“You seriously look starving, Audrey!” Romeo teased, eyeing the mountain of food in front of me. “Did you order all this?”
I pointed at Jazper Ray, who was nowhere to be found now. “Blame him. He insisted.”
Romeo raised a brow. “Hmph. I bet he’s trying to fatten you up.”
I rolled my eyes. “If that’s his plan, he’s halfway there.”
Romeo leaned closer, lowering his voice dramatically. “Did you see the drama outside? Ericka versus Ashley Gibson. Girl, it was wild. If I had popcorn, I would’ve pulled up a chair!”
I forced a chuckle, pretending not to know. “I didn’t see a thing. Not even a single hair.”
“Oh, please. I’d trade my left heel to watch a catfight like that up close,” Rose added.
I just smiled faintly. They didn’t need to know I was right there when it happened.
“I’m so exc
“Jazper Ray?!” I screamed.But he didn’t stop.He kept running. He was with my friends. He didn’t even look back at me.“Jazper Ray! Why did you still choose them? I did everything for you, didn’t I? Jazper Ray!”Still, he didn’t stop. Didn’t turn around. Didn’t care.“You just used me, just like they did!” I cried, my voice breaking, my tears falling hard.“You just used me…”“They’re right… we’re the same.” I could hear myself yelling after him in my dream.“You used all of us! You’re selfish, Jazper Ray!”I didn’t know how the tears kept coming. I was exhausted, completely drained, and everything still hurt so much. When would it stop?“Hey… hey.”A gentle voice pulled me out of the darkness. I felt a hand lightly shaking me. When I opened my eye
He took me to a condo unit. The moment we stepped inside, a white woman with her hair in ponytails greeted us. She looked about my age, if it weren’t for the thick reading glasses that practically screamed “nerdy genius.”“Ivan!” she called out, voice laced with worry. “What happened to you? Why do you look like a wreck?”She rushed over, grabbed a towel, and tossed it to him. I stood frozen near the door, still processing.Ivan? So that’s his name. Now I know.“Same old, same old,” he muttered, catching the towel.The woman’s eyes suddenly shifted to me, and widened in shock. “Why are you with Audrey?”Wait, what?“You know me?” I asked, blinking. My voice cracked a little from the confusion.What is going on? Why do people keep recognizing me like we’ve met before? I racked my brain, searching their faces for even the slightest fam
I don’t know where I’m going. I don’t even know what road I’m on anymore. The only thing I can feel right now is the pain in my chest. It’s like my whole world just collapsed, like someone ripped my heart straight out of me.And all I can think about is him. What he said. What he did. He didn’t love me. He used me. I know I should’ve expected it. I should’ve known. This was just an arranged marriage, after all.But still… isn’t it okay to feel? Isn’t it okay to get angry? Isn’t it okay to be hurt? I want to hurt him back, I really do. But I can’t. Even if my heart’s screaming in pain, I can’t bring myself to hurt Jazper Ray.That’s the difference between the two of us. He could hurt me, but I can’t hurt him. I kept running, my vision all blurry from the tears. Everything just felt so cruel. Like the world was playing a sick joke on me.And then, the rain
FLASHBACKThat night... That one night when everything felt real. We kissed as if the world were holding its breath for us. Like everything on this earth had paused just to let us fall in love, that was the sweet side of Jazper Ray Gibson. The part of him I’ll never forget.His lips. His hands. The way he touched me, it felt like home. I remember gasping for air, my heart pounding... And then, suddenly, he knelt in front of me."There’s something I want to give you, Mrs. Gibson." His voice was soft, warm. My heart was pounding."Give me your foot.""My foot?" I blinked, confused. But I did what he asked.He gently lifted the edge of my gown, then reached for something around my ankle. I looked down. There it was. An anklet, thin, delicate, and sparkling with tiny diamonds. All around it were tiny silver letters."J," I whispered, staring at it."A symbol of me," he said. "It means I’m yours.""Even without that, Jazper Ray... I’m already yours."He smiled, but it wasn’t playful. It wa
"J-Jazper..."I couldn’t stop crying. My tears kept falling, and my chest felt like it was about to break. Jazper stood still for a moment, then slowly walked toward me. The anger on his face from earlier… it was gone. I reached out to touch him, but he pulled away and turned his back. He leaned his head against the cabinet, then slid down to the floor.The room was quiet, too quiet. Only my soft sobs filled the air."Jazper..." I whispered again.He ran both hands over his face, then rested his elbows on his knees, his fingers gripping his hair. Watching him like that… it hurt even more. Seeing him cry like this broke something inside me. I knew he was blaming himself. I knew he was drowning in guilt.I didn’t want him to carry all of that pain alone."Jazper..." I said again, crawling closer."Leave me, Audrey," he muttered. There was still some sharpness in his voice, but I knew it wasn’t really for me anymore."I won’t," I said softly. My tears were quieter now. "Didn’t I promise
“Who did you think you knew?” he asked slowly, staring straight into my eyes.I couldn’t look away.It was like staring at a stranger wearing his face.“Is that… important?” I whispered.“Yes!” he roared, dragging me toward the wall.Before I could blink, he pinned me against it, his breath hot and furious with my skin. “You push me to my fucking limit, Audrey!” he shouted. “You really want to see what I am? Fine! I’ll show you! You want the monster? You fucking got it!”Jazper Ray ripped off his shirt, and I flinched at the way his muscles tensed and his veins bulged with rage. His whole body shook. I’d never seen him like this before. Not like this.“You want this? Huh?! Is this what you came here for?!”I couldn’t speak. I just stood there, frozen. Biting my lip so I wouldn’t scream. My heart was beating