The Rules Were Only for Me のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 1 - チャプター 9

"So because you and Sylvie aren't dating, she can hold your hand whenever she wants? Is that it?"Silence fell.Gavin Prescott's brows drew together. "Sylvie and I grew up together. She's family to me. Stop twisting everything into something dirty."Once, I might have convinced myself he had a point.But every rule he imposed on me, Sylvie Locke was free to break."Nina, stop making a scene. I just don't want us to ruin something meaningful by rushing into a shallow relationship."I looked down at my torn clothes and laughed. I couldn't help it."When I called you for help, you heard someone trying to break down my door. You told me to wait another hour. If the police had arrived even a minute later, I might have...""But you're fine now, aren't you?" he interrupted. "Don't blame me for the worst thing you can imagine when it never actually happened."Blood ran down my forehead. My wrist was so swollen I could barely feel it. Bruises covered every patch of exposed skin.But t

Bruised and aching, I dragged myself back to my apartment and began to pack.I'd lived there for three years. Somehow, every belonging I owned fit into a single suitcase.As I finished packing, I found an old pocket watch.Dad had pressed it into my hand when I left home three years earlier. "If Gavin ever treats you badly, you come straight back," he'd told me.But I hadn't gone home once.Gavin claimed our relationship hadn't reached the meet-the-parents stage.The night Dad went in for heart treatment, I'd sat alone in the hospital while Gavin stayed at Sylvie's bedside because she had a fever.Later, Dad had asked whether Gavin disliked him.I'd made excuses. Gavin was just busy with work, I'd said.Looking back, Dad had seen the truth long before I did.I'd spent three years clinging to an absurd progress chart, lying to myself.I placed the watch in my suitcase.I'd just zipped it closed when Gavin opened the front door."Finn's calmed down. Sign that letter and we c

Gavin Prescott stopped dead, as if he'd just heard something impossible."Moved out?"When? Why didn't I know?"Kessler kept gathering abandoned odds and ends, plainly irritated."I just told you. Five days ago."Poor girl even gave up a month's security deposit. Just up and left."Gavin remembered Nina saying they were breaking up.He'd assumed she was angry and that a few sweet words would bring her around.Now, at last, he understood she had meant it.He'd even congratulated himself on how unusually quiet and agreeable she'd been toward the end.That wasn't obedience. It was what happened when someone had run out of love."That can't be right," he murmured, panic rising in his voice. "She wouldn't just leave me."She was happy when I proposed. I know she was..."Kessler stopped working and cut him off. "She left something valuable behind. If you've got a way to reach her, tell her to pick it up. Otherwise I'll have to dispose of it."Gavin looked up in a daze.In Kess

Gavin staggered, barely able to remain on his feet.He stared at Sylvie as though he'd never seen her before."You still think Nina just left because she was in a bad mood, don't you?" Sylvie asked coldly.He swallowed. "What else would it be?"Sylvie let out a scornful laugh."You're so moved by your own devotion."You think she's sulking? She's finally seen you clearly. She's done wasting her life on you."You broke her heart over and over, and now you're going to stand there telling me how much you love her? It's pathetic."Gavin's expression turned thunderous."Shut up."Get out. Now."It was the first time he'd spoken to Sylvie like that.She stared at him, eyes reddening."I've been beside you all these years, and you can't appreciate one thing I've done? What makes Nina so special that she deserves all your love?"Gavin didn't want to hear another word."I'm only going to say this one more time. Get out."Sylvie stopped pretending to be fragile."Why should I? I

I didn't answer.From that day on, Gavin appeared outside my building every single day.When I went out for my morning walk, he was there.When I came down in the evening, he was there.Wind or rain made no difference.At first, the neighbors thought it was romantic. People passing by remarked on how devoted he must be to wait there day after day.But eventually, they noticed how I reacted to him.And they understood: this wasn't devotion. It was obsession. He was harassing someone who'd already told him no.The sympathetic comments stopped.People began talking about how he couldn't respect boundaries. How embarrassing his relentless pursuit was. How a man who'd failed to appreciate someone when she loved him had no right to play the tragic romantic hero afterward.Through every apology and plea, I treated Gavin as if he weren't there.I crossed the street when I saw him. I walked past him without looking up. I never answered a single question.I didn't turn around. Didn't