Chapter 4

I didn't let him finish. Before I knew it, I slapped him back, even harder. "Rayan, it's really over between us now."

Rayan reached out to stop me, but Naura grabbed his arm. "Rayan, can you take me home?"

I didn't look back at them. I walked straight into the house.

When I got to the bathroom, I saw my left cheek was already swollen and red.

Still pissed off, I snatched the first thing I could reach from the sink and hurled it at the mirror.

After letting off some steam, I went upstairs to grab my suitcase, only to find it was gone.

Standing in the doorway, I suddenly remembered that Rayan had gone upstairs before heading out.

Did he hide my suitcase?

I searched all over the second floor, but it was nowhere to be found. The only thing out of place was Rayan's study, which was locked.

I couldn't find the key, and I really didn't want to call him.

I went downstairs to grab something to eat, but after a couple bites, I ended up puking it all out.

My head was spinning, and my stomach felt queasy.

After a bit, I headed upstairs to the guest room, figuring I'd sleep it off.

I slept straight through until evening.

When I woke up, my head was still groggy, but my stomach felt fine. If anything, I was starving now.

I went downstairs to make myself some pastas. As I finished, Rayan walked in, cradling a bouquet of red roses.

The spot on his face where I'd slapped him had already been taken care of, but it was still a bit swollen.

He acted like nothing had happened, and with a smile, he offered me the roses. "Are you having pastas alone at home? Come on, let me take you out for something tasty."

"No. I'm good with pastas," I said.

I sat down at the table and looked up at him. "Where's my suitcase?"

"It's in my study," Rayan said, sitting down across from me, his brows knitting together. "Leona, why are you packing up?"

I took a few bites of pasta before replying, "We already broke up, so there's no reason for me to stay here anymore."

"Break up?" Rayan's face went cold. "Is this because I didn't come home for two days? Or is it because of those paparazzi stories online?"

I gave him a mocking look. "When you slapped me for Naura, were you possessed or something?"

"I..." Rayan started, but his words were interrupted by the sudden ring of his phone.

He glanced at the caller ID and answered.

His expression darkened as he listened to whoever was on the other end. Finally, he said, "Got it. I'll be there right away," and hung up.

He stood up. "Something urgent came up, so I have to head out. And about breaking up, I'm not letting that happen."

After that, Rayan softly tousled my hair, his voice gentle. "Didn't you always want to go to the beach? When I get some free time, I'll take you there. Don't stay mad at me."

I didn't say a word, kept my head down and ate my pastas in silence.

Something Rayan and the others had mentioned on purpose about Naura and the beach suddenly flashed through my mind.

When Naura was little, she almost got swept away by a wave while at the beach with her family. Ever since then, she's had a real fear of the ocean and refused to ever go again.

Because of that, Rayan started to hate the beach too.

I never knew any of this. After I got together with Rayan, I brought up going to the beach a few times, but he made excuses every time.

It wasn't until Rayan and the others brought it up that I realized the beach wasn't Naura's trauma, it was Rayan's as well.

Who cared about going to the beach with him anyway.

I called a locksmith to come to the house. After they unlocked Rayan's study, I finally got my suitcase back.

Over the past three years, Rayan bought me plenty of things. I sold the expensive designer bags for cash.

As for the rest, I took a few pieces of jewelry that would actually hold their value and left everything else behind.

Dusk was settling in outside, and a gentle rain was coming down.

I'd already called a cab, and when it pulled up to the villa, the driver cheerfully helped me put my suitcase into the trunk.

I turned around and gave the villa where I'd spent three years with Rayan one last, lingering look.

I used to be totally obsessed with Rayan, my whole world revolved around him. I always put him first, even when his friends looked down on me and never liked me.

But I kept telling myself it didn't matter, as long as Rayan cared about me.

It wasn't until today that I realized the villa's code was Naura's birthday, and even his bank card password was set to his first love's birthday.

It was me and Rayan living here, but it felt like Naura's shadow was everywhere.

I got into the cab and told the driver, "Please take me to the train station."

*****

At the office, a project kept running into problems, and Rayan had to work overtime until midnight to get everything sorted out.

He was about to head home, but as soon as he remembered that I had broken up with him, he no longer felt like going back.

Annoyed and restless, Rayan slept on the couch in his office for a few hours.

The next morning, it was Saturday, and Rayan's phone rang early. It was Nixon. "Rayan, did you know? Leona's pregnant!"

Nixon's words jolted Rayan wide awake. "What did you say?"