The company Julia worked for was one of the top 500 in the city. She'd mentioned before that she landed an internship there and that things were only going to get better for us.

Back then, I held her close and said, "Lia, I'm happy as long as I'm with you."

I shook off those unwanted memories that suddenly popped up in my head and walked into the company. As expected, Julia's office was on the highest floor.

I kept my face blank as I went along. The more extravagant the office looked, the more our past of relying on each other felt absurd.

Julia wasn't in her office, but a photo of her with Tobias, her childhood sweetheart, was on her desk.

They were hugging each other on the yacht I'd seen once and couldn't forget. Julia puckered her lips, ready to kiss Tobias on the cheek.

My fingers froze up and started shaking on their own. Suddenly, it felt like all the noise just vanished, and all I could hear was my heart pounding. My blood was on fire, and it went straight to my head.

I heard the door open, and Julia appeared in the doorway, looking displeased. "Who allowed you to touch my things? Why are you being so rude?"

She marched over, yanked the photo out of my hand, and gently put it back on her desk.

I felt like I was going to pass out, but I managed to say, "I brought you the documents. I'm leaving now."

Julia checked the documents in her hand and casually glanced up at me. She paused, then dropped the papers and rushed over to help me.

"Austin, you don't look so good. What's wrong?" she asked, a look of guilt crossing her face. "I was wasted last night, and honestly, I don't remember much. Please don't take it personally."

She reached out to feel my forehead, then snapped, "What did you do to get such a high fever? Sit here, I'll get you to the hospital later!"

I sat, feeling disoriented as if the Julia I knew—gentle and strong—had returned. But then the door creaked open again, pulling me out of my daydream.

Tobias entered, head to toe in designer labels. He seemed like the perfect guy for Julia. He looked at me, pretending to be concerned. "Austin, what's wrong? You look terrible."

Before Julia could explain, he added, "Are you seriously still mad about her giving me the yacht?"

Julia's face immediately shifted, and whatever hope I had left was gone.

I gave a weak smile. "That's between you guys, not me."

I thought saying those words would crush me, but strangely, I felt calm. Julia could do whatever she wanted. It no longer affected me anymore.

But Julia, who'd always distanced herself from me, suddenly got up and shot me a cold look. "Austin, there's a limit to how far your anger can go. Tobias is worried about you. What's with your attitude?"

I didn't even look her way. "His worry for me is overwhelming."

Tobias saw the tension between us and acted all concerned. "Lia, don't let Austin get to you! He just loves you too much, or he wouldn't have set me up. We don't get to see each other often. How about we grab a drink and put the past behind us?"

He fetched a bottle of red wine that Julia had kept for ages.

I remained calm as I stared at the bottle. I'd saved up to buy it for our last anniversary, and I never thought Julia would still have it.

What really surprised me, though, was how easily she brought it out just to keep Tobias happy.

"I don't drink, and I'm not interested," I said flatly.

Tobias seemed awkward, his eyes searching Julia's for help. As expected, Julia stepped in to fix things.

She grabbed the bottle of wine and shoved it toward my lips. "Austin, drink up! Or don't expect me to drive you to the hospital!"

I stared at Julia, stunned. I never expected her to say something like that.

She held onto me so hard, her nails sinking into my wound. I held my ground, eyes fixed on hers.

Tobias played the helpless card again, acting all worried. "Lia, I've forgiven him. Please don't let this come between you two because of me!"

Julia's anger flared up even more. "Austin, don't you feel any shame? You harmed Tobias so much, but he forgave and looked out for you! But you? You're just jealous of him and can't even bring yourself to apologize!"

I suddenly felt drained the second I saw her face. "So what if I refuse to drink this? What are you going to do?"

Julia's face went grim, and she replied coldly, "If you don't drink it, I'll find a way to make you!"

She called Tobias over and kept me pinned in place. Then, she lifted the bottle and shoved it into my mouth. The wine kept flowing down my throat, some slipping into my nose.

I choked and gasped for air, but Julia showed no sign of letting up. She kept pressing on my wound until it ripped open, and blood began to spill.

Tears and snot were running down my face as my eyes turned red, but Julia and Tobias kept me locked in place. I couldn't break loose, no matter how much I fought.

It wasn't until the whole bottle of wine was forced down my throat that Julia finally let go after I shoved her off. Feeling dizzy and sick, I held onto the armrest and gagged, but she didn't seem to notice.

She cleaned the blood off her hands, took Tobias' hand, and gently said, "Don't be upset. I made sure he paid. He didn't bother to apologize, so he earned this! Just wait, I'll make sure he says sorry!"

Tobias grinned. "It's fine, Lia. All that matters is that you understand me."

I was disgusted hearing their lovey-dovey chatter. I hadn't eaten anything all morning, so even though I was vomiting, all I could throw up was some water.

I was done being their pawn in their little flirting game. I leaned on the couch for support, stumbled to my feet, and made my way to the door.

Julia's voice was sharp as she called my name. "Austin Wilder! Where do you think you're going? You still haven't apologized to Tobias!"

I stayed where I was and said flatly, "Julia, we're done. You've got one day to get your stuff out of my place."

Julia's expression immediately shifted, but I was done trying to keep her happy. I headed straight for the door. Right when I got to the hallway, my legs gave out, and I collapsed.

The last thing I heard before I blacked out was someone shouting, "Blood! He's bleeding out!"

…

I woke up to a whirlwind of noise surrounding me. I strained to make out the sounds and realized it was my buddy, Mark Osborne.

"Julia, have you lost it? Don't you know Austin's allergic to alcohol? Even if you didn't know, you should've known he got hit by a car while getting you a gift! And you're still pressing on his wound? Are you trying to kill him?"