Chapter 1

A hotel caught fire, and among the trapped people I saw my girlfriend, who had claimed she was overseas on a business trip.

Her clothes were disheveled, and she was nestled intimately in the arms of her male secretary.

After we were rescued, I called her, but she impatiently complained that I was checking up on her.

That night, however, I came across an Instagram post uploaded by her male secretary.

The two of them were taking an intimate cheek-to-cheek selfie, and the hickeys on my girlfriend’s neck were clearly visible.

The caption read: “We survived the fire together. I guess we’ll grow old together in this lifetime.”

I sneered and clicked Like.

The next second, the Instagram post was deleted, and my girlfriend took the initiative to call me and explain herself—a first.

I cut her off. “There’s no room for three people in a relationship. I’m out.”

By the time Jenna Carter called me again, a week had already passed since the fire.

“I’m back from my business trip. I’m at the airport now. Come pick me up.”

Her tone was exactly the same as always, as if she weren’t the same person who had cursed me over Ethan Cole’s Instagram post not long ago.

I refused almost without hesitation.

“The airport? Am I supposed to go there and play along with your little act?”

After saying that, I ignored Jenna’s questioning from the other end of the phone and hung up.

She had lied and told me she was going overseas on a business trip, claiming that the time difference made it inconvenient for us to contact each other and asking me not to call her unless necessary.

But what was the truth?

I had found the passport she’d forgotten to take with her at home.

If not for the fire, when I had seen her hiding in Ethan’s arms with my own eyes, I really would have had no idea what kind of business trip she had supposedly gone on.

It turned out that “overseas” was the hotel, and her male secretary, Ethan Cole, was the “million-dollar client” she had mentioned.

She had used up my trust, and perhaps during all the times I failed to notice, she had done this countless times already.

The thought made my entire body feel uncomfortable, and even my heart began to ache sharply.

So after all these years, the love between us meant nothing more to her than this.

While I was lost in thought, Jenna came home.

When she saw me there, she frowned deeply and threw her handbag onto the floor.

She complained angrily, “You’re obviously at home, so why couldn’t you come pick me up?”

“Ryan Blake, what’s that supposed to mean?”

I turned my head and glanced at her indifferently. I knew she was waiting for me to take the initiative and apologize.

After all, whenever something displeased Jenna in the past, she would smash or throw whatever was within reach.

And every time, I would walk over to comfort her, sometimes even making promises to calm her down.

For example, I would buy her a Hermès bag or promise not to keep tabs on her anymore.

But now, I was suddenly tired.

I didn’t want to keep following behind her like some ridiculous admirer.

When she saw that I remained where I was, Jenna pressed her lips together, her expression growing even uglier, but she still walked over to me.

“Ethan was only joking. Young people like using trendy phrases nowadays. You don’t understand them, but he didn’t mean anything by it.”

I said nothing.

I would never believe Jenna’s pale excuses again.

When she saw me walk to the entryway to put on my shoes, she froze for a moment before following me patiently.

“Didn’t you hear me talking to you? Where are you going now?”

I didn’t know where I was going either. I simply didn’t want to stay in the same room as Jenna.

“There’s still something going on at the station. I won’t be coming back tonight.”

Just as I pushed open the door and walked out, Jenna called after me.

She snatched the car keys from my hand and brushed past my shoulder, leaving the apartment first.

“Perfect. I need to go out too. I’ll drive you to the station.”

The refusal had barely reached my lips when she was already standing by the elevator.

She turned her head toward me, her expression calm.

“What are you waiting for? Let’s go.”

I hated how she acted as if nothing had happened. I even found it ridiculous. Wasn’t she tired of putting on this act?