Chapter 2

After Henry left, I threw myself into my room and started packing up all my stuff.

I had the housekeeper call a moving company for me.

The housekeeper looked like she wanted to ask something, but my cold stare shut her up.

By the time I finished packing, it was already well past midnight.

Henry still hadn't come back, and there wasn't even a single text from him on my phone.

I let out a self-mocking laugh. Of course he wasn't thinking of me. He was probably busy fawning over his childhood sweetheart, who had just returned.

I lay in bed, tossing and turning, with the last five years replaying in my head like a movie.

As dawn crept in, I got up and lugged box after box of my belongings downstairs.

The weight of my bags dug into my hands, sharp and insistent, a dull, physical echo of the last five years.

I stood there watching as the movers loaded everything onto the truck, and then watched the truck drive away until it vanished from view.

The housekeeper brought over a glass of milk, but just the sight of it made me feel sick.

This was something Henry had specifically instructed her to do.

I was a picky eater with no set meal times, so I'd often end up with low blood sugar.

Henry had told the housekeeper to prepare a glass of milk for me every morning and night, and to make sure I actually drank it.

I shook my head, slipped into my car, and drove back to the dance troupe.

Since I was leaving, I had to wrap up everything with the troupe before I could go.

After a long, busy day, just as I was finally wrapping things up, my phone rang.

It was Henry. "Where are you? I'll send someone to pick you up," he said.

I paused, figuring I owed him a breakup in person. So I told him where I was.

Half an hour later, Henry's Bentley pulled up outside the dance troupe.

His assistant nodded politely. "Ms. Norton, Mr. Sterling is waiting for you in his usual spot at Starlight Club."

I nodded and closed my eyes to rest for a moment, trying to pull myself together.

Just as I was about to get out, the assistant seemed to struggle with his words, his throat working silently a few times before he finally spoke, "Ms. Norton, you look a bit pale. Maybe it's best not to drink tonight."

I forced a smile, a wave of bitterness rising inside me. "Thanks. You're considerate as ever."

The waiter led me to the private room that Henry and his crew always hung out in.

Crisscrossing lights danced overhead, and the VIP floor was surprisingly quiet.

Still, the buzz of laughter and conversation from inside the room spilled out into the silent hallway.

"Henry, Yvonne's finally back. Bet you're losing your mind with excitement," someone teased.

Peeking through the door, I caught a glimpse of Henry's face, half-hidden in the dim light. He just smiled quietly, not saying a word.

Someone else jumped in, "Now your stepsister's back, and that secret girlfriend you never let anyone meet is about to show up. Seriously, Henry, who's more important, your stepsister or your girlfriend?"

The whole room burst out laughing.

Henry glanced up, a cold, almost dismissive smirk playing at his lips.

Yvonne, seeing he wasn't answering, pouted and made her way over to him.

To my complete disbelief, she just sat herself right down on his lap and hooked her arms around his neck.

"Henry, you have to tell everyone," she said, her voice sweet and pleading.

Henry let out a helpless laugh and raised his hands, giving in.

He said casually, "She doesn't even come close to you. Happy now?"

Yvonne raised her hands joyfully in celebration.

She turned to the others, her face full of pride. "Told you. No one means more to Henry than I do."

Each word echoed in my ears, and a suffocating sense of frustration tightened in my chest.

My brother Jason and Henry went to college together.

Back then, the day Jason started college, I saw Henry for the first time and instantly fell for him.

After hearing from Jason that Henry was cold and aloof, never interested in girls, I secretly chased after him for days behind Jason's back, but he never paid me any attention.

After my tenth confession ended in rejection, I accepted my defeat, crushed and ready to give up.

But on my birthday, he got me away from everyone and dragged me into a shadowy stairwell.

In that tight space, our skin brushed against each other.

Shaking all over, I whispered, "Henry, what are you doing?"

His long arm wrapped around my waist, and for once, he actually smiled at me. "Isabelle, is that how little patience you have when you're chasing someone?"

His grip tightened. "I'll be with you. Don't just leave like that."

That was the moment my feelings finally bloomed.

My breath caught, and the next second, Henry pressed a kiss to the corner of my mouth.

"Let's be together, okay?" Henry said softly.

That year, fresh out of college, I packed my bags without a second thought and went straight to Halasria, where Henry was.

I thought it was the start of something beautiful, but I never imagined it'd end like this.

Coming back to myself, I looked across the private room at Henry. His features seemed sharper than ever under the low light, and my eyes burned with tears I wouldn't allow to fall.

If he didn't care for me, he could have simply kept refusing. There was no need to give me hope, only to make me feel like a fool.

Now, I was done playing along with his games.