Chapter 3
It was Julian’s best friend, Liam, and Seraphina.
Liam’s eyes were red-rimmed, his voice hoarse.
“This villa… Julian left it for you.
You were once his only light. Back then, he was so depressed he almost didn’t make it. It was looking at your photos that helped him get back on his feet.”
Seraphina stood blankly, her eyes misted over.
“After he received his full scholarship, he didn’t even need to attend classes anymore, but he came every day just to get another glimpse of you…”
Liam’s voice trailed off as he finally spotted me behind the bookshelf.
He froze.
Then, with a disgusted frown, he asked, “What are you doing here?”
He strode forward and shoved me hard.
“Get out! Don’t you dare defile the only peaceful place Julian had!
If you hadn’t clung to him so relentlessly, he wouldn’t have ended up like this!”
I stumbled from his push, and a dull ache spread in my lower abdomen.
I steadied myself, then swung my hand back and slapped him hard across the face.
“What does that have to do with me?!
I never forced him to date me, or to marry me!
He missed out on Seraphina because he was a spineless, pathetic coward!”
Seraphina’s teary voice suddenly cut in.
“He… didn’t receive the love letter I sent him?”
Liam and I both froze.
“What did you say?”
“Before the college entrance exam, I put a love letter on his desk, but I never heard back from him…”
Her voice was laced with a bitter laugh, and when she looked up again, her eyes held a hint of resentment.
“It was you, wasn’t it?” She stared at me, her gaze piercing.
“You were jealous of me, so you threw away the letter?
You made us miss out on ten whole years… and now he’s gone, and we’re separated by death…”
I knew nothing about this.
But Liam believed her.
“You evil bitch!”
He gritted his teeth and lunged at me. My stomach hit the corner of the table with a sickening thud.
A searing pain ripped through me, and blood slowly began to seep out.
My vision blurred, and I collapsed onto the floor, unconscious.
When I opened my eyes again, I was holding a textbook, dressed in my school uniform, standing outside the janitor’s closet.