Chapter 5

As soon as she said the word "marriage", I would drop everything without hesitation and head straight to the city hall.

Where else could I possibly turn, if not to her?

I had long since cut ties with my parents. Only Uncle Raymond reached out occasionally, but I knew Aunt Isabella would never be happy to see me, so there was no way I would go there.

Would I be at the little apartment I had finally managed to put a down payment on?

Lindsey's eyes brightened for a moment. She grabbed the cufflinks and drove to Westville.

When she reached Westville, she came to a stop. She didn't know where my apartment was.

A flicker of frustration crossed her eyes. She had never imagined I would actually move into that little apartment, so she had never paid attention to its location. When I asked for her opinion while buying it, she just glanced at it and shrugged. Now, she had no way of finding out where it was.

As she drove, Lindsey suddenly realized that I had blocked her on WhatsApp.

She did not know when it had happened, and she had not contacted me all week. Had I done it out of jealousy?

There was no way to tell.

She pulled out her phone and dialed my number. The automated female voice on the other end left her completely stunned.

She hadn't imagined I would go so far as to block all her contacts.

Lindsey's mind flashed back to that day in the office, when I had calmly proposed breaking up. That calm, measured expression made her realize I was serious this time.

A tightening, suffocating rope seemed to wrap around her chest. She sank to the ground, clutching her chest, gasping for air.

"Julian…"

Just as she was about to ask someone to track down the location of my apartment, her phone rang.

Jessie's triumphant voice came through, "Lindsey, I'm getting engaged. My fiancé just said yes. There's an engagement party tonight. You have to come."

A sharp pain throbbed behind Lindsey's eyes. She could hear the gloating in Jessie's tone, but she had no mood for a party.

"I have something to do. I can't—"

Apparently, Jessie had guessed something and cut her off, "You have to be there. Aren't you looking for someone? I will help you."

Lindsey pushed aside the uneasy feeling in her gut and agreed to Jessie's invitation.

She wasn't particularly close to Jessie—they were just college classmates. She didn't understand why Jessie was so insistent about her attendance, but she knew Jessie was the youngest daughter of the Hartwell family. With her connections, it would be simple for her to track someone down.

…

Lindsey had planned to go alone that evening, but Gerald somehow found out and insisted on tagging along. After considering it for a moment, she agreed.

I watched with amusement as Jessie strutted about like a peacock, trying on five different dresses before my eyes.

"Which one looks best?" she asked.

I thought for a moment. "They all look good. Why are you so insistent on Lindsey coming?"

Jessie panicked slightly and hurried over to grab my hand.

"You heard everything? Are you upset? I'm just too happy…"

I shook my head and smiled, wrapping my arm around her as we stepped outside.

As soon as we stepped outside, a gaze locked on me.

Following it, I saw Lindsey trembling in place. Her face was drained of color, and under the glow of the light, she looked completely lifeless.