All Chapters of A Lie That Cost Our Future: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Lily's POVAfter sending the resignation letter, I looked up. Lucas Karev was serving soup to his ‘fiancée’, Tate Hale.The happiest person at the table right now was Lucas' mother, Alison Karev. She pulled a family heirloom bracelet from a jewelry box and slipped it directly onto Tate’s wrist.Tate frantically tried to decline, saying, “Alison, this bracelet means so much to you. I can’t accept it.”“You're about to marry Lucas, so why can’t you accept it?”“But…” Tate’s face flushed even more.Lucas backed Alison up, settling the matter. “Just keep it.”Tate looked toward me sitting in the corner and silently mouthed, “I’m sorry.”For three whole years, all she had done was apologize to me. She would apologize for taking my place, for having to share a bed with my boyfriend, and for taking the engagement gifts that should have belonged to me.I picked up my glass of wine and downed it in one gulp. I choked so hard that tears nearly fell from my eyes.One after another, the

The next morning, Lucas drove over to pick me up.“Lily, come home with me.”“It’s fine. Your mother doesn’t want me there.”Instead of listening, he grabbed my wrist and forced me into the car. “Stop making a scene. Mom has forgotten all about yesterday.”I let out a bitter laugh. “Your mother may have forgotten all about it, but I still remember.”I couldn’t forget the disgust in her eyes when she looked at me or the dismissive words she spoke, but I couldn’t beat his stubborn persistence. Or perhaps, deep down, a tiny sliver of hope remained within me.When we returned to the Karevs’ house, Alison was, sure enough, acting as if nothing had happened. However, she still failed to recognize who I was. When Tate introduced me as her best friend, Alison simply nodded with a smile.At the dining table, the conversation suddenly switched to the wedding, and Alison asked if I would be Tate’s bridesmaid.I shook my head in refusal. “I’m busy with work and won’t have the time.”Lucas

Third-Person POVAfter Lily boarded her flight, Lucas stayed standing there for a very long time. It was only after watching her plane take off that he finally felt relieved enough to return to his car.Tate called him right then. “Lucas, after you drop off Lily, hurry back. Your mother is kicking up a fuss. She says she wants to see you.”He replied flatly, “Got it.”On his way back to the hospital, Lucas couldn’t help but replay the events of the past few days in his mind.On the night of the New Year’s Eve dinner, he had originally intended to get engaged to Lily and put an end to this three-year-long act. However, seeing Alison’s ardent and eager affection toward Tate, he changed his words at the last second.Lily had sat at the furthest spot from him, pouring glass after glass of wine down her throat and choking so hard that tears streamed down her face. He knew she was heartbroken, yet he couldn’t comfort her.Later on the balcony, he couldn’t stop himself from following h

Two days later, Lucas took Tate back to his hometown. The wedding was held there, and the venue was decorated extravagantly. Alison sat in the front row, smiling from ear to ear.Lucas put on his suit and stood at the end of the aisle. As he watched Tate walk down the aisle toward him in a white wedding dress, Lily’s face filled his mind.He recalled the day he proposed to Lily. He had timed it down to the exact second.When there were two seconds left in the countdown, he got down on one knee, pulled a diamond ring from his jacket, and slipped it onto her finger. He swore he would start a family with her and spend the rest of his life by her side. She nodded repeatedly and said yes, crying tears of joy.That night, resting in his arms, she held up the diamond ring on her hand and said, “Lucas, don’t make me wait too long.”He kissed her forehead and promised that he never would. Yet, he made her wait for three whole years.Suddenly, the officiant’s voice echoed in Lucas’s ear. “

The day Tate came to see me, it was raining. Having not seen each other for two months, she had lost a lot of weight and looked noticeably exhausted.We sat in the coffee shop, neither of us saying a word. It wasn’t until the coffee was served that the silence broke.Tate pushed the coffee toward me and said, “I’m sorry.”Over the years, she had apologized to me countless times, but I could tell that this was the only time she actually meant it.“Lily, I’m sorry. I know I have no right to say this.”“If you’re aware of that, then don’t say it at all.”Tate’s face turned pale, and tears spilled from her eyes the very next moment.“I admit… I did have feelings for Lucas that went beyond what they should have been. You know that, just like you, I grew up as an orphan. We both desperately longed for a family.“Even though the last three years were just an act, his mother always treated me like family, and Lucas took such good care of me. In my heart, I had long considered them my f