Chapter 3

Thalia's POV

The pink diamond caught the light, throwing a blinding glare. The ring was way too small, and it looked tight on Gabriel's finger. Even so, he forced it all the way on.

My stomach churned. I pushed him away and rushed into the bathroom, vomiting until there was nothing left in me.

Gabriel hurried in behind me and gently patted my back. "What's wrong, Thalia? Are you sick?"

I shook my head and pulled away from his touch.

He stared at his empty hand for a second, caught off guard. The next moment, his phone rang. As soon as he saw the name on the screen, his expression softened.

"Get some rest, Thalia. I need to take care of some work."

With that, he rushed off without any regard for me.

When I came out of the bathroom, Gabriel was still on the balcony. Now and then, I could hear a soft laugh drifting in.

Just then, my best friend, Susanne Montclair, called. She laughed, sounding envious. "So, how's your anniversary going? Must be ridiculously romantic, huh? I saw the post."

I frowned, about to ask which post she was referring to, when a special notification popped up. Gabriel had posted it three minutes ago.

In the photo, sunflowers filled the car. Two hands pressed together, showing off matching pink diamond rings. Their silhouettes nestled closely.

The caption read, "One year with my girl."

Susanne sounded confused. "Wait a minute. Did Gabriel get so excited about the ring that he lost his mind? He wrote one year instead of five."

My throat dried up. "I… didn't manage to get the rings."

Silence fell on the other end. The next second, the post disappeared too.

Gabriel stood in the balcony doorway, looking at me with a hint of panic. "Thalia… You didn't happen to see anything just now, did you?"

Susanne tactfully ended the call.

The bedroom fell into a heavy silence. After a long while, I asked softly, "Doesn't it hurt to wear a ring that doesn't fit?"

He froze for a second and instinctively covered his hand. "It's not what you think, Thalia—"

The answer must've been "no".

Exhausted, I waved him off and sent him out of the room.

A new message popped up on my phone the next second. It was from Camille. The message was brief.

"I know who you are. How about we meet tomorrow?"

Her tone was innocent, yet spoiled by the certainty that she could get away with anything.

Camille chose a small bookstore for our meeting. She walked in, dressed in a simple white dress, and slid a cup of iced caramel latte toward me.

I left it untouched. "I don't like sugary drinks."

She smiled and sat across from me. The first thing she said was surprisingly calculated.

"Gabriel funded this bookstore for me. What do you think? Does it look familiar?"

I paused. That strange sense of familiarity I had felt the moment I walked in suddenly made sense.

Years ago, when Gabriel and I had just started dating, I had saved up some money and wanted to open a bookstore.

It happened to be a crucial time for his company. He was in the middle of securing a round of financing, so I gave him all the money I had saved to invest in the company.

Back then, Gabriel promised me repeatedly that once the company got through the rough patch, he would build me a bookstore, even bigger than the one I had originally pictured.

Yet, after the company grew and eventually went public, his mind changed.

He went from "I promise I'll build you an even bigger one," to "A bookstore simply isn't profitable enough. It's not worth it to build one."