Chapter 1
Jonathan Reed did whatever it took to make me his girlfriend, just so he could help his precious sister Meggie steal a guy.
We were together for five years, and he always gave me the best of everything. I believed he was the one, that he truly loved me.
But everything changed when I found out I was pregnant. Eager to surprise him with the news, I rushed to him with the test results in my hand, only to uncover the truth I'd never expected.
Jonathan, sitting on his high horse, offered me two choices:
One, take three million bucks and disappear.
Two, pretend nothing ever happened, and he would continue to treat me the same way.
Everyone thought I would choose the second option, especially since they all knew how deeply I loved him.
But without a second thought, I chose the first.
Jonathan lost it.
"Meggie, why can't you love me again?" he pleaded.
*****
"Jonathan, I don't want you anymore. This time, I just want to love myself," I said, my voice unwavering.
For thirty days, Jonathan showered me with expensive, one-of-a-kind gifts.
But today, everything was different. He burst through the door, covered in blood, holding a single flower in his hands.
I instantly recognized it—the flower we had found during that bleak winter under the bridge. It was the only color in our otherwise dreary world.
"Meggie," he said, voice trembling, "the flower… it bloomed again. I brought it back for you."
His eyes were full of hope, as if the bloom of this one flower could erase everything that had gone wrong.
But I remained silent, my face cold and distant, not a flicker of emotion.
Slowly, the light in his eyes dimmed. Without saying a word, he forced a smile, placing the flower in a vase and setting it on the windowsill where I usually sat.
I wanted to tell him that his smile hurt more than any tearful sob.
Behind him, his bodyguards were frantic.
"Mr. Reed, you're bleeding! You need to get to the hospital now!" one of them shouted.
A drop of blood slid from his forehead, landing on the delicate petals of the flower.
Jonathan was flustered. "Meggie, I'll clean it up right away..."
His hands were smeared with blood. I remembered how he'd tried to pick that flower for me back then. He scraped his hands and even hurt his foot in the process.
I used to think those moments were proof of our love, but now I realized it was all just a performance to make me hopelessly devoted to him.
I looked at him coldly, the blood on the pale petals strikingly jarring.
"Stop. It's dirty now, and that's just how it is," I said, my voice flat.
I turned to the maid Olivia Prescott. "Throw it out."
Jonathan froze, his hands trembling as he watched Olivia toss the flower and vase out the window. He stood helplessly, unable to stop her.
Turning back, he tried to smile, "Meggie, how about I come back tomorrow?"
It was the same pleading tone, the same attempt to pretend like nothing had ever happened, just like how he'd acted after hurting me before.
Once, he had been the golden boy. Now, he was just a man lost in his own mess. I sighed, and the words came out before I could stop them.
"Jonathan, don't come back. I never want to see you again." My voice was cold and final.
As he walked toward the door, Jonathan's legs suddenly gave way. It was like, in that moment, all his strength had been drained.
But with the help of his bodyguards, he regained his balance, then turned to smile at me.
"Maggie, you must be tired. You should get some rest," he said softly.
He said it quickly, afraid I would reject him again, and then stumbled out of the door like a man escaping.
Olivia looked at me, then at him, and finally picked up the flowers from the ground, placing them back in their original spot.
She spoke with a hint of defiance, "I don't know what happened between you two, but it's clear that Mr. Reed really regrets it. He really loves you, Miss. Don't you think you could forgive him?"
I looked at Olivia, my eyes hollow and full of sorrow.
But I didn't have a chance to forgive him anymore. Not after this morning. My sense of taste was gone forever.