Chapter 1

After finding out Leopold Soto had kept a college girl as his mistress, I tried to kill myself three times and caused a big drama once.

Another time, I fell to the floor, begging him to come back to me.

"For the ten years we've been together. I was only twenty when I started with you. I gave you my best years.

"Now I'm thirty, and you're saying you love someone else. I can't take it..."

I was a mess, completely out of control, clinging to his leg and bawling my eyes out, snot and tears everywhere.

But what he said shocked me.

He shot me a look full of disgust and said, "Veronica, don't make me despise you. All this drama, aren't you just scared she'll take your spot as Mrs. Soto?

"Gloria's just a clueless kid, not even twenty, so innocent. You really think she's anything like you?"

That was the first time I ever saw real disgust in his eyes toward me.

We were together for ten years.

From those naive early days, to building our business together, and now, we couldn't even stand the sight of each other.

That was the end.

I just couldn't wrap my head around it. He promised he'd love me for life. I wondered how he could stop loving me after just ten years.

*****

By the time I got to Dordor, I was nothing but skin and bones.

The priest, Philip Mitchell, looked stunned the moment he saw me.

I knew I looked like a ghost. I'd dropped from 102 pounds to 83, my cheekbones sharp as knives, my eyes sunk deep, and my hair was falling out in clumps.

I didn't even recognize the woman staring back at me in the mirror.

I stayed on the ground at the church entrance all afternoon.

I wasn't there to pray for romance or to beg for us to get back together.

I just needed an answer to one question.

When a young priest finally came out to invite me in, my knees had gone numb from being on the ground. I wobbled as I stood up, almost toppling over.

Philip was sitting inside the church, dressed in a red robe, his face gentle and kind.

His gaze was layered. There was compassion, a trace of reluctance, and a kind of heartache I couldn't quite describe.

I sat down across from him, tried to say something, but my throat was so choked up I couldn't get a single word out.

My tears started falling before I could say anything.

Philip just sat there, quietly waiting for me to finish crying, then handed me a tissue.

Philip's voice was gentle, as if he were afraid to startle me. "Girl, what do you want to ask?"

I wiped away my tears, took a deep breath, and finally blurted out the question that had tormented me for countless days.

"Father, he said he'd love me forever... How could he stop loving me after only ten years?"

The moment I said it, the tears came rushing back.

Ten years.

Three thousand six hundred and fifty days.

Every meal I made for him, every sleepless night I spent for him, every opportunity I let slip, and every time I bent my principles for him.

Each one felt like a knife, stabbing my heart again and again.

Philip sat there in silence for a long time.

The church was so quiet that all I could hear was the wind rustling the flags.

Then he finally spoke. His voice wasn't loud, but every word hit me right in the heart.

Philip said softly, "Girl, only when you love yourself will others love you. If you can't even care for yourself, how can you expect anyone else to?"

I was frozen, completely caught off guard.

Philip continued, "Remember, in this world, you're the one who should love yourself the most. Whether others love you or not doesn't really matter.

"Once you truly understand this, your worries will naturally fade away."

Those words were like a ray of light, suddenly piercing through the darkness that had swallowed my heart.

I remembered so many things.

I thought back to when I was twenty and got accepted into grad school. My professor told me I had real talent and should keep studying.

But Leopold said he wanted to start a business and needed me by his side. Without even hesitating, I gave it all up for him.

I remembered when I was twenty-three and the company was struggling. I sold the house my mom left me and put it all into the business.

Leopold looked at me and said, "Veronica, you're amazing. I swear I'll never let you down for the rest of my life."

I remembered when I was twenty-five and caught him getting way too close with a younger girl from his department.

They'd be messaging each other at all hours, even in the middle of the night.

I made a scene. He spent three whole days trying to calm me down, saying she was just a clueless kid who kept coming to him with questions. I believed him.

I remembered when I was twenty-eight and he came home from a business dinner, a lipstick stain on his collar.

He said a client had gotten drunk and accidentally brushed against him. I believed him.