Chapter 2

After I was discharged from the hospital, I threw myself into planning the wedding.

I handled everything on my own—the venue, the guest list, the decorations, even the exact color of every single flower.

I placed Nadia's name at the very top of the guest list. In my heart, I believed I had finally won. I believed that, this time, I mattered more to him than she did.

To me, that wedding was supposed to be our happy ending. It was a farewell to everything that came before.

I didn't know that a collapsing flower wall would destroy everything I believed in. In that moment, I finally saw the truth.

From the very beginning until the very end, Brooke had only ever looked at Nadia.

No matter how much I gave, no matter how good I was to him, his heart had never changed.

I was the only one who had been moved by my own sacrifices.

After the doctor finished stitching the cut on my face, I picked up my phone with trembling hands. One by one, I called everyone and canceled the wedding.

As I did so, the system watched me and let out a quiet sigh. "Host, are you choosing to go home?"

I took a deep breath and nodded. "How much time do I have left?"

"I've already sent the request to the main office," the system replied. "You can return in three days. If there's anything you want to do, you should do it now."

I didn't hesitate. I wanted to erase every trace of myself from this world.

I changed back into my usual clothes and threw the beautiful wedding dress straight into the trash.

Kara, my only friend in this world, was furious, tears streaming down her face. "Brooke is such a jerk! Does he even know how much effort you put into this wedding? You treated him so well. Is he blind or what?"

I gave her a small, tired smile and tried to calm her down. "It's okay. At least the wedding didn't happen. And I'll be leaving soon anyway."

"Leaving? Where are you going?" Brooke's cold voice came from behind me.

I flinched, but I quickly steadied myself.

When I turned and saw his expressionless face, the image from earlier flashed through my mind.

Just moments ago, he had been protecting Nadia. His own head was bleeding, yet the way he looked at her was filled with relief and tenderness, simply because she was safe.

Maybe I should never have tried to change his fate.

"Nowhere," I said quietly. "The wedding is a mess, so I'm just going home."

He looked at me for a second, as if weighing something in his mind. Then he said nothing, turned, and walked away.

Kara was still seething. "Did you see that? You have a huge cut on your face, and he doesn't even care. He didn't say a single kind word. He just left like that."

I smiled, but there was no warmth in it. "It doesn't matter anymore. Soon, we won't have anything to do with each other."

I understood him too well. He never wasted time on people or things he did not care about.

The only person he had ever been patient with was Nadia.

To him, I had always been someone who did not matter.

*****

The next day, I was in the guest room packing my things when I heard the front door open.

I paused, then walked out and opened the door to look. Nadia was standing in the entryway. She had already unlocked the door with the code, acting as if she lived there.

I frowned. "How do you know the password?"

She glanced at me, clearly unfazed. "It's always been my birthday. Brooke told me that no matter where he is, there will always be a place for me."

She said it so casually, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Then she walked straight toward his bedroom.

Brooke never let anyone into his room. He had told me more than once that it was his private space and that he did not want anyone else in there.

I had always respected that boundary. I used to joke that once we got married, we would finally have to share a room.

But before I could even process it, I saw Brooke open the door and pull Nadia inside.

"Brooke, this is all my fault," Nadia said softly from inside the room. "If you hadn't protected me, you wouldn't have gotten hurt so badly."

"It's fine," Brooke replied. His voice was low and gentle. "As long as you're okay, nothing else matters. Does Toby mind that you're here?"

"I don't care what he thinks," Nadia said. "To me, you're the most important person."

Their voices were soft, almost intimate. Hearing them like that made it feel like something inside my chest had been hollowed out.

Brooke had always been distant with me, so much so that I had almost forgotten he was capable of being this gentle with someone he truly loved.

A long time later, the door finally opened, and Nadia walked out.