LOGINI got into a car crash with my adoptive sister. The first person to rush to the scene was my childhood sweetheart, Jay Porter—the guy I'd been secretly seeing for two years. But Jay went to her first. He didn't even look my way as I sat there, bleeding heavily on the side of the road. I grabbed his hand, desperate to tell him I was pregnant. He just shook me off. "Sorry, Emma. Julia's delicate. I have to get her to the hospital now. Just wait here for the paramedics." By the time the rescue team got me to the hospital, I was out of immediate danger. But my baby... was gone. I wanted to confront Jay, to demand an explanation. Instead, I overheard him talking to a friend. "You played Emma this whole time, just for Julia's sake. Don't you think that's going too far?" Jay's reply was cold. "So what? Julia's just the Bourne family's adopted daughter—she's never been as protected and cherished as Emma, the precious heiress. That's exactly why it has to be me. I'll protect Julia. For her, I'd do anything." So it was all a lie. Every bit of love he'd ever shown me was just an act. After I was discharged, I went straight home and called my father. "Dad, can you make it so I never existed here? Erase all my records from this country."
View MoreJay turned to me, his expression full of helpless pleading."Emma, I love you. I can marry you. I can make our relationship public. Just forgive me, please? As long as you come back, I'll do anything. I know you're only with him to spite me. You've succeeded. I surrender. I really can't live without you!""Jay."I cut him off without hesitation."I once liked you. But that was only because I had never been loved properly before. I mistook the scraps of kindness you tossed me for love."But now I have something real, something good. And I can tell you, without the slightest hesitation… I don't love you anymore. In fact, the sight of you disgusts me.""I—" He stood there, shattered, words choking in his throat. He wanted to speak, but nothing came out.I went on, "We've known each other for so many years. I hope we can part with at least a shred of dignity. Don't make me despise you any more than I already do."With that, I no longer spared him a glance. I took Chuck's hand and w
Julia gave a bleak, broken smile.At last, she understood it wasn't Emma's love that had been a joke, but her own years of self-righteous devotion were nothing more than a carefully woven lie."You want to know where Emma is? Take me to the hospital, and I'll tell you!"…Whether Jay regretted it or not no longer mattered to me. I didn't care, and I refused to care.In my world, his name had been erased for good.My life now was peaceful and fulfilling: language classes, photography lessons, feeding stray cats and dogs, and strolling through the park in the evening breeze. Everything felt unhurried and serene."Emma?"Chuck's voice pulled me from my feigned nap."What is it?" I asked curiously.He handed me a sketch. On the paper was a radiant young girl, her hair dancing with the wind as she lounged lazily on a deck chair. Sunlight poured over her face, gilding her features with a soft golden glow."This is… me?""Who else could it be?" he teased.I smiled as I accepted the
Like a moth to a flame, I had once thrown myself headlong into the warmth I craved, only to forget that such devotion was always one-sided. The fire never yearned for the moth.Because I was never good at socializing, I found daily interactions difficult, yet in other ways, my solitude made life easier, even more comfortable.One afternoon, while photographing at Richter National Park, I came across a man sketching quietly by the lake. He had clear features, a tall, upright frame, and a warmth in his bearing that drew the eye.When he noticed my lingering gaze, he smiled. "I see you here often, taking photos. And every day you feed the stray cats and talk to them."Heat rushed to my cheeks as he laughed, repeating the little details I never thought anyone had noticed."Hello, I'm Chuck Bennet.""Emma Bourne."Turned out, Chuck was a fellow countryman.In a foreign land, it felt rare and precious to meet someone from home. An easy sense of familiarity settled between us. We exch
Julia watched Jay, frantic as he redialed my number again and again, her anxiety spiraling into fury.With one violent sweep, she sent everything on the table crashing to the floor, shattering into pieces."Jay, what the hell? Today is our engagement ceremony, and you run off to chase that bitch instead?"Her voice trembled with rage. "Do you think I don't know? You were with her for more than two years, and yet you kept telling me you loved me. Do you even know what love is? I told you I'd let it go, that I wouldn't hold it against you—and now you humiliate me in front of everyone!"His gaze fixed on her, cold and sharp, eyes dark with scrutiny. "The child in your belly… it's not mine, is it?"For a brief second, embarrassment flickered across Julia's face, but she quickly recovered."You're talking nonsense. How could it not be yours?"Jay didn't bother arguing. He simply pressed play on the recorder.Her own voice filled the room—her secret conversation with her best friend






Welcome to GoodNovel world of fiction. If you like this novel, or you are an idealist hoping to explore a perfect world, and also want to become an original novel author online to increase income, you can join our family to read or create various types of books, such as romance novel, epic reading, werewolf novel, fantasy novel, history novel and so on. If you are a reader, high quality novels can be selected here. If you are an author, you can obtain more inspiration from others to create more brilliant works, what's more, your works on our platform will catch more attention and win more admiration from readers.