Only to catch Maud kissing another man.

Alfred lost it. He charged forward like a man possessed and slammed his fist into the guy's face.

But in the next second, Maud stepped in front of the man, shielding him, her brow furrowed in irritation.

"Alfred, what the hell is wrong with you? You're acting like a rabid dog!"

Alfred stood frozen, disbelief etched across his face. "You're defending him. Over me."

"Defending him? He's my boyfriend."

Maud looked at him like he'd lost his mind. Then she looped her arm through the other man's and walked away.

After that, Alfred watched helplessly as the girl he loved drifted further and further from his world.

Maud started wearing high-end makeup, spending more and more time with men outside their circle.

She even—

He saw her with his own eyes, climbing into a Porsche late one night.

They had the worst fight they'd ever had, followed by a brutal cold war.

"Maud, what happened to you? You've become so shallow, so materialistic. You're not even the same person anymore."

"Who are you to judge me?" Maud shot back with a bitter laugh. "Alfred, take a good look at yourself. You're acting like you own me. Am I your girlfriend? Because last time I checked, I'm not."

"I'm not your girlfriend. Save your breath."

In a blaze of anger, they severed ties completely.

The day Maud left the country, she walked into the airport on another man's arm, laughing and chatting without a care in the world.

Alfred stood not far from the entrance, watching her silhouette disappear. The rims of his eyes were red.

His knuckles were white from clenching.

That night, he drank himself into oblivion.

He was dead weight, slumped like a ragdoll. I tried to get him home but couldn't carry him no matter what I did.

In the end, I booked a room at a nearby hotel.

The moment I hauled him through the door, Alfred found some reserve of strength I didn't know he had. He pinned me against the wall, then pressed me down onto the bed.

His voice came out raw and hoarse.

"Maria. Be my girlfriend."

"I can tell. You like me."

"You've been by my side all these years because you wanted this, didn't you? Well, here's your chance."

That day, I genuinely believed that fate had finally tipped in my favor.

But it wasn't long before Alfred looked at me with that cold expression of his and said, "Let's keep this between us."

I didn't quite understand. "You mean... a secret relationship?"

"Yeah."

He took a sip of his drink, his tone still detached.

"I'm not ready to announce it to everyone. We'll wait for the right time."

He knew that whatever he asked of me, I'd agree.

So keeping our relationship hidden—

I wasn't going to refuse that, either.

Like a fool, I savored my hard-won happiness in secret, tasting every stolen crumb of it.

Until the night we were tangled together, and Alfred let a name slip from his lips without thinking. "Maud..."

It hit me like a bolt of lightning.

The whisper was barely audible.

But I heard it. Every syllable. It was Maud Matthews' name.

My boyfriend, in our most intimate moment, had been fantasizing about another woman.

Sophie kept chattering away on the phone, jumping from one topic to the next.

"Maud just got back to the States last month. Word is, some of the old classmates are throwing a reunion. You'd better not skip it."

"Besides, Alfred was basically the golden boy of Cloudvale University. I heard he's going too."

I looked around my apartment at the boxes packed to the brim.

"I probably... won't be able to make it."

"I'm heading back to Harbor City before the end of next week."

Sophie's interest perked up instantly. "Harbor City? What for? Oh wait, that's right, Harbor City is your hometown, isn't it?"

"We went to college here in Cloudvale. I honestly thought you'd stay here forever after graduation."

That had been the plan.

Alfred was a Cloudvale native. After college, my family called me back to Harbor City time and again to take over the family business, and I refused every single time.

I didn't want to leave Alfred. I was foolish enough to believe we had a future together.

But eight years of chasing him, three years of being his secret—none of it was enough to make Alfred forget Maud. None of it made him truly fall in love with me.

So I gave up.

And the reunion that had been organized specifically to welcome Maud back from overseas? I had zero interest in attending.

Three days later, though, Sophie showed up uninvited, taking a cab straight to my apartment building and physically dragging me out.

"Come on, Maria, just go! The more the merrier."

"It's been years since any of us have seen each other. When are you going to get another chance like this?"

She shoved me into the car before I could even protest. I had no room to refuse, so I gritted my teeth and went.

The reunion was packed. Loud. Everyone was in high spirits.

They were playing truth or dare.

I sat in the corner.

I watched as the crowd pushed Alfred and Maud together, cheering and whistling.

"You know, back in the day, these two were Cloudvale University's golden couple. And now, after all these years, here they are again—both single, right?"

The guy speaking shot knowing glances around the room, clearly angling to play matchmaker.

I lifted my gaze and watched Alfred quietly. He glanced at me, just once, his expression flat. Then he looked away.

"Cut it out."

Alfred held his glass up. "Whatever the punishment is, I'll down three drinks instead."

He raised the glass to his lips, but someone next to him grabbed his arm.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa—no way. Just drinking? Where's the fun in that?"

The guy looked between the two of them with a sly grin.

"How about you two kiss? Then we'll call it even."

Alfred's eyes flicked instinctively toward Maud. She covered her face, laughing with exaggerated helplessness. "I knew it."

She took a deep breath, steeled herself, and stood.

"Fine. We're both single. Who's scared?"

Alfred didn't refuse. She rose on her tiptoes. He leaned down.

A quick, featherlight kiss.

The room erupted.

I kept my head down. My nails dug into my palms until crescent-shaped welts carved themselves deep into the skin.

A few more rounds passed before it was my turn.

Someone studied me with a thoughtful expression. "Maria, you're such a pretty girl. How come you've been single all these years?"

I smiled and shook my head. "I'm not."

"What?"

Alfred's entire body went rigid. His phone was in his hand instantly, a message firing off to me: "Don't forget what you promised me. Don't say anything stupid."

Then another: "And about what just happened—don't be jealous. I'll explain when we get home."

I let out a quiet, bitter laugh.

Every single time. He was always terrified I'd slip up in public, that I'd let our secret relationship spill out.

Especially when Maud was around.

That probably had him in a cold sweat right now.

Alfred assumed I was jealous over the kiss. But I couldn't have cared less.

I didn't look at his messages. I just smiled and swept my gaze across the room.

"I'm getting married next week. I just haven't had the chance to tell everyone yet."

Dead silence.

Alfred's hand froze mid-air. His head snapped toward me.

For the rest of the evening, his body stayed coiled tight, his gaze drifting to me again and again when he thought I wouldn't notice.

I laughed and chatted with other classmates like nothing had happened. When the reunion finally wound down and I stepped outside to call a cab—

A hand shot out and pulled me into the shadows.

I opened my mouth to scream, but then I caught it: that familiar scent of pine.

Alfred.

"Well, well. Our little Maria's learned how to lie."

His gaze swept over me, half-scrutinizing, half-amused.

"What, just because I haven't come to see you for a few days?"

"Is that really worth throwing a tantrum? Making up some story about marrying someone else, right to my face?"

He stepped closer, his voice dropping. "Or is this your way of telling me you want us to get married?"

So he didn't believe a word of it. He thought I was simply bluffing to get his attention.

I didn't bother explaining.

I lowered my head, reached into my bag, and pulled out a small gift box, no bigger than my palm. I held it out to him.

"I've been meaning to give you this."

"Consider it a belated birthday present. For your twenty-seventh."

"Just promise me you won't open it for three days."

Alfred studied the box for a moment, then let out a soft laugh and took it, tucking it into the inside pocket of his suit jacket.

"Alright."

He glanced past me toward the entrance, where a light rain had begun to fall. "Looks like everyone's already left. Want me to drive you home? Doesn't seem like the easiest place to catch a cab."

I tilted my head slightly, looking past his shoulder.

Maud was still standing a short distance away, umbrella in hand, apparently unable to flag down a ride.

I shook my head. "No, it's fine. My apartment isn't far. You should probably give Maud a ride first."

Alfred seemed pleased by my consideration. His expression softened noticeably, and he reached over and ruffled my hair.

"Good girl. I'll make it up to you next time."

Then he turned and walked away. He even opened the car door for Maud.

I watched the car pull out and disappear down the rain-slicked street, its taillights shrinking to nothing.

Only then did I take a deep breath and plunge into the rain.

The next day, whether from drinking too much or something else entirely, I woke in the middle of the night with a searing pain in my stomach.

My first instinct was to call Alfred. I'd already dialed the number before I caught myself and hung up.

I'd already made up my mind to leave.

No reason to bother him if I could help it.

I called an ambulance instead.

At the hospital, the doctor told me there was a small cyst on my ovary. I needed surgery.

I also needed someone to sign the consent form.

In all of Cloudvale, the only person I knew was Alfred.

After going back and forth with myself, I finally picked up the phone and called him.

The line connected, and the first thing I heard was Maud's laughter, bright and teasing, somewhere in the background.

"Alfred, I can't believe it. After all these years, you haven't lost your touch in the kitchen! You're actually making garlic butter shrimp for me."

"Not bad, not bad at all. Oh, throw those ribs in the pot too while you're at it. If they turn out good, I'll reward you tonight..."

Then came the sharp, crackling hiss of food hitting hot oil.

Alfred's voice carried a smile. "Deal."

A beat passed before he seemed to remember the call. He came back to me.

"What's up?"

I was on the verge of tears, but I swallowed them down and forced my voice steady.

"I'm at the hospital. I need someone to sign a form. Could you come..."

There was almost no hesitation.

His answer was immediate, his tone flat.

"Sorry, I'm in the middle of something right now. I can't make it back."

"Why don't you sign it yourself? I'll come see you at the hospital once I'm done here."

His voice was so cold, so casual, so utterly routine. In that moment, the tears I'd been holding back spilled down my face all at once.

I laughed softly. "Okay."

The doctor urged me again and again to get a family member to sign. I clenched my jaw.

"I'll sign it myself. If I die, that's on me."

After the surgery, I stayed in the hospital for four full days.

Alfred didn't come to see me. Not once.

I laughed bitterly at myself. I never should have hoped. And yet, like a fool, I kept hoping again and again.

On my last day, I terminated the lease on my apartment. All I had left was a handbag and a single suitcase. I took a deep breath and got ready to hail a cab to the airport.

That was when Alfred called.

"Maria, I've been neglecting you these past few days. About what happened at the hospital... I actually went to check on you later, but the nurse told me you'd already been discharged."

His voice was warm and gentle, the way it always was, though tinged with a note of apology.

I shook my head. "It's fine. I'm better now."

"Are you free today? Let's grab dinner."

I glanced at the watch on my wrist. Two and a half hours until boarding.

One last meal. A farewell, even if he didn't know it.

"Sure," I said.

Alfred met me at the restaurant. He seemed to be in a good mood, even peeling shrimp for me without being asked.

"I'll take you to Disneyland in a few days. It's my fault, really. I've been so swamped with work I never took you anywhere."

Now he wanted to spend time with me?

But Alfred, I was already leaving. My flight was in two hours.

Back to Harbor City. And I was never coming back.

I watched him, that gentle look on his face as he finished peeling one shrimp, placed it on my plate, and immediately started on the next.

I swallowed hard against the sting in my eyes and drew a slow breath.

"Alfred, there's something I've been meaning to tell you. The reason I'm going back to Harbor City this week is because I'm—"