No one expected me to walk away so easily, or to take it all so calmly. Some started whispering that I was just playing hard to get.

Others even bet on how long it would take before I came crawling back.

If this had been before, maybe I would have wasted my breath explaining, telling them no, I really had let Kyle go.

That I did not love him anymore. That I had zero interest in being the Gill family’s young madam.

Now, instead of arguing with a pack of gossip, I would rather think about where I would move once this breakup was truly behind me.

I was still lost in thought when someone grabbed my arm. I was startled as I turned around, and there was Kyle, whose expression was dark and stormy.

His eyes brimmed with irritation as he frowned at me. “Let me take you home.”

I yanked my arm free and stepped back, putting space between us. My tone was cold. “There is no need to. If I can come here on my own, I can leave on my own. Save your concern, Mr. Kyle.”

His gaze dropped to my bare hand. Panic flashed across his eyes for a split second. He reached for my wrist, but I dodged.

He demanded, voice sharp with anger, “Where is your ring? Why aren’t you wearing it?”

I gave him a smile and looked at the band on his finger. “I am single. I do not need a ring.”

For an instant, his face darkened like a brewing storm, terrifying in its intensity, as he ground out through clenched teeth, “Who said you are single? Nadine, do not forget that you are mine…”

Something in my heart cracked, but with all those eyes in the distance waiting to see me humiliated, I forced myself to keep my dignity.

I kept my voice even. “Mr. Kyle, our country’s been liberated for decades. Polygamy is illegal. As someone with power and influence in the capital, you really ought to set an example.”

Kyle let out a laugh edged with fury. “Nadine, I know you are jealous and angry, but I do not like the way you talk to me now. I told you before, I will give you a life of wealth, luxury, and comfort as you stay by my side.

“I can give you everything, except marriage.

“Nadine, the Gill family’s heir cannot marry an orphan. You know that, don’t you?”

I could not help but find it ridiculous. He spoke like everything he said was gospel, as though I were the irrational one and he was the cool, reasonable voice of logic.

I started feeling irritated.

I felt like there was a fire raging inside me, and if I did not let it out soon, I was going to explode.

Instead of lashing out, I played along. “You are right. I overreacted just now.”

I saw Kyle’s brow ease, the tension leaving him. The ice in his eyes melted, replaced by a flicker of smug satisfaction.

He thought he had won again.

He lifted a hand, gently ruffling my hair as though none of this had happened. His voice softened. “Go back and put your ring on. I will come home tonight and keep you company, all right?”

I lowered my lashes, meek as a rabbit. “All right.”

Before I left, I caught sight of Madeline at the far end of the corridor. The mask had slipped from her face, and her eyes burned with venom and jealousy.

Perhaps she thought she had lost. In truth, neither of us had won.

Not that I had ever cared to fight her in the first place.

When I got back to the villa, I pulled out a suitcase and packed only the essentials. I left the car keys on the table, hailed a cab, and headed straight to the train station.

By some stroke of luck, I managed to get the last high-speed rail ticket to South City.

Two hours later, I boarded the train.

As it pulled out of the station, I looked out at the city I had once called home and whispered, “Goodbye.”

Just then, my phone rang. I answered, and on the other end came Kyle’s panicked voice, “Nadine, where did you go?”

I glanced at the time. It was one in the morning.

I did not expect Kyle to be back at the villa early. It almost felt flattering.

After all, he had not set foot there in nearly a month.

I kept my tone casual. “I just decided to take a short trip. Will not be long. Probably a week or so.”

He was silent for a moment before pressing, “Are you really… just going on a trip?”

I caught the cautious edge in his voice and gave a helpless little laugh. “Of course. Since when have I ever lied to you?”

My words seemed to catch him off guard.

It brought him back to when he was ten, and I was fourteen. I was too old to stay in the orphanage.

The day I left, he cried like his heart was being torn apart, begging me not to leave him.

I stroked his head and said, “I’ll come back for you.”

His face was still streaked with snot and tears when he blinked up at me with those watery eyes. “Really?”

I meant every word when I said, “Yes.”

Then I vanished for half a month.

He waited for me every single day, night after night, starving himself, refusing to cry out even when bullies ganged up on him.

He thought he had been abandoned.

That the girl who always smiled, held his hand, and protected him did not want him anymore.

One morning, when kids mocked me in front of him, he snapped. He fought back, only to be beaten to the ground by a group of them.

At some point, he stopped resisting. Deep down, he even wished they would finish him off.

As far as he knew, I did not want him anymore.

“Stop!”

The moment he heard my voice he jerked his head up.

There I was, running toward him through the dappled morning light, gasping for breath.

As soon as I appeared, the kids scattered in panic. He pushed himself up, staring at me wide-eyed, afraid that I was just a mirage about to fade away.

Then I pulled his bruised, bloodied little body into my arms and whispered, “I am sorry. I came back late.”

It was like water flooding a dried-up well. He clung to me desperately, sobbing, “You did not lie to me. You did not!”

I stroked his messy head. “I’ll never lie to you.”

He would not let go of my hand that day, trailing behind me like his life depended on it.

He held on tight, terrified that the moment he loosened his grip, I would be gone.

Back then, I only saw him as a younger brother. I never realized that I had already become the one person he would follow for the rest of his life in his heart.

His voice softened over the phone. “Yeah. You will never lie to me. I know that.”

“You wanted to see that movie, right? When you come back, I will take you there myself.”

I thought my heart had gone numb. However, at that moment, it felt like the anesthesia wore off, and the pain came rushing back.

I clenched my fists tight, swallowing down the sharp words that almost slipped out. Instead, I put on a faint smile. “Okay.”

Kyle, I was never coming back.

The sister who never lied to you, who once gave you her whole heart, who kept lowering her bottom line for you…

She was gone. Lost forever in her disappointment with you.

After hanging up, I caught sight of my reflection in the window. My face was already streaked with tears.

It startled me. It turned out that it was not that I did not feel hurt anymore. It was just that I had learned to bear it.

After I got off the train, I found a hotel for the night.

The next morning, I opened the curtains and stared out at the lake. It was so green it looked like a piece of jade. For the first time in a while, I felt lighter.

I bought a new phone card, a new bank card, and rented a small house with a courtyard. By the time I finished, the sun was already setting.

I rushed to a well-known local photo studio for a job interview. The makeup I did earned praise all around.

After agreeing on pay with the boss, I walked out exhausted and grabbed a bowl of wontons at a street stall.

Beside me was a lively tourist area, packed with girls in traditional-style makeup, posing for photos with their friends, partners, or family.

Behind them, the river of the old town shimmered with drifting flower boats, their lanterns weaving a brilliant tapestry of light across the water, so breathtaking it seemed almost unreal.

The world felt so loud, so alive.

Yet, I had never felt more alone.

Lost in thought, I picked up a call from Kyle. He asked why I had not contacted him all day.

I glanced at a couple holding each other close, and suddenly, I was done with this game of indulging him.

My voice was soft, but firm. “Mr. Kyle, this is where we end.”

On the other end, I heard something crash to the ground.

Then his low, dark voice came through. “Nadine, just because I was in a good mood last night and indulged you a bit, do you really think you have the right to act up with me?”