POV: Mia

I knew exactly it was all part of Ella’s carefully crafted trap.

There was a time I used to blow up over such matters.

I even resented Leo and Max. I hated how they only cared about her and cast me aside.

At that moment, I did not care anymore. I would be marrying someone else in just a few days.

I looked at the three of them indifferently and said, “Congrats on getting your license.”

Hearing that, Leo and Max silently set down what they were holding.

Silence filled the air for a moment. I turned and headed upstairs without sparing them another glance.

Starting on that day, Leo and Max were just friends to me. Nothing more.

That night, I started packing the important things in the house. I was going to move them out early.

As for the stuff Leo and Max had bought for me, I left them untouched. I planned to have someone pack them up and return them once I was gone.

The next day, just as the movers arrived, I ran into Leo and Max at the door.

Glancing at the boxes, a flicker of unease crossed Leo’s face. “Mia, aren’t those the things you always use? Where are you moving them?”

He pointed at the moving truck parked outside.

I stayed silent for a moment until Max asked, “Mia, are you moving out?”

I did not want them finding out too soon, so I kept my answer vague. “There’s just too much stuff. I’m sending some of it back home.”

Leo, ever the oblivious one, did not press. Max, however, immediately picked up on something. “Why are you sending things back? Are you not comfortable living here?”

“It’s not that. The place just feels a little cramped. And besides, my cousin…”

Leo’s phone started ringing before I could finish.

“Leo, I made your favorite cake today, but when I got to the training field, you weren’t there. Now my car is broken down on the way back.”

The moment he picked up, I could hear Ella’s voice loud and clear.

Max glanced up at the rainy clouds in the sky and said, “Just wait there, sweetheart. We’ll be right there.”

With that, they bolted out the door. I glanced at the darkening sky. My lips curled into a bitter smile.

Some time ago, on a stormy day, my car broke down on the road. I called them both.

I ended up standing in the rain, shivering for hours, until the tow truck finally showed up.

When I got home that night, I found the three of them enjoying a candlelit dinner together.

I, on the other hand, fell ill with a fever for the next three days.

The memory made me pull out my phone and book my plane ticket.

POV: Mia

I never imagined that my last day there would bring the worst moment of my life.

That afternoon, I was feeling drained and decided to take a nap. All of a sudden, I started having trouble breathing.

Someone had left my bedroom window wide open. A gust of wind carried in a storm of pollen.

My breathing grew more labored by the second.

I slipped off the bed and collapsed onto the floor, but my survival instinct pushed me to crawl toward the nightstand where I kept my allergy meds.

When I finally yanked it open, it was empty.

By then, my body was giving out. My vision dimmed, and my foot hit the leg of the table. The vase on the table came crashing down.

A giant bouquet of roses spilled out in front of me. At that moment, I thought it was the end of me.

The loud crash must have startled Leo and Max outside.

They burst through the door, picked me up, and frantically searched for my meds.

Just before I blacked out, I saw Ella rushing in with a familiar pack of medication in her hand. The moment the needle pierced my skin, everything went dark.

When I opened my eyes again, I was in a hospital.

There was no one around. I struggled to sit up. The first thing I did was text Ella.

[You’re fired. Pack your things and get out of my house now.]

Not long after I sent the text, the three of them showed up.

Leo’s brows were furrowed. “Why are you firing Ella? She’s got nowhere else to go. If you kick her out, she’ll have to go home, back to her father, who beats her bloody. You shouldn’t fire her.”

Max, usually the calm and logical one, pushed up his glasses with a frown. “Honestly, firing her now isn’t a practical decision. She knows your routines better than anyone. Most importantly, we all get along.”

I coldly replied, “Save it. I hired her, and I have every right to fire her, unless you can give me one good reason not to, because she nearly killed me.”

Leo snapped the moment I said that.

“Mia, you cannot frame her like that! She was with us the whole time. You have misunderstood her!”

I misunderstood her? Who was dumb enough to believe that? My window just happened to be left open, my meds just happened to disappear, and the roses just somehow ended up on my table again?

Hearing his defense of her, I coldly said, “Then explain the roses in my room.”

Leo fell silent, but Max spoke up.

“I’ve asked Ella about it. She had no idea your pollen allergy was this severe. She didn’t know a few flowers could nearly kill you. She promised me it wouldn’t happen again.”

As he finished, he nudged Ella forward to me.

Ella kept her head down and mumbled, “Mia, I really didn’t know your pollen allergy was that bad. I swear I won’t bring flowers into your room again. I just wanted to make the place look nicer for you.”

I did not look at her. I did not say a word.

My attitude made Leo, with his usual fiery temper, snap again.

He jabbed a finger in my face. “Mia, quit acting like a spoiled princess! Ella has apologized. What more do you want from her?”

I pointed coldly at the door. “I want all of you out. I want to rest.”

Max looked like he wanted to say something to smooth things over, but Leo grabbed Ella’s hand and said, “Let her sulk for all she wants. We’ll come back when she’s calmed down. Come on!”

Without another word, Max followed them out the door.

The moment they left, I yanked the IV from my arm and slipped out of the hospital.

I called my contact and told them to have my passport delivered straight to the airport.

Then, I booked a car and headed there myself.

I made it just in time for my flight. Right before boarding, I removed my SIM card and tossed it into the trash.

I would never see the three of them again.