Chapter 2

I remembered that I had faked being sick before to stop him from going to see Leslie.

When he found out, I had cried and promised I would never do it again, and that was the only way I had earned his forgiveness.

My hands shook as I picked up the divorce papers, my chest tightening.

Had this day finally come?

But I didn't want to die.

I tried to hold on, grabbing his arm, my voice shaky and on the verge of tears. "Elliott, what if I said I'd die if we got divorced?"

Elliott looked at me like I had lost my mind.

He yanked his arm away, disgust written all over his face.

He said, "There you go again with the drama. Why don't you just die already?"

Then, as if that wasn't enough, he added, "Jenna, you brought all this on yourself. This is what you owe Leslie."

In the winter five years ago, Leslie had come back once.

It was the day before my wedding to Elliott.

She had come to see him, but he wasn't home that night. I was the one who opened the door.

The moment I saw her face, my blood ran cold. I couldn't stop shaking.

I backed away, but Leslie kept coming closer.

"Jenna, you've got some nerve, trying to seduce Elliott after I left," she said.

To everyone else, Leslie was this sweet, sunny girl. But I knew it was all fake.

She had cornered me in the bathroom before, filled the sink with water, and shoved my head under it until I couldn't breathe.

She had cornered me in the school gym equipment room, held a half-smoked cigarette to my skin where my uniform would cover the marks, and recorded me as I sobbed in pain.

She had even locked me in the classroom on a Friday night, leaving me there for a full day and night until a security guard found me passed out.

All of this happened because I scored higher than Leslie on the final exams, and the teacher appointed me class president.

Looking at Leslie's familiar smile, I remembered all the torment I had endured through high school. My whole body screamed with the urge to run.

I was terrified. I turned to slam the door shut, but she had already stepped inside.

I forced myself to steady my nerves and said, "Leslie, you were the one who didn't want Elliott."

Leslie was a wealthy heiress, and Elliott had come from nothing.

She had never agreed to date him back then because she thought he wasn't good enough for her.

She'd only come back now that he had built a successful business and made a name for himself.

Leslie looked at me with disdain. "What's it to you? Don't you believe I could make Elliott leave you with just a flick of my finger?"

Yeah, I believed her.

Honestly, I didn't even want to think about how much Leslie meant to Elliott.

I didn't even hold a candle to the tiniest part of her in his eyes.

But I wasn't about to let her take Elliott away from me easily.

I didn't want to die.

I tried to keep my cool. "You're too late. We already got our marriage license."

Leslie didn't say anything. She suddenly grabbed my hand.

I was caught off guard. The moment she touched me, all those times she tormented me came rushing back, and my hand jerked back instinctively.

In that exact moment, Leslie fell backwards to the ground. Her leg scraped against a rock, and blood started to seep out, looking shockingly bright in the sunlight.

Before I could even process what happened, Elliott rushed over. He scooped her up, shot me a look of pure hatred, and carried her out.

Elliott had wanted to call off the wedding over that incident.

It was only when I found out I was pregnant and threatened to take my own life and the baby's that the wedding went ahead.

After that, Leslie had to give up her dance career because of the scar she got on her leg.

I had lost the baby not long after, and Leslie disappeared again, so he let the whole thing drop.

I signed the divorce papers anyway.

As soon as I finished the first letter of my name, a sharp pain shot through my chest. It felt like a swarm of ants gnawing at me in the freezing cold, making me wish I could just disappear.

I gritted my teeth and forced myself to finish signing the rest of my name.

By the time I was done, I was drenched in sweat. The pain was so bad I couldn't stand up straight.

I collapsed over the table, my hand clenched into a fist over my heart, pounding at my chest as if the physical pain could ease the agony in my soul.

I never knew dying could hurt this much.

Elliott noticed I was acting strange, but he thought it was another one of my tricks. He grabbed the signed divorce papers without a second thought and strode out of our home.

Meanwhile, my soul began to slip out of my body.

The pain was so intense I could barely breathe, gasping for air like I was drowning.

But slowly, the pain faded away.

I found myself floating above, looking down at my own body slumped over the table, and I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding.

It was finally over.

My soul felt like it was being yanked by some unseen force, floating right over to Elliott.

He had just arrived at Leslie's house.

So he hadn't stayed with Leslie that night just because he needed to come home and make me sign the divorce papers.

Now that it was done, he had come straight to her.

Leslie opened the door for him almost instantly.

As soon as she saw Elliott outside, she jumped right into his arms. Noticing the bouquet he was holding, she exclaimed, "How did you know flowers are my favorite?"

I looked at the bouquet and realized they were the kind I had always loved.

I was the one who had taught Elliott to give flowers.

Back when we first started dating, Elliott honestly had no clue what girls liked.

We had walked past a flower shop once, and I had pointed to a bouquet and said, "You know what? Girls love this kind of thing. If you surprised me with flowers sometimes, it'd make me happy."

Elliott had nodded awkwardly back then and said he'd remember.

From that day on, no matter how much money he had, he'd surprise me with that same bouquet every week.

Now that surprise belonged to Leslie.

He seemed to remember it too. His expression flickered for a second, but he said, "Leslie, if you like them, I'll bring you flowers every single day."