Chapter 2

"If anyone even mentions Jessica, I'll smack them every time I see them," he warned.

After graduation, we squeezed into a shared apartment in the big city.

He held my hand and said, "I'll earn lots of money so you can spend it however you want. I'll take care of you for the rest of my life."

Back then, his eyes were shining with dreams. I believed him, like Harley did at that moment.

But I forgot. Youthful innocence was something couldn't never reclaim.

Back then, he truly wanted to be good to me. Later, he truly wanted to be good to someone else.

After his business took off, his surroundings were always filled with the scent of different perfumes.

At that moment, tears rolled down my cheeks as I confronted him, asking what was really going on.

Harley hugged me tight and swore on everything, saying he was tagging along with clients at a club, and that he'd never betrayed me.

I believed him. Then came the second time.

And the third, his patience wore thin. Maybe Harley didn't care enough to soothe me anymore.

He tossed out, "Fine, Jessica, let's get married. That way you'll stop overthinking."

That sentence was like a lifeline thrown to someone drowning. I could finally breathe again after feeling like I was suffocating.

I threw myself into planning the wedding, taking care of his family, doing everything I could to be the good wife everyone expected.

And then today finally arrived. The day he cut off my last hope.

I knew exactly which girl he meant. That intern, Natalie Reed, who had a hint of resemblance to me in her eyes and smile.

She hadn't even graduated yet, bursting with youthful energy, and he'd bent the rules to hire her.

Harley said it was because she reminded him of me.

Of course. With a girl that young and vibrant right there, why would he ever want to share a bed with me again?

I looked at Harley, so familiar to me. I could still see traces of the boy he used to be in his expression.

The one who held my arm and was the pillar of my youth. Maybe he was an illusion from the very beginning.

Time didn't kill him. It showed his true colors. The real Harley, the side I never really saw, and never wanted to face.

Suddenly, after what felt like forever, a cold chill brushed across the back of my hand.

I glanced down. Tears shimmered against my skin, as if they'd become broken moonlight scattered across icy, wet ground.

In the end, everything faded away, leaving only emptiness behind.

Harley looked visibly annoyed. "Is this really necessary, Jessica? It's a wedding. Once I've got you back, I could throw you ten weddings just for fun."

Seeing I didn't react, he chuckled and carried on, "You're not young anymore, Jessica.

"Your mom's gone, you don't even have a job. Who else is going to support you if you leave me? Don't make a scene."

Harley reached out and wiped away my tears, a mocking smirk on his face. "Why don't you stay home and reflect on yourself? That little girl's still waiting for me to bring her some hot milk."

With that, he walked out, grinning from ear to ear, marriage certificates in hand.

Watching his swaggering figure disappear, I rushed into the bathroom and couldn't stop retching.

Was this really necessary, Jessica? It was.

Harley had forgotten that I'd waited ten years for this wedding.

This wedding was my last refusal to let go. But now, he'd cut off even my last straw with his own hands.

My heart went completely numb. Trembling, I pulled the inheritance papers out of my pocket.

After a long while, I took out my phone and dialed a number.

I quietly packed my bags all night. As dawn was breaking, I went downstairs.

From the living room, I could hear soft gasps and desperate pleas for mercy.

"I can't, darling, I really can't. It's my first time, and I'm having my period," Natalie whimpered.

"Good girl, it won't hurt, you're doing so well..." Harley cooed.

I stood stunned by the stairs, my suitcase slammed into my shin, but I felt nothing.

My legs were heavy as lead, completely frozen.

Maybe they heard me, because the voices in the living room went silent.

A few minutes later, Natalie, the girl who looked a bit like me, came out holding Harley's hand.

The moment she saw me, her eyes welled up with tears. She grabbed Harley and gave him a few light punches.

She complained. "Didn't you say you broke up with her? Why is she still here? Isn't this our new place?

"I told you I wouldn't be the other woman! You're such a jerk, you took my first time. You have to make it up to me, you have to."

Harley grinned wickedly, pulling her in and patting her head. "You can't escape now. We're officially hitched. Got the government papers and everything.

"And as for her, don't you see she's got a suitcase? Looks like she's finally packing up to leave."

He glanced at me and stepped in close.