Chapter 1

The day I was told I was dying, Ethan was planning to propose to Audrey.

"Summer, your heart failure is end-stage. At most... you have only one month left," the doctor said.

I calmly tucked the diagnosis report into my pocket and returned to Ethan's apartment.

The bedroom door was slightly ajar.

Audrey's gasps drifted out from inside. "Ethan, be gentle. It hurts."

Then came a man's low, husky chuckle, filled with satisfaction.

"What, afraid Summer will hear? You're the woman I love most. What is there to be afraid of? I only see Summer as a maid."

As the "maid," I stood outside the door, enduring the pain in my heart, still clutching the bouquet of roses he'd had someone deliver that morning, asking me to pass them to Audrey.

999 roses.

The card read: "Audrey, marry me."

I lowered my head, looked at the flowers, then at the diagnosis in my pocket, reminding me of my expiration date.

A month later, the day he married her.

That would also be the day I had chosen for my own passing.

Summer POV

New York City's main library, top-floor VIP reading room.

I stood before the shelves, carefully wiping down precious, out-of-print books and re-shelving them.

I was a librarian. The pay was minimal, the work tedious, but I'd been here for three whole years.

Because this reading room, on this very floor, was once built specifically for me by Ethan.

"This floor has the best lighting. Let's clear out all the old books." Audrey spoke softly, her eyes slightly reddened as she looked at the man beside her.

"Ethan, I want to turn this into a memorial gallery for Zach, to display his favorite models and paintings from when he was alive, okay?"

Ethan stood with one hand in his pocket, his gaze darkening slightly when Audrey mentioned Zach.

He subconsciously glanced at me, dressed in my thin work uniform not far away, a barely perceptible frown on his brow.

Then, he looked down at Audrey, his tone flat. "Alright, whatever you wish."

My wiping motion paused. I turned around.

At the entrance to the reading room, Audrey, in a designer red dress, was pointing at the surrounding bookshelves and issuing commands. Beside her stood Ethan, tall and striking in a tailored black suit.

His tone with Audrey was the familiar indulgence I once knew so well.

My heart sharply clenched, a searing pain spreading through my chest. I instinctively tightened my grip on the cleaning cloth.

Once upon a time, Ethan had indulged me in the same way.

Back then, we were still in college. I'd casually mentioned I liked reading, and Ethan had leased an entire floor in the best part of New York, scouring the world for out-of-print books to build this library, just for me.

He would drive all night, back and forth, just to buy me a limited-edition coffee from Boston. He would carefully carry me into his arms and wrap me in his coat when I fell asleep reading.

He once placed all his bank cards, property deeds, and this very library key into my hand, smiling. "Summer, I've given my life to you. You can only ever be my Mrs. Blackwood."

But now, he was destroying this place, once filled with our memories, to give it to another woman.

"Ethan." I walked up to him, my voice a little hoarse. "Many of these books are out of print; moving them might damage them. Could you...?"

"No." Ethan cut me off coldly, his eyes devoid of warmth, even holding undisguised disgust. "Audrey is holding an exhibition. Nothing from this place is allowed to remain."

I looked at his icy eyes, my throat feeling like it was stuffed with wet cotton, aching with the blockage.

Three years ago, a yacht explosion completely destroyed everything between us.

Ethan's most beloved younger brother, Zach, died in that accident, and I was the sole survivor.

Ethan was convinced that, to save myself before the explosion, I had locked the cabin door, trapping Zach in the fire.

From that day on, the Ethan who had doted on me ceased to exist. What lived on was a devil who hated me to the bone.

He didn't send me to prison. Instead, he kept me by his side in the most cruel way. He not only withdrew investment from my father's company, leading to its bankruptcy, but also forced me to stay at this library, working as a bottom-tier administrator, earning a meager salary, watching him parade around with different women every day.

And Audrey was the girl Zach loved most when he was alive.

Ethan poured all his guilt over his brother's death into compensating Audrey.

"Summer, what are you still standing here for?" Audrey walked up, looking down at me, a malicious smile playing on her lips. "Didn't you hear Ethan? Hurry up and clear out all your trash. My team is coming in tomorrow to set up the exhibition."

I took a deep breath, suppressing the increasingly fierce dull ache in my chest, and said softly. "Okay, I'll finish moving everything today."

I didn't argue. This dead-eyed submission seemed to inexplicably ignite a nameless rage within Ethan.

He walked over, his gaze falling on my reddened hands from moving books, his throat bobbing. But when he spoke, his voice was laced with ice. "What? Feeling wronged? Summer, you owe Zach your life. Is clearing a room too much to ask?"

I looked up, my eyes as vacant as empty wells. "I know. Ethan, I'll move them."

I didn't, as I had three years ago, cling to his sleeve with red-rimmed eyes, trying to explain.

Ethan looked at my expressionless face, and a fresh wave of annoyance rose in him. He sharply averted his gaze, as if looking at me any longer would sting him with that dead silence.

"Summer, who are you putting on this lifeless act for?" Ethan gritted his teeth, his voice low, only audible to the two of us. "Do you think playing the victim will make me soften? You owe Zach a life; you'll never be able to repay it!"

My chin was squeezed painfully, but I didn't even flinch.

I just calmly looked at Ethan, my eyes as vacant as empty wells.

"I know," I said softly. "I'll move them. Ethan, please let go."

Ethan looked at my unmoving face, and his frustration grew. He abruptly threw my hand away, as if discarding something dirty and worthless.

"If there's still a single book here by sundown, I'll have them all burned."

With that, he didn't even glance at me again. He turned, took Audrey's hand, and strode out of the reading room.

The footsteps gradually faded until they disappeared completely.

I finally couldn't hold myself up, my legs buckling. I collapsed onto the cold floor.

I clutched my chest, gasping for air, cold sweat instantly soaking my shirt.

My heart beat extremely slowly, each throb accompanied by a tearing pain, as if a rusty knife was twisting inside my ventricle.

My trembling hand fumbled for a white pill bottle in my pocket, shook out two pills, and swallowed them dry, without water.

A bitter taste spread in my mouth, but it was nowhere near a fraction of the bitterness in my heart.

I leaned against the bookshelf, looking at this reading room that held all my youth and love, tears silently streaming down my face.

Ethan, you don't need to chase me away.

I will soon disappear completely from your world.