Chapter 3

With Rowan insisting that Sophie was just a friend, I chose to dismiss their occasional ambiguous gestures as the kind of excessive familiarity that ignored boundaries. All the unease faded once Sophie found a boyfriend abroad and fell deeply in love.

As our engagement party approached, I thought happiness was finally within reach.

However, when Sophie broke up with her boyfriend and returned, all my hopes were shattered. It hit me then—Rowan had only ever loved Sophie.

Rowan looked at me darkly, as if he couldn’t understand why I’d suddenly changed. After a long silence, he finally compromised. “It’s my fault tonight. I promise I’ll go on that graduation trip with you right after I finish all this work. Let’s not fight anymore, okay?”

When he reached out to pinch my cheek, I coldly slapped his hand away and pushed open the car door. While he sat there stunned, I pulled off the bracelet and forced it into his hand. “Since you bought it according to Sophie’s wrist size, it was never mine. Give it back to her.”

“Madison, that’s enough!” Rowan gripped the bracelet tightly, confronting me.

I had no intention of arguing and cut him off. “I don’t want to say more hurtful words. Just stop pretending to be the perfect boyfriend. It all ends here.”

I walked away from him in the other direction. Rowan didn’t follow. Instead, his voice rang out behind me, harsh and threatening. “Madison, if you come back now, I’ll let this go, but if you don’t, don’t expect forgiveness, even if you end up crying at my feet!”

Only the night breeze and the sound of my quickening steps responded to him.

I found a random hotel and spent the night. I then blocked Rowan and everyone close to him. I erased all traces of him from my phone.

When I woke up, it was already the next afternoon. Feeling refreshed, I decided to return to Rowan’s place to collect my things. I assumed he’d be too busy celebrating with Sophie to care, but the moment I opened the door, someone grabbed my wrist. Startled, I looked up—only to meet Rowan’s gaze, calm and unreadable, as if he’d been expecting me.

He looked at me with a half-smile. “You came back after all. Even after you blocked me. Madison, you’ve got guts.”

I frowned and shook off his hand. “Even if I block you, you always find a way, don’t you?”

My eyes drifted past him to Sophie, who was calmly eating fruit in the dining room. “So you’ve got a beauty to keep you company. No wonder Mr. Shelby couldn’t be bothered to look for me, but could you at least stop pretending to be madly in love with me? It’s revolting.”

A voice cut in from behind me, sharp and cold.

“She really knows how to talk, doesn’t she? No wonder she’s the only one whose parents died. That mouth of hers is pure bad luck. If Rowan hadn’t protected her all these years, does she really think she’d still be standing here acting like a victim? She’s so out of her league.”

It was Rachel Shelby.

She stepped forward and placed the bracelet, still glistening from the rinse, into Sophie’s hand. “Here, it’s clean. Put it on. It was Rowan’s gift.”

“Rachel!” Sophie blushed immediately and glanced at Rowan. When he didn’t object, she quietly slipped the bracelet onto her wrist.

Rachel and Rowan were cousins. The three of us had gone to the same university, though we studied different majors. When Rowan first brought me into their circle, Rachel made it clear she didn’t like me. No matter how hard I tried, I could never win her over.

Rowan used to reassure me, “Don’t take it to heart. Rachel just seems cold, but she’s actually soft-hearted inside.”

However, the moment Sophie appeared, Rachel lit up with a smile. How could I not see the truth?

Sophie was the only one Rachel had ever accepted.

Rachel now barked at me, “What are you doing just standing there? Come help! You were the one who insisted on raising capital for the company. Now the investors are questioning the proposal. If we lose that funding because of you, you’ll be out of Rowan’s company!”