Chapter 3

This time, I wasn't giving anyone else a chance.

I was going to change my fate. Even if I was just a throwaway side character, I refused to die miserably.

"Ryan, I'm taking you out of here."

I grabbed his arm, trying to pull him off the floor, but I had overestimated myself. I tugged a few times, and instead of lifting him, I fell down from being pulled by his weight.

"Sheila." His breathing was shaky, his eyes bloodshot but locked on mine. In his voice, I heard something I almost missed—hurt.

"I thought you didn't care about me anymore. Since you don't care about me, why are you here?"

His words sounded stubborn, but underneath, I could hear the crack in his voice.

Even as he tried to hide it, I saw relief in his eyes. He was glad I was there.

My chest tightened.

Damn it. What the hell was wrong with the old me?

Why would I throw myself at some guy who treated me like dirt while hurting the one person who loved me like his whole world?

"How could I not care about you? You're the most important person in my life!" I said it like I meant every word, because I did.

When I was little and abandoned at the orphanage, the Cobbetts came looking to adopt a daughter. They had set their sights on someone else, but Ryan insisted they took me.

Later, when my foster parents got busy with work and were barely ever home, it was Ryan who stayed. He cooked for me, helped with homework, and took care of everything.

Even when I got my first period, it was Ryan who went out, bought pads, and sat down with me, awkwardly showing me the instructions, though his face was red the whole time.

We'd always been close. So close that I couldn't stand hearing anyone say something bad about him. I couldn't bear to see him get hurt.

But somewhere along the way, something shifted.

I started hating him. I hated how he always hovered around me, how he meddled in my life, and how he refused to accept that I had feelings for Melvin.

That hate came out of nowhere, just like my ridiculous "love at first sight" with Melvin, the shallow, womanizing player.

In fact, men like him weren't my type at all.

But the book's storyline had shoved me onto that path, forcing me to hate Ryan and forcing me into becoming someone even I didn't recognize.

When Ryan heard my words, his expression dimmed. There was no sign of happiness.

That was when I remembered.

I had said the exact same thing to him before. I had used those words to trick him, to get him to show me his designs. Then I'd stolen them and handed them to Melvin.

Both products hit the market, one after the other. Since Ryan's design came out later, everyone called him a fraud and accused him of plagiarism. His brand-new company almost collapsed under the weight of that scandal.

Even now, Ryan's company carried a bad reputation. And half of that was my fault.

"Sheila, get out. Leave this place. I don't wanna hurt you." His breathing was fast, his face bright red.

The drug Melvin had given him was brutal. The fact that Ryan had held on this long was already a miracle.

I knew he was running out of time.

I was about to grab the phone when loud knocks rattled the door.

"Ryan! Ryan, are you in there? Open the door! If you don't, you're gonna die!"

It was Vanessa.

She'd come back, probably because her system had told her exactly where Ryan was. With that kind of cheat code, hotel security didn't stand a chance.

I touched Ryan's trembling face, then grabbed a bath towel and wrapped it tightly around his wet, see-through clothes before tying a firm knot.

Ryan was mine. I was the only one allowed to see him like this.

I stood up, ready to open the door.

But Ryan's hand shot out, grabbing me fast.

His eyes were blood-red, and his voice cracked.

"Y-you're leaving me again, aren't you?"