Chapter 3

Over the next few days, Fredrick began clearing out the house. He packed his belongings into suitcases, one after another, and tossed whatever he couldn't take into garbage bags.

Once he finished packing, he suddenly remembered another property under his name: the old apartment in the historic district.

It was the place that held all their memories, the cramped apartment they had rented during the longest, hardest years of their lives. After Roxanne became successful, she had bought it outright and given it to him, calling it "the place where our love began, yours to keep forever."

Now that their love was gone, he saw no reason to keep the apartment.

He contacted a real estate agent and arranged to sell it.

After discussing the details, the agent asked him to meet her at the property to hand over the keys and let her take some photographs.

Fredrick agreed.

…

When Fredrick arrived with the agent and unlocked the familiar door with his spare key, the sight that greeted him stopped him cold.

In the bedroom, two bodies were tangled together in the throes of passion: Roxanne and Jaxon.

"Roxy, why'd you suddenly bring me here? This place is so run-down..." Jaxon asked breathlessly.

Roxanne's voice was low with desire. "Because this is where I came from, Jax. I want you to be part of my future, but I want you to cover my past, too. That way, my entire life, from beginning to end, will belong completely to you."

'Cover... her past?'

Fredrick stood outside the bedroom, peering through a gap in the old doorframe. Everything beyond it was painfully familiar, yet suddenly foreign. A chill spread through his entire body.

It was in this very living room that they had once squeezed together on a secondhand sofa, watched rented movies, argued over the plots, and laughed until their stomachs hurt.

It was in that cramped kitchen that he had cooked for her for the first time. He had burned the food, but she had happily eaten every bite, declaring, "If my husband made it, I'd eat it even if it were poison."

And it was on that same creaky bed that they had held each other through countless freezing nights, their only source of warmth.

She had kissed his forehead and promised, "Freddy, once I have money, I'll buy you the biggest house and the softest bed in the world."

Was this the past Roxanne wanted Jaxon to cover?

A sharp pain ripped through Fredrick's chest, as though someone had driven a barbed nail deep into his heart and twisted it mercilessly through the flesh. The agony was so intense that he could barely breathe.

Just then, the sounds from the bedroom ceased.

"Who's out there?" Roxanne called, her voice suddenly wary.

A moment later, the bedroom door flew open.

Roxanne had hastily slipped into a robe, but faint marks were still visible along her collarbone. The instant she spotted Fredrick in the living room, her expression changed.

For once, a flicker of panic crossed her face. "Fredrick? What are you doing here?"

Fredrick's gaze passed over her before settling on Jaxon, who was scrambling to cover himself behind her.

"You can bring Jaxon here, but I can't come?" His voice trembled. "Isn't this the apartment you gave me?"

Roxanne faltered. Humiliation flashed across her face, only to give way to anger. "I only brought Jax because... we happened to be passing by. We didn't plan this. I promise it won't happen again."

Fredrick took a deep breath and forced himself to suppress the pain in his chest. "It's fine. You can be together wherever you want."

He stepped aside and gestured toward the agent behind him. The young woman looked as though she wished the floor would swallow her whole.

"For now, though, I'd appreciate it if you could step aside. The agent needs to take photographs of the property," Fredrick said flatly.

'An agent?' Only then did Roxanne notice the woman behind Fredrick, with a camera and folder in her hands.

Her pupils contracted. She stared at him in disbelief. "You... You're selling the apartment? Why? This is where our love began! It holds all our memories. How could you sell it?"

Fredrick found her outrage almost laughably absurd. 'So you do remember what this place means to us. Then why did you bring your new lover here to trample all over those memories?'

His face remained expressionless, save for the faint, humorless curve of his lips. "So you don't approve of me selling it?"

"Of course I don't!" Roxanne snapped. "This apartment means something to us. It's special."

Fredrick raised his eyes to meet hers. "Fine. Then I'll give you a choice.

"My birthday is coming up. You once promised that, at the very least, you'd let me keep my dignity on that day.

"So this year, you can choose my birthday gift. Either I sell the apartment, or you agree not to see Jaxon for three days. Which will it be?"

Roxanne froze.

She studied Fredrick's calm, resolute expression before turning to glance at Jaxon. 'Three days without seeing Jax?'

He was so dependent on her now, so insecure. If she disappeared for three whole days, how badly would he fall apart? And how much would she miss him?

'But selling the apartment…'

It was a part of her history with Fredrick, a precious memory she had once sworn to preserve forever.

"Fredrick, don't do this..." She softened her voice, hoping to persuade him. "This apartment means something different to us. We can't sell it. As for Jax, I—"

"Choose," Fredrick cut her off. His voice was quiet but firm, with a finality that left no room for argument.

Roxanne searched his eyes, but there was no emotion left in them. That inexplicable panic rose in her chest once more.

All at once, she realized that she was truly beginning to lose her hold over him.

The realization unsettled her. For one brief moment, she hesitated.

But then Jaxon called her name, and the sound of his voice settled the matter.

"Fine." Her voice was dry and strained as she averted her gaze. "Sell the apartment."