Chapter 3

Lucien hung up first.

He scoffed. "This again? You do this every time. What's the point?"

The call ended. In the silence that followed, the steady beep of the heart monitor somehow made the room feel even more desolate.

I set my phone down and gave the nurse an apologetic smile.

"Sorry you had to see that."

My voice was hoarse. "My family doesn't live around here. I'll sign the forms myself."

When I opened my eyes again, I was alone in the hospital room.

There was no visible wound, yet a dull ache lingered deep in my heart.

Several unread messages had piled up on my phone.

Some were from my parents, others from a few close friends.

I replied to each of them, letting them know I was okay. I only said I'd been working too hard and needed a few days to rest.

But lying to my parents made me feel guilty.

Mom sounded worried when I called her back. "Weren't you supposed to be celebrating your anniversary with Lucien today?

"How did you end up in the hospital? Did he do something to you?"

Falling apart as an adult meant tending to your wounds while pretending everything was fine.

I took a deep breath and forced myself to sound casual.

"Mom, it's not like that. I've just been swamped with a project, and my blood sugar dropped.

"Lucien... he's preparing for a major international debate tournament. I didn't tell him."

It took several more reassurances before Mom finally hung up, still sounding unconvinced.

I managed to fall asleep despite the ache in my chest.

Less than an hour later, Lucien pushed open the door to my room.

He was holding a bouquet of champagne roses. He looked tired, with a trace of impatience on his face.

He set the flowers on the bedside table and reached out to feel my forehead.

"Nina, are you done with this yet?"

A sweet, unfamiliar gardenia scent clung to his fingertips.

The same scent I'd smelled on Vivian earlier that day.

I turned my head away, avoiding his touch.

His hand froze before he slowly pulled it back.

"I asked one of your friends. That's how I found out you'd flown in. Why didn't you tell me you were coming?"

He stared at the back of my head, his voice edged with blame.

"Do you have any idea how important the final was to me? Showing up unannounced like this could've thrown me off."

He pulled a velvet box from his pocket and pressed it into my hand.

"Your anniversary gift. I know it's late. Don't be mad, okay?"

My hand went cold.

Five minutes before I was taken into the ER, Vivian had made a post on social media.

I'd found her account in Lucien's following list.

In the photo, she was wearing an identical necklace, smiling brightly.

Her caption read: [Thanks for the gift, Lucien!]

The person who'd taken the photo had left an affectionate comment beneath it.

[Like it, you goof?]

The profile picture was a photo of the cat Lucien and I had raised together.

I pulled my hand out from under the blanket and let the velvet box fall to the floor.

I opened my mouth, but my throat was too dry for any sound to come out.

"Lucien, I'm breaking up with you."