Chapter 2

My first encounter with Benjamin was rather embarrassing.

I was about to leap off a bridge when he grabbed me and flung me to the ground.

He locked eyes with me. Instead of urging me to be strong like others might, he told me something entirely different. He said that the person I loved would always live in my heart from then on. With every beat, it was proof that we were both fighting to live.

He said I didn't have to let go of the past to move forward.

Like others carried dreams, I could carry my love deep within me. Each day I lived would be another step closer to the one I had lost.

After that, worried I might try to take my life again, he stayed by my side. No matter how much I ignored him, he never complained.

Under his tender loving care, I gradually stepped out of the inferno of grief. He helped me find the courage to walk back into the light.

That was the second year after we'd met.

Not long later, he confessed his feelings to me. He said that he loved me with utmost conviction.

I was so moved by his devotion that I didn't hesitate to agree. That day marked our first day as a couple.

The same day, I visited the cemetery with the couple rings that Samuel Harrison and I had bought together. Placing them on his grave, I told him I was ready to move forward and start a new chapter.

But I never imagined that the man I chose would one day use such a cruel method to test my sincerity.

Someone in the room hesitated and voiced concern, "Honestly, I think your plan is a bit extreme. Feigning illness might be easy to see through. What's more, if she truly believed you and tried to follow you in death, what if you weren't able to save her in time?"

Benjamin raised an eyebrow.

"This is the best way for her to prove her love for me. Even if it gets exposed, I'm confident Cherilyn won't hold it against me," he replied.

"Besides, if she'd been more passionate toward me, I wouldn't have to go to such lengths to test her."

He paused, drained the glass of wine in his hand yet again, then continued.

"All investments come with risks. I helped her move past her pain—I'm her savior from the outset. If she gives her life for me, so what?

"It's easy to claim true love with words. But it'll only show when she chooses me over everyone else."

I stood frozen, listening to his words that cut me like a blade. I felt my heart being sliced into a million pieces.

My heart ached so much I could barely breathe. Stumbling, I leaned against the wall to keep from collapsing.

That phone call—it had all been Benjamin's setup.

He wasn't sick at all. He just wanted me to die for him, to satisfy his twisted curiosity.

I didn't dare probe deeper—was he ever truly in love with me? Or was this all just his need to win? To boast that he made me abandon my past and sacrifice my future for him?

Closing my eyes in despair, a plan began to take shape in my mind.

Fine. Since he wanted to play this game, I would gladly play along.

I could paint the image of the devoted girlfriend he pictured and pretend to die for him. By then, we would see if that smug look would be wiped off his face.

I turned and left.

On the way home, my emotions finally got the best of me. Tears streamed down my face as I burst into uncontrollable sobs.

He had once promised he wouldn't pressure me. He'd said he wanted to save our most intimate moments for marriage.

Yet, here he was setting traps and blaming me for not jumping into them. Benjamin Zoller was such a vicious snake.

He told me he didn't mind, but turned around and told his friends otherwise. How utterly laughable.

If he thought staying with me for three years was a waste of time, why didn't he leave earlier? Why keep stringing me along until I couldn't imagine life without him?

I wiped my tears fiercely.

Good thing I managed to learn of his schemes ahead of time. I wasn't going to become a foolish pawn and let him lead me to destruction. I wasn't going to end my life for his twisted game.