Chapter 4

It wasn't until our third year of marriage that I accidentally stumbled upon Louis's secret Twitter account.

Every post was filled with memories of Jasmine.

One of them was a photo of Jasmine wearing the exact same rose cocktail dress.

The caption read: [My one true rose.]

That day, I lost it. I dug out the dress I'd cherished for so long and shredded it to pieces with scissors.

It was then I realized Louis only accepted my confession because he'd seen Jasmine's official relationship post online.

The day he proposed to me was the very day Jasmine got engaged.

The love I thought was mine had someone else's shadow from the very start.

Coming out of my thoughts, I stared at Louis, who had been silent for what felt like forever.

I finally said the last thing I needed to say, "Louis, we're done."

His friends finally snapped out of it, and one od them stepped right in front of me. "Kylie, are you really going to put Louis on the spot like this?"

I smirked, giving him a once-over. "Harry Foster, did you not hear what I just said? Are you really that insensitive?"

Harry just stared at me, totally lost.

Suddenly, someone smirked. "Unbelievable. Someone really is insensitive."

I followed the voice and spotted a guy in a white T-shirt.

His eyes met mine in the crowd, a playful smile on his lips as he stepped out.

Before I could say anything, Louis spoke up first. "Colin Lamont? Why are you butting in?"

Harry finally caught on to what I'd said, shot me an angry glare, then turned to Colin.

Colin crossed his arms, giving Louis a sideways look. "I'm not here to meddle.

"I just can't stand idiots who, after getting rejected, send their friends to bite at the person who said no. That's just pathetic."

Colin had just called both of them out, and seeing Louis's face turn ashen, I felt a surge of satisfaction inside.

Colin was Louis's cousin, but because of some past history, the Lamont and Dunn families never really got along.

Back then, Louis's mom, Mandy Lamont, insisted on marrying Julian Dunn, who was twenty years older and had already been married once.

But she was already engaged at the time, so the Lamont family strongly opposed it.

Mandy ran away from her engagement party and disappeared for three months. When she returned, she was pregnant with Julian's child.

The Lamont family had no choice but to agree to her marriage with Julian, but from then on, they no longer acknowledged Mandy as their daughter.

Colin and Louis had never gotten along, so it wasn't surprising that Colin would throw a jab at Louis out of nowhere.

But right now, Louis didn't want to deal with Colin anymore.

He swallowed his anger and walked toward me again. This time, he softened his tone.

He said gently, "Kylie, you've got it all wrong. If I was into someone else, why would I ask you to marry me?

"It's our graduation day, and all I wanted was to marry you the moment we graduated."

Louis grabbed the ring box I'd just closed and popped it open again. "Marry me, Kylie," he said sincerely.

As he spoke, he took out the ring, going straight for my hand, ready to slip it on.

I was stunned by just how thick-skinned he could be.

I'd practically spelled it out for him. I knew all about Jasmine, but he was still putting on an act, pretending nothing was wrong.

I swatted his hand away, and the ring clattered to the floor.

The crowd instantly perked up, the place buzzing with shocked reactions and whispers.

Louis had always cared about his image, but after getting shot down by me twice in front of everyone, he looked both embarrassed and pissed.

Before he could say a word, I cut straight to the point. "Louis, how long are you going to keep lying to me? Until Jasmine gets divorced?"

At the mention of Jasmine's name, Louis froze, and for a second, I saw a trace of longing in his eyes.

Honestly, that was just pathetic.

Just hearing her name was enough to distract him, even in a moment like this.

I'd been kept in the dark, tiptoeing around him, loving him with everything I had. Even after learning the truth, I still couldn't let go.

I stubbornly threw myself into the fire, only to be completely destroyed before finally waking up.

Without another glance at him, I turned and strode out of that field of red roses.

Louis finally came to his senses and called out my name, "Kylie!"

I never slowed down, just kept moving forward.

The crowd gradually dispersed, and Louis's friends came up one after another to comfort him.

But he didn't say a word. He just stood there in silence, his ears buzzing.

After a while, the buzzing faded, and something shifted in his eyes. He murmured under his breath, "Kylie."

Just then, someone appeared before him. He looked up and saw Colin's smug face staring back at him.

"Louis, you're seriously disgusting," Colin said.

I followed my memories back to the apartment I'd rented off-campus.

Everything was just as I remembered, couple-themed stuff everywhere, but the other side was practically untouched.

I was the one who picked out all those matching items, trying to make it feel like a home for both of us.

But honestly, Louis hardly ever came over. It was always me going to him.

My phone buzzed, and I checked the screen. It was a friend request.

Colin Lamont: [I swear, you've got it all wrong. There's nothing else going on.

Colin? Why would he add me?

I remembered that in my previous life, Colin actually helped me out once.

Back then, Jasmine was hell-bent on getting rid of me so she could marry Louis.

But my family was working on a project with Dunn Group, so Louis would never divorce me.

Jasmine was ruthless and had plenty of dirty tricks up her sleeve.

At a charity party, she bribed a waiter to spike my drink, then had him drag me to a room, just so she could catch me in the act and get evidence of me cheating.

After I drank that glass, my head started spinning. I tried to find Louis, but Jasmine had already pulled him aside.

With no other option, I found an excuse to slip out of the event.

But the waiter Jasmine had bribed kept blocking my way, insisting I needed to rest in a room.

I could tell something was off, and tried to break free, but my body was going numb and weak.I just didn't have the strength to fight back.

Just as he was about to pull me into the room, I used the last bit of energy I had and randomly grabbed someone nearby.