Chapter 3

Aurelia's POV

Shane returned home with Lynn holding him up. He was clearly drunk, but he still murmured, "Lynn, happy birthday."

With that, he slumped onto the couch.

But he had promised me that he would never drink. He couldn't hold his liquor, and whenever he got drunk, he would end up sleeping by the roadside. I spent all that time searching for him.

Later, he promised me, "Aurelia, I'll never drink again, no matter what. I won't make you worry about me again."

But that day, Shane broke his promise once again. Lynn even poked his cheek and smiled. "If I had known you couldn't hold your liquor, I wouldn't have had that toast with you."

With that, she turned to me and ordered coldly, "Hey, you! Your boss is drunk. Can't you see that? Make him some hangover cure."

Back then, she would hold onto my arm and call me "Lia". But this time, she spoke to me as if we were strangers. My heart ached, but I still went to make some hangover cure for both her and Shane.

However, Lynn was nowhere to be found. I searched the entire room before finally spotting her on the balcony.

I was about to call out to her when I heard her say, "Mom, your plan really worked. Faking my amnesia made Shane feel sorry for me, and it even helped me drive Aurelia away.

"I saw her packing her things today. She'll probably be slinking back to her hometown in a few days. Good thing she doesn't know Shane is the son of Jinton's richest man. Otherwise, she'd definitely refuse to leave."

She was faking her amnesia? She wanted to drive me away? Shane was the son of Jinton's richest man?

Every revelation left me stunned. I stood there in shock, my heart feeling heavier than ever. My best friend of 12 years had pretended to have amnesia just to drive me away, and the man I had loved for seven years had pretended to be poor and made me suffer with him.

I couldn't describe what I was feeling. All I knew was that the sincerity I had given them had been taken for granted again and again. My heart could never go back to the way it once was. The hangover cure had gone cold, but it was nothing compared to how cold my heart had become.

I pushed open the balcony door and confronted her, "Lynn, why would you do that?"

Lynn looked at me in surprise. Then, she said mockingly, "Aurelia, everyone wants to be rich. You were just lucky enough to meet Shane. And since I wasn't blessed with your luck, I can only rely on myself."

"By becoming a mistress yourself?" I scoffed. "Didn't you hate mistresses the most? You said a mistress had broken up your parents' marriage and stolen your father away. That was why you grew up without a father, just like me."

Lynn tilted her head, seemingly amused by how naive I was. "It's no wonder Shane managed to fool you. Aurelia, you really are naive. That was a lie. My mother was actually the mistress. I have a father. In fact, I've had plenty of them."

So, even when she had comforted me and told me she also didn't have a father, she had been lying. For 12 years, I had worried about her and treated her better than I treated myself.

At that moment, I felt empty and cold. I was too devastated to speak. Even so, I slapped Lynn.

Yet, she laughed, "We're even now, Aurelia. I don't owe you anything anymore. And it's time for you to leave."

But even if I was going to leave, I wanted to bring the truth to light. So, as soon as Shane woke up the next morning, I told him the truth about Lynn faking her amnesia.

But he suddenly slapped me across the face and snapped, "Aurelia, if I hadn't seen the slap mark on Lynn's face, I might have actually believed your bullshit."