Chapter 3

Seeing my calm expression, Nick frowned, but said nothing.

I watched him pick up his pajamas and head toward the bathroom. After a long hesitation, I called out to him.

"Nick, why won't you go abroad for treatment? Do you really love me? Or… is there someone else in your heart? Have these past three years just been one long lie?"

For the past three years, I'd reshaped myself into something unrecognizable—someone soft, quiet, without sharp edges. I became a gentle imitation of a person, just to keep his emotions steady.

I never got angry in front of him. I didn't even allow myself the smallest flicker of unpleasant emotion.

Somewhere along the line, I'd forgotten I was still human, that I needed release, too.

Nick's face darkened. For a fleeting second, guilt flickered in his eyes.

He crouched in front of me and took my hand, his voice low and soothing. "I'm sorry, Linda. I thought I could control myself. I didn't expect it to happen again and again. But please, believe me—I do love you. I've never lied to you. Not once."

Looking into his eyes, so full of apparent sincerity, all I could feel was how absurd it was.

"Is that right?" I asked, my voice quiet. "Then do you still remember what you said the day you confessed to me?"

He fell silent.

I knew he remembered.

That day, when he told me he loved me, he also promised—he would never lie to me, never betray me. That he would cherish me, always.

And I had told him then, if he ever broke that promise, I would leave him without a backward glance.

I smiled faintly, gently brushing the corner of his eye with my fingers. "Nick, I hope you keep your word. I'll keep mine. If I ever find out you've lied to me or betrayed me, I'll leave. And you'll never find me again."

Panic swept across his face. He pulled me into a desperate embrace, as if trying to fuse me into his bones. His voice trembled against my ear. "No, Linda. We're not going to separate. Never—not in this lifetime."

"Do you remember?" he continued, voice unsteady. "That year in college—you went hiking with your friends. There was a sudden downpour. I was afraid something would happen to you, so I ran into the mountains in the rain to look for you. I slipped. Fell down the slope. Almost died.

"You were so scared. I spent a month in the hospital. You asked me if I regretted going after you. I told you I didn't. So believe me, Linda. I love you. I'd never betray you. Never lie to you. I'll get better. I'll control myself. I'll go through with the treatment. Please… don't give up on me."

My neck felt damp with tears, but my heart had already sunk to the bottom.

Nick was a masterful liar. Even now, he was still deceiving me.

But seeing the peace on my face, he assumed—like always—that I'd been placated. He gently kissed my forehead and stood up, heading into the bathroom.

Soon, the sound of running water echoed from behind the door.

At the same time, Nick's phone began to ring. Again and again.

I had never gone through his phone, which was probably why I never knew he'd been lying to me for three years.

But now, suddenly, I wanted to know. What else was he hiding?

The messages were from Casey. He'd saved her contact with a nickname: Bunny.

Bunny: [Nicky, thank you so much for today. I really don't know what I would've done without you. You're really going to let Linda raise the baby? What if she finds out the baby's mine? Would she treat him badly?]

Bunny: [Nicky, even if Jacob is a bastard, the child is innocent. I just want him to grow up in a healthy family. So if Linda won't accept him, I can find a new daddy for him.]

A child?

I had just lost my baby. And Nick—he was already eager to raise someone else's.

My fingers trembled. I couldn't understand it.

The man who once said he'd die for me—how could he now be so unbelievably cruel?