Chapter 3

A sharp pain spread across my face, and blood trickled from the corner of my mouth. I turned my head to wipe the blood away, my mind reeling from the shock.

I found myself laughing through my tears. I never expected Lance would actually hit me for Ella.

Six years ago, when I threw myself in front of that knife for him, he promised no one would ever hurt me again. He swore he would protect me for the rest of my life. But now he was protecting someone else and hurting me instead.

He had changed after all. Or perhaps I had never really known him to begin with.

Ella clutched his arm tightly, her voice pitiful as she said, "Honey, she pushed me."

Lance glared at me, his voice sharp with accusation. "Lisa, do you think just because you've been by my side for years, you can bully her? Didn't I tell you not to show up in front of her?"

I pressed my lips together and said nothing. He stepped closer and gripped my chin forcefully, making me look up at him.

"From now on, stay away when you see her. If you dare bully her again, I'll break both your hands."

Tears fell uncontrollably from my eyes, dropping one by one onto the back of his hand. But he remained unmoved. The coldness in his eyes couldn't have been any colder.

I bit my lip hard, digging my nails into my palms as I tried to suppress the grief welling up inside me. Seeing the stubborn yet desolate look in my eyes, he finally released me.

I wiped away my useless tears and turned to leave. But after just a few steps, I heard Ella's wounded voice call out.

"Wait. Give me the ring on your finger."

I stopped in my tracks, my gaze involuntarily drawn to the ring on my finger. This was a Hartley family heirloom Lance gave me after I took that knife for him.

Back then, I lay in the ER, covered in blood. Even the doctors said there was no hope for me. Lance pushed past everyone into the ER, fell to his knees in front of me, and cried out my name.

Everyone told him there was no hope and to let me go, but he refused, shaking me again and again. He even promised to marry me and slipped his family's heirloom ring on my finger.

"You have to marry me. You're not allowed to die. Do you hear me? You're not allowed to die!"

At the sound of his desperate, anguished cries, my heart began to respond.

The doctors immediately launched another round of resuscitation efforts. After a few harrowing minutes, my heartbeat stabilized. I managed to survive once the surgery was over.

After that, I never took the ring off. It stayed on my finger all this time.

And now, Ella wanted it.

I instinctively looked at Lance, seeking his opinion. He hesitated for just a moment before saying, "Give it to her."

I froze for a second. The sorrow in my eyes gradually settled into calm. I quickly removed the ring and dropped it on the ground.

Seeing what I did, he grew furious. Through gritted teeth, he snarled, "Lisa, is this how you treat something I gave you? You just threw it away?"

I looked at him with cold, desolate eyes. "Didn't you tell me to give it to her?"

He snapped back angrily, "But you don't have to be so rude about it!"

I smiled coldly. "We're done. What right do you have to tell me what to do?"

He looked taken aback. Though he was clearly furious and ready to explode, he found himself at a loss for words when he saw the reckless expression on my face.

Just then, the sharp crack of gunfire echoed in the distance. A fierce gust of wind cut past my ear. The gunfire drew closer, and everyone present scattered in panic.

Lance looked worried and started to move toward me, but Ella's terrified cry stopped him.

"Lance, I'm scared! Save me!"

He immediately pulled her down and covered her body with his, shielding her from the incoming gunfire.

I didn't move. When the bullet pierced through my chest, the pain left me completely drained. All the love, hate, and resentment suddenly felt meaningless. I supposed when death was this close, nothing else mattered.

As I fell, I looked at Lance one last time. He held Ella tightly against him, his hands carefully cradling the back of her head, terrified she might get hurt.