Chapter 1

Three years after I accidentally drank the invisibility potion, Simon Hawthorne started bringing other women home.

Afterward, he'd always come to me and confess.

"Forgive me, Emily. I was just so lonely," he'd say.

I couldn't help but blame myself for everything.

But then, at his victory party, when Simon got drunk, I overheard him talking to his friend.

"Why rush? When I've had my fun, I'll give her the antidote."

"The way she cries, naked and desperate, honestly, it's way more entertaining than any scientific research."

That was when I realized he'd had the antidote all along.

He'd been able to see me this whole time.

*****

Simon's new project had just won a world-class award, and after the victory party, he got home late.

He and his friend Ryan Linwood came back together, since they hadn't had enough at the party, and Simon pulled out a bottle of red wine he'd been saving for ages.

I hid myself in the corner.

Ryan filled both their glasses and asked, "Simon, Emily's not here, right?"

Simon tugged at his tie, his tone full of contempt. "Her? She's way too uptight. She knows she's naked, so whenever there's a man around, she just hides herself away."

I was stunned, unable to believe those words actually came out of his mouth.

He was the one who always insisted he didn't want me naked in front of other men.

Ryan lowered his voice. "It's been three years. You can't keep her invisible forever, right? When are you going to..."

Simon cut him off. "Why rush? That's exactly why I made her invisible, so I wouldn't get tied down by marriage too soon. When I've had enough fun, I'll give her the antidote. I'm going to marry her anyway."

'Antidote?

A cold chill shot through my soul, freezing me to the core.

"She's so gullible and docile. She believes every word I say. I told her nobody could see or hear her, so now she just scribbles notes to me every day," Simon said.

"She'd never guess that I'm the only one in the world who can see her.

"Sometimes, when I don't feel like dealing with her, I just ignore her notes completely. You wouldn't believe how desperate she gets.

"And honestly, watching her cry, naked and helpless, is way more entertaining than any scientific research."

Ryan let out a low whistle, clearly impressed. "Damn, that's cold-blooded!

"You set her up to drink the invisibility potion, and she still thinks it was her own mistake, blaming herself all this time. That fool is so easy to manipulate. But seriously, after three years, she hasn't suspected a thing?"

Simon's eyes were hazy, a lazy smirk on his lips.

"Not only does she not suspect a thing, but before, I only fooled around outside. Now I bring those women home, and after I'm done, I just throw a few comforting words her way, and she actually thinks it's all her fault.

"And when I'm hooking up with them, she's right there, watching the whole thing Man, it's such a thrill."

The two of them shared a glance and just cracked up.

Every word felt like a blade, slicing right through my empty heart.

I didn't drink the invisibility potion by mistake.

He'd been able to see me all along.

Of course, how could I have missed it? Simon was the genius everyone admired, the one who invented the invisibility potion. If he wanted, he could see me, even when I was invisible.

He always promised he'd make the antidote soon.

I spent three years waiting, completely in the dark, never realizing he'd been holding onto the antidote the whole time.

All my pain, guilt, and self-blame, he just saw it as a pathetic joke, something for his own twisted entertainment.

The air was dead silent.

Not long after Ryan left, the doorbell rang.

Moments later, a sweet, teasing voice floated in. "Dr. Hawthorne, why'd you call me over so late?"

Simon chuckled, "Come on, you were looking forward to this too, weren't you?"

He didn't waste any time with chit-chat.

Less than three minutes later, the sound of heavy breathing started coming from the bedroom.

This was the twelfth woman he'd brought home in just two months.

Today's guest was Mia Chandler, a minor celebrity who'd been blacklisted after pissing off the wrong people.

I walked in and stood by the bed.

Simon's gaze zeroed in on me, laced with mockery and playful cruelty.

The woman beneath him complained, "Dr. Hawthorne, are you spacing out again?"

Simon didn't say a word, but his movements grew even rougher.

But his eyes kept locking onto me.

Over the years, I'd felt his gaze on me, barely there, almost like a ghost, and every time, I convinced myself it was just in my head.

Maybe it was just my own misery messing with my mind.

Or maybe it meant we were really connected, that we actually loved each other.

But it was none of those things.

He was getting off on me watching him.

It was disgusting.