Chapter 3
The car weaved its way through the curtain of rain.
My phone kept buzzing in my pocket. I pulled it out and glanced at the screen.
It was a message from James's assistant: [Ms. Taylor, Mr. Preston is furious. He says if you go back and apologize to Ms. York right now, the engagement party can still be postponed. Or...]
Or what? He'd blacklist me? Or kick me out?
I hit delete without a second thought.
Then I opened my contacts. James's name had been at the very top for ten years, with a little red heart next to it. Now, seeing it there, all I could feel was irony.
My fingers trembled, not just from the cold, but from the sharp pain twisting in my chest. I blocked and deleted James Preston. Then his assistant, his friends, and everyone connected to him.
When I was done, I could finally breathe a little easier, even though my lungs were burning from lack of air.
[Countdown: 20 minutes.]
*****
The car pulled up in front of an old apartment complex on Riverside Avenue. Half of it had already been torn down, leaving behind nothing but broken walls and rubble.
I paid the driver and stumbled out of the car.
The rain kept pouring, making everything a blur. Guided only by memory, I made my way to the old building.
There was a huge lemon tree there, and underneath it, we had once carved our names into the bark. Now the bark was peeling away, with James nearly unreadable, leaving only a fragmented Anna standing alone in the rain.
My heart suddenly clenched so hard it felt like it might burst. I let out a muffled groan, curling up in the muddy water beneath the tree.
God, it hurt so much.
It hurt even more than the time I drank for James until my stomach bled.
It hurt more than when his mother called me a homewrecker right to my face.
It hurt even more than seeing him cradle Emily in his arms, comforting her.
I tried to reach for my phone, but my fingers were so stiff they wouldn't move at all.
My phone screen lit up with a news alert: [Preston Holdings CEO Throws Lavish Birthday Party for Intern, Is a Big Announcement Coming Soon?]
The photo had been taken earlier at the restaurant. James had taken off his suit jacket and draped it over Emily, looking at her with a gaze so tender it could melt anyone.
And there, barely visible in the corner of the background, was a blurry silhouette of me slipping away.
How funny. Everything I'd done my entire life had been a joke.
My consciousness started to fade. My body went weightless, and the pain that had been tearing me apart slowly slipped away. Scenes from my life flashed before my eyes, one after another.
The first time I met James, he was standing in the sunlight with this easy smile, wearing a crisp white shirt.
The system's voice echoed in my head. "Make him fall for you, and you get to live."
And I actually believed it. For ten years, I swallowed my pride and twisted myself into whatever version of me he wanted, all just to keep him happy.
I stopped eating spicy food because my stomach was sensitive.
I stopped wearing short skirts because he said they weren't appropriate.
I stopped hanging out with other guys because he was so possessive.
By the end, I wasn't anything more than an accessory to James. Just his shadow.
And a shadow didn't really live.
[Countdown: 10 seconds. 9, 8, 7...]
The rain pelted my face, but I couldn't feel the cold anymore. I struggled to open my eyes and stared up at the pitch-black sky.
If I could start over, I would never fall for him again. Never let the system run my life. Just be myself, the real Anna.
[3, 2, 1. System disengaged. Host Anna Taylor, confirmed dead.]
At that moment, I could almost hear my heart come to a halt. At last, the world was silent.