Bloomberg Group suddenly received a lot of orders for one of its overseas projects, so Timothy only came home the next day in a rush to pack some of his suits before leaving for his business trip.

He never mentioned a word about not coming back home the previous night to Madeline. And, just like that, she was left alone at home once more.

The second day after Timothy left, Madeline started preparing her paperwork. Too many cases had happened during the few days she'd taken off work, and they were now stressing her out. After a few back-to-back meetings in the morning, she'd then gone to every department to run through the cases with them one by one.

When she got home after work, Madeline removed her makeup, freshened up, and changed into a set of activewear. She put her hair up in a ponytail and went out.

She jogged along the path close to the forest garden, stopping occasionally to take in large breaths of fresh air, remaining calm all throughout.

She ran for a little over a mile before stopping at a stone bench to stretch and cool off. She even received a call from Timothy then.

He sounded like he was outside, and there was a lot of background noise too. She even heard a female voice on the line, and Madeline couldn't help but feel sensitive toward it.

She asked him, "Where are you? Who are you with?"

Timothy just answered, "I'm at the garment factory."

Madeline said nothing. She hated it whenever he answered her with perfunctory responses like this. He knew very well what she meant by asking that, and yet, he always pretended not to know.

Sensing Madeline's silence, Timothy changed the topic to something more lighthearted to cheer her up. "Miss me yet?"

She didn't bother humoring him. "You just left. I don't miss you."

"Really? You're not missing me?" he asked again, slower this time. He then quickly changed the topic and asked, "Are you outdoors? Nobody answered the phone at home."

Timothy changed the topic so suddenly that Madeline couldn't quite keep up with his train of thought. "No? I just came back from work."

Just then, a woman in pink knitted activewear was jogging in Madeline's direction from afar, with a Samoyed on a leash.

As soon as Madeline caught sight of her, she could feel her blood begin to boil. She got worked up at once, but amidst her heart beating more quickly than ever, she still felt unusually excited at the same time.

The rush of adrenaline had nothing to do with anything joyful—it felt more like she was actively anticipating something she was immensely curious about, even though she knew that it wasn't a good thing to happen.

Madeline gripped her phone a little harder and said in a hurry, "I'm jogging at the park near our place."

Hearing this, Timothy's tone suddenly turned stern and slightly anxious. "Don't jog anymore and hurry home."

Madelin didn't seem to hear him, however. She just stared as the woman and her dog came closer and closer to her.

Timothy was still going on and on about something on the phone, but Madeline wasn't listening to him anymore. She hung up on him and greeted the woman, who had slowed to a stop before her.

"Hi, do you know if there's a convenience store nearby? I just moved here, and I'm not too familiar with the neighborhood yet," she said.

Madeline looked at Lacey and the huge dog she was walking. Then, she smiled at Lacey and said, "Just go straight for one block and turn left."

Lacey was dressed up very youthfully today. She looked very much like a college student.

Her activewear jacket was only zipped up halfway, revealing her black sports bra and refined collar bones underneath. A heart-shaped pendant hung from her clavicle, the diamonds on it sparkling brightly under the light and looking eerily like a set with the bracelet Madeline was wearing.

Lacey thanked Madeline for the directions, but she still remained standing before her. "Are you living nearby too? We must be from the same neighborhood after all!"

The Samoyed in her hand wouldn't stop sniffing around Madeline's feet as soon as it saw her.

Madeline's smile remained on her face. "Possibly."

She then stared at Lacey for a long while, a half-smile on her face, giving Lacey a curious once-over from head to toe. She wanted to know what sort of tricks this woman was up to.

Lacey didn't seem like she wanted to move at all. She sat down on the stone bench next to Madeline and asked, "Are you out here jogging on your own? It's not safe for a woman to be jogging by herself. Why isn't your boyfriend with you?"

As soon as the words were out, she pretended to have just thought of something and apologized. "Oops, sorry! I just meant that you look like someone who should have a boyfriend, seeing how pretty you are. That's why I…"

Madeline didn't even bother exposing her. She replied in a low voice, "He's out on a business trip. What about you? Married? Or single?"

After all, when dealing with a hypocrite, Madeline couldn't appear to be just like them. Otherwise, their topic would soon digress, and she wouldn't be able to get the answers she wanted to hear. All she had to do was to be straightforward and catch her off guard instead.

Still, Madeline didn't know if her tactic would be effective in a situation like this. She was also testing the waters, trying to see how deep it went before throwing herself into it.

Lacey lowered her head and let out a melodious laugh. "I'm still single, but I do have a lover. Unfortunately, we aren't able to be together because of some circumstances, so I've been alone for the past few years."

She then raised her head and looked at Madeline. "Do you get what I mean?"

Madeline blinked. "I get it. So, are you still waiting for that lover of yours?"

"Of course! I've always been waiting for him. I believe that he will return to me one day."

Madeline looked at her. "What if he's already found himself a girlfriend? Maybe he isn't waiting for you anymore."

"It won't happen," Lacey said confidently. "There's still a place for me in his heart. We've been together since our college days. We were in Jadesville back then, and we always went to church together with his friends.

"After that, we would volunteer at the local shelter and care for the stray animals in need. We also worked part-time together. We love each other very much. Had it not been for… for some issues to rise, I believe that we would never have separated for the past few years."

Madeline felt her throat constricting. "How are you so sure that he still loves you?"

"Why wouldn't I be? He has been paving the path for my success ever since I came back home. He even rented a place for me to stay that's really close to his own home, just so that he could easily come and take care of me. If that's not love, what would that be?

"I came from a very ordinary household, and my family isn't rich or famous. If it hadn't been for him, I would never have been able to overcome the many years of being alone in a foreign country and become the person I am today.

"That's why I think that we were meant to be together," Lacey said lightly and happily, as if she was suddenly feeling a lot better after getting things off her chest. "Nobody will be able to keep us apart. We belong together. It's fate."

The cold evening air wasn't kind to Madeline at all. Gusts of wind blew around her until her hands and heart grew icy-cold.

She had thought that Lacey moved nearby on her own. She never thought that it was Timothy who brought her here instead.

So, she repeated herself. "What if he already has a girlfriend?"

Madeline's tone this time was stiff. Lacey could hear the difference in her voice and turned to look at Madeline with cold, indifferent eyes.

"What's that got to do with you?"

Madeline's eyes were calm, however. She kept quiet and said nothing, as if she really wanted to know Lacey's answer.

Lacey was unable to hold her gaze and shifted, looking away from Madeline. "So what if he already has a girlfriend? Even if he were already married, I have ways to get them divorced."

Her last line was both a provocation and a threat.

The corners of Madeline's lips upturned as she smiled silently. This was the first time she'd ever seen a woman admit that she was a side chick so proudly and confidently.

Madeline's gaze shifted to the Samoyed who had run off nearby and was having the time of his life. Suddenly, she shouted, "Mimi!"

The Samoyed heard his name and immediately came running toward them. He obediently circled around Madeline's feet, then stuck out its tongue and put both its paws in her lap.

Madeline held Mimi's paws and let him climb halfway into her lap. She then reached out and scratched the dog's chin. "Aww, you still remember me, don't you?"

Lacey's face turned stiff immediately. Her expression was one of panic, surprise, and being caught completely off-guard. Never in her wildest dreams had she ever expected something like this.

Meanwhile, Madeline had never felt any better. She continued petting Mimi's head and hugged him a few more times before gently guiding him back to the ground.

Lacey never uttered a single word the whole time.

When Mimi ran off again, Madeline said slowly and surely, "Mimi was my birthday gift. It's just that I was immunocompromised at that time, and I'd get itchy rashes all over my skin as soon as Mimi came near me.

"My boyfriend felt sorry for me, so we decided to give Mimi away, although it broke our hearts. He told me that he'd given it to his old college friend. Turns out, it's you!

"Maybe I should reintroduce myself to you, Ms. Houston."

Madeline then straightened her clothes and flashed Lacey a smile as she formally said, "Hello, my name is Madeline Carlton, and I'm Timothy Bloomberg's girlfriend."

Lacey looked elsewhere and said faintly, "Ha, I never thought you'd be smarter than I imagined."

Madeline chuckled self-deprecatingly and said, "Well, if my boyfriend's ex-girlfriend did everything she could to make public appearances with him, made up random excuses every time to call him away, or even pretended to bump into the actual girlfriend and called it a coincidence… Any woman with a sixth sense would be able to figure it out at once. You must have really thought I was daft."

Madeline said everything in an unhurried way, the corners of her lips lifting upward in a half-smile.

Sure, she'd already decided to leave Timothy before this, but it didn't mean she'd allow herself to be belittled or picked on by Lacey.

"Ms. Houston, I don't know what motive you have in trying to get close to me. Is this premeditated 'coincidence' a special way you use to make friends?"

Lacey couldn't hold back anymore. "What do you mean by that?"

Madeline shrugged. "Nothing. I don't care about your past with Timothy, but I hope you stop disgusting me with whatever is going on between you and him right now. If you keep loitering around and appearing in my life like a homeless stray again, I swear that I will not be treating you as civilly as I am right now."

Her tone was hostile and aggravating, but her eyes were still smiling at Lacey. The stark contrast was enough to send a chill down anyone else's spine.

She turned to leave, but Lacey called out to her, her expression calm. "I pity you."

"What did you say?" Madeline said, stopping and turning back.

Lacey got to her feet so she was on eye-level with Madeline. Then, she repeated in her infuriatingly soft and gentle voice. "I said that I pity you.

"You keep saying that you're Timothy's girlfriend, but that's all that you're ever going to be. What else do you have other than that empty label? Do you dare to bet that he's truly in love with you? Have you ever truly owned his heart?"

Madeline wanted to slap Lacey out of instinct, but she suppressed it with all her might.

She stilled for a few seconds, her raised hand clenching and unclenching in silence.

"I think you're the pitiful one instead," Madeline said. "You sacrificed your dignity and the most basic human decency to try and rob other people of their boyfriends. How shameless is that?

"As for whether or not he truly loves me, or if I've ever owned his heart—I honestly don't know. But I do know that at least, you still don't have it yet."

Madeline turned around to face Lacey and punctuated each of her next words. "As long as I am still dating Timothy, you will forever be his shameful side piece."

Lacey's face paled. All sorts of colorful words and curses immediately appeared in her head as she felt immense hate and discomfort toward Madeline. However, Lacey ultimately listened to her rationale and suppressed them all.

Madeline's eyes shone victoriously when she saw that Lacey was beginning to lose her composure. She then waved at Lacey and said, "See you, Ms. Houston."

The way back home was supposed to be short, but it felt long for Madeline. She kept walking away as her smug facial expression gradually faded away.

The smile on her face disappeared. She drew her lips in a thin line and bit on them as a sad expression gradually took over. She wanted to pretend that she was happy, but it just turned out weird.

Had she truly won in that exchange just now?

If she hadn't won, then why did she feel so good about it?

But if she had won, then why did her heart still hurt so much?

After getting back home, Madeline stared at the lit-up night light by her bed while a flash of sadness appeared in her eyes.

There was a picture of a couple leaning against each other on the night light, reminding her of the times when Timothy used to protect her in his arms back in their earlier days.

However, everything was now in the past. Madeline just sighed softly before turning off the night light.

She found the suitcase she used when she was a college student. If she was going to be stationed overseas at a project site, she didn't need to bring with her any of her non-essential belongings.

She hadn't packed the daily necessities in the room yet. However, she began packing all of her other items into her suitcase.

There was a lucky amulet on the glass shelf that Timothy had gotten for her in Icehill, and a bottle of perfume that he had personally concocted for her in Furlough.

Plenty of other limited releases, luxury items, jewelry, and even designer clothing were laid down on their bed.

Needless to say, Timothy had been very generous in showering her with all sorts of expensive gifts.

"Maddie, I can give you the entire world if that's what you want.

"Maddie, this will be our home from now on!"

"Maddie, you used to be alone in the past, but it's not the same anymore. You've got me now."

Madeline felt as though she could still hear those touching words from him. However, the more she thought of it, the more hilarious and pathetic she realized it was.

She grabbed a pair of scissors and destroyed all of the jewelry and designer clothing that she hadn't even touched before throwing them into the trash. Every snip was firm and decisive.

The suitcase started filling up with her belongings, but ironically, her heart grew emptier instead. It felt as though a hole had been torn in the walls of her heart, and a cold draft was blowing in through that hole.

She suppressed the melancholy in her heart and opened the bottom drawer of her dresser. There was a diary inside with yellowing pages, filled with her younger self's handwriting as they jotted down memories of her childhood.

The contents of the diary started off being about mundane bits and pieces in her life. Gradually, the messy handwriting turned neater, and the pages began describing more and more of her interactions and daily musings about Timothy.

Madeline flipped through the pages one by one, her vision gradually blurring with tears. The last page was a line from Timothy, written there after their high school graduation, just before he flew abroad for college.

"Maddie, don't forget to eat healthily and live happily while I'm overseas. Take good care of yourself. If anyone dares to bully you, you can just tell me and I'll immediately fly back to beat them up for you."

Two teardrops slid down silently and dripped onto the diary page, smudging the writing.

Madeline put her thoughts away and suppressed the noise in her head. Then, she tore every page and letter in that diary into tiny pieces.

With every page torn from her diary, that meant another memory with Timothy had also been destroyed. After tearing through every single page, she threw the scrap papers into a box and sealed it up.

Then, she brought the box downstairs and threw it out. She wanted to erase every last trace of her existence, including the memories she once shared with him.

Possibly due to the constant stress from the last two days, or maybe it was the change in the weather—but ever since throwing the memories away, Madeline couldn't stop shaking.

Her stomach also started hurting from time to time. Thinking that it was just her period arriving earlier than usual, Madeline went on a hunt for a cafe nearby to grab a warm, soothing drink.

However, as soon as she reached the cafe entrance, she suddenly found the two people sitting by the window looking a little more than familiar.

Timothy, who was supposed to be away right now, was currently on a date with Lacey.

Madeline felt her heart lurch. She froze in her spot on instinct. It wasn't until she snapped back to her senses that she walked slowly to the corner and stood there, watching them.

Timothy wasn't wearing his formal suit today. He was in casual clothing instead, wearing a baggy gray jersey with a pair of black leather shoes on his feet. He had a suitcase right next to him too, so he must have just gotten off his flight and come here at once.

Madeline didn't know what they were talking about because of the window between them. However, judging from the fond look on Timothy's face, they seemed very happy to be together.

Timothy held Lacey's hand in his own almost too naturally at this point. Every intimate action between them both was like driving a spear through Madeline's eyes.

He had just called her and told her that he wouldn't be back for another few days. But minutes later, she caught him red-handed on a date with another woman. What was going on? Did Timothy like going out behind her back now?

Madeline's hand, still holding her phone, began to shake. She looked up again and immediately was met with Timothy's smiling eyes, just as he looked at Lacey with great fondness. Suddenly, his eyes flashed with a hint of anxiety when he saw Madeline.

She felt as though someone was crushing her heart from the inside. It hurt so badly that she clutched a hand to her left chest and gasped for breath, unable to breathe.