CHAPTER THREE

LILY'S POV

I used to think love was the safest place in the world.

I used to think that when you found someone who saw your flaws and still chose you, you could breathe freely, knowing they’d never turn their back on you.

That’s what Aiden was to me.

Or at least, that’s what I believed.

Three years ago, before the art exhibition meeting, I met him the very first time on a rainy Tuesday.

I remember because my umbrella broke, and I ran into the nearest café dripping wet and furious.

He was there sitting at the corner table, tapping on his laptop, sipping black coffee.

He looked up, smiled, and offered me his extra napkin.

“You look like you fought the rain and lost,” he said, his voice deep and calm.

I laughed, embarrassed.

“I think the rain won this round.”

That was how it started.

He wasn’t rich.

In fact, he was struggling.

He told me about his dreams… how he wanted to start a tech firm, how he just needed one good break.

And I… I believed in him.

I helped him draft proposals, edited his pitches, stayed up late with him while he worked.

When his company finally got its first investor, he said I was his good luck charm.

I thought it was love.

I thought I was his reason to rise.

But now, standing in front of his apartment door, that memory felt like a cruel joke.

Because the man who once promised to protect me was the same man who destroyed me with someone who shared my blood.

I didn’t plan on confronting him but I couldn’t keep the questions buried anymore.

When he opened the door and saw me, his expression shifted from surprise to guilt in seconds.

“Lily,” he whispered.

“You shouldn’t be here.” he said as I scoffed in disbelief.

I stepped inside without waiting for permission.

“I need to understand, Aiden. Why?”

He ran a hand through his hair, pacing.

“Lily, please, let’s not do this here. You’re upset…”

“Upset?” I laughed.

“You slept with my sister. ‘Upset’ doesn’t even begin to cover it.”

He froze as his eyes darted away from mine.

For a moment, the silence between us was heavier than any word he could have said.

“I didn’t mean for it to happen,” he said finally.

“It was a mistake…”

“Don’t,” I snapped.

“Don’t insult me with that word…Mistakes don’t happen twice, Aiden…Or three times.”

His lips parted, but he didn’t speak.

That silence told me everything.

I stared at him, disgusted.

“You said you loved me..you looked into my eyes every morning and told me I was your everything…Was that all a lie too?”

He shook his head, tears gathering in his eyes.

“No. I loved you, Lily. I still do but…”

“But?” I stepped closer.

“There’s a ‘but’? You loved me but you touched her? You loved me but you betrayed me in the worst way possible?”

His jaw tightened.

“You don’t understand…she..she was there..you were always busy, and…”

I slapped him before I even realized it.

The sound echoed through the room.

He staggered back, clutching his cheek, his eyes wide.

“Don’t you dare blame me for your weakness,” I said, my voice shaking.

“I worked hard because I was building a future for us. For you…You had nothing when I met you, Aiden. Nothing!! and I stayed….I helped you stand on your feet. And this is what I get in return?”

He looked away.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you, Lily.”

“Then what did you mean to do?” I asked quietly.

“Destroy me slowly?”

He ran his fingers through his hair again, his voice breaking.

“It wasn’t supposed to go this far. It just… happened.”

I laughed bitterly.

“You and Adira really love that line, don’t you? It just happened.”

He stepped closer, reaching for my hand, but I pulled away like his touch burned.

“Don’t touch me,” I said, backing up.

“You’re poison, Aiden.”

His face hardened.

“You’re angry now, and I get it, but don’t pretend you were perfect, Lily. You always wanted control…over my work, my friends, everything.”

I stared at him in disbelief.

“Are you seriously trying to play the victim right now?”

He sighed.

“Maybe if you’d seen how lonely I was, you’d understand…”

That was when I snapped.

I grabbed the glass of water from his table and threw it across the room.

It shattered against the wall, the sound slicing through the air.

“You want loneliness?” I shouted.

“Then live with it because from today, I’m gone…you will never hear my name again.”

He stood frozen, guilt painted all over his face, but I didn’t care anymore.

I turned to leave, but before I opened the door, I paused and looked back at him.

“You destroyed something you’ll never find again,” I said.

“And when you realize that, it’ll be too late.”

His lips parted, but no words came out.

He just stood there… a man who’d broken something beautiful and didn’t know how to fix it.

I left.

And for the first time, I didn’t cry.

That night, I lay on my bed staring at the ceiling, my mind replaying every moment we’d shared… the laughter, the late-night talks, the way he used to hold me like I was home.

Now, those same memories felt like knives in my chest.

How could love turn into ruin so easily?

I thought I had reached my limit of pain, but something inside me told me it wasn’t over yet.

There was still something Aiden hadn’t told me, a piece of truth buried deeper than betrayal.

And when I find it…

I swear, I won’t break this time.

I’ll burn everything that tried to break me.

Because love might have turned me weak once…

but pain was teaching me how to be powerful.