back in his sophomore days, when he wooed her.He had been nervously holding a bouquet at the time too, and slowly walked towards her—the one he loved.However, the thrill he felt back then was the excitement of being on the verge of success.But now, it was just nerves on the verge of failure.St

  • Love Faded in the Wind   Chapter 15

    In the following days, Martin showed no inclination to talk to Stacy, and she had no reason to chase him out, and therefore left him be.As food ingredients ran short, she headed out to the mall.It wasn't close to the mall, but she decided to walk anyway instead of taking a cab.However, she ran into some drunkards along the way. All of them reeked of alcohol while they flashed sleazy smiles and surrounded her. "Hey, beautiful! What are you doing out here alone in the middle of the night?"Stacy frowned and snapped coolly, "Get away from me!"This was a surprise to her as nothing like this had happened ever since she moved here.However, none of the drunkards were withdrawing, even laughing loudly as they closed their ranks around her.Feeling a rare moment of panic, Stacy was ready to fight to the death when someone yelped.She turned, doing a double take when she saw Martin standing there, holding one of the drunkards with a twisting arm lock.Seeing that he was alone, the

  • Love Faded in the Wind   Chapter 14

    Stacy was frowning even as she cut Martin short.She knew that his love was genuine, but his duplicity was equally genuine—perhaps far more than any love he could give.And she didn't want this love that had already been tainted.With those words, she started past him to return to the homestay, but he caught her hand, "No… I won't marry, you're the only one I love—"Stacy glowered, refusing to listen to his regrets and stared pointedly at his hand as she snapped coolly, "Let go of me."Despite his reluctance, he eventually did, and she left without looking back, avoiding him like the plague.He was left grasping the air even as her footsteps faded into the distance, feeling her warmth lingering between his fingers.His heart hollowed. He had nowhere to go in this darkness. The streetlights cast a long shadow behind him, leaving him wandering aimlessly like an abandoned puppy.He didn't expect Stacy to reject him so thoroughly… but did he really not expect it? Or was he just afr

  • Love Faded in the Wind   Chapter 13

    Stacy was at the coastal town of Uyo after leaving the city of Arondam—it was a rustic, quiet place free from a bustling city life.She loved it here, and started a homestay business at one of the beachside residences after settling down.The beach view was especially gorgeous, and her business soon gained in popularity.With visitors growing in number, she long since forgot about Martin Spencer as she directed all her attention to her business… That was, until one day, when she saw a very familiar face a dozen feet outside the building.-It had been a year, and Martin's eyes were moist as he saw the woman who he thought of in his every waking moment.Though he was watching her behind the crowd, he could see that Stacy turned away after one brief glance at him, returning inside to work.She was actually surprised that he managed to find her so soon.She had seen that press conference too, but was completely unaffected despite seeing his earnest apology along with Rachel's.

  • Love Faded in the Wind   Chapter 12

    Remembering the messages he found in Rachel's phone, Martin started to regret not cooking Stacy's favorite food the other day.It had been a long while since he cooked for her, and it might well be the last time he did. And he had to not cook her favorites just because he found it troublesome.That very night, he told the maid to buy the ingredients, and spent three hours cooking up a storm.Every dish was Stacy's favorite, and after putting every plate on the table, he put an empty plate opposite his before taking his seat.Then, he started putting some of the food on the empty plate as if Stacy was still there, "Hurry up and eat. Those are all your favorites."As he started wolfing down his food, every bite came with a tear, rolling down silently onto his food.Later, he lay down in bed, on the side where Stacy usually slept.He dreamt of her, smiling at him just a few feet away, but saying something he couldn't hear.He cried out urgently then, "What are you saying, Stacy?

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