Lory’s POV

The guy I looked up to fell in love with a reckless little rebel.

He said being with her gave him a kind of thrill he had never felt before.

For her, he smoked and drank.

For her, he got into fights and skipped classes.

For her, he abandoned me at the scene of a crash without even looking at me.

Later, I left my hometown and moved to another city.

I never imagined that seven years later, we’d meet again at a prestigious conference.

I thought he must have long since married that wild girl from high school.

Yet he came rushing to me, gripping my arm as if I’d slip away again.

He asked, “You and I… Can we start all over again?”

Frayne Gallacher and I grew up in the same courtyard.

He was the very definition of the “perfect child” in everyone else’s family.

I was just average, the kind who could only rely on hard work to catch up.

Frayne could have easily skipped grades, yet he chose to slow down for my sake.

In his words, he “didn’t want to let the idiot drag behind alone.”

His tongue was sharp. But under his guidance, my grades steadily climbed.

Sometimes his family would walk by and see him with his hands clasped behind his back, teaching me with the air of a little tutor. They would burst out laughing, and his grandmother often teased that we looked like a married couple.

Every time I heard that, a quiet sweetness bloomed in my heart.

With the reputation of a prodigy, who wouldn’t be fond of him?

What mattered most was that he was also incredibly good-looking.

Even when he grumbled at my requests, he never once refused me.

By all logic, the path ahead of us should have been simple—we’d hold hands, tie the knots, and walk into the wedding hall.

But Bettina Wilks got into the picture and shattered that beautiful dream.

She was nothing like the other girls.

Even in the plain school uniform, her striking charm and confidence couldn’t be hidden.

She didn’t turn down the gifts the boys gave her. In fact, nearly every handsome boy in school had already fallen under her spell.

Back then, when everyone else was trying to be a well-behaved model student, she stood out with her rebelliousness. Naturally, she drew the attention of many boys.

And Frayne was no exception.

They were people from two completely different worlds—people who were supposed to have no connection at all.

But against all odds, they ended up together.

The usual game of a girl chasing a boy was turned into something entirely new in Bettina’s hands.

Once, she cornered Frayne at the entrance of the restroom, chewing gum as she leaned close to his ear.

“Hey, handsome,” she whispered, “wanna hang out sometime?”

Her bold teasing made Frayne’s eyes flicker with nerves; his tension was obvious to anyone watching.

Just as she leaned in closer, the class bell rang, saving him by sheer luck.

The second time, she sat right on his lap with a rose in her mouth, cooing and pouting in front of the entire class, leaving everyone in stunned silence.

“Frayne, am I not pretty enough?” she asked, feigning a wounded look.

“N-No… you’re very pretty,” Frayne stammered.

He drew in a deep breath and reached out to take the rose that had slipped from her lips.

——

And so, eventually, Frayne and Bettina became a couple.

In his words, compared to all those good girls, Bettina gave his dull life a sense of thrill and novelty.

Once, when I rushed to catch up with them, Bettina hooked her arm through his and laughed sweetly.

“Oh my, my darling is quite popular, isn’t he?”

Frayne only shook his head, offering me no explanation.

Bettina stuck her tongue out at me and pulled a silly face, taunting me with obvious delight.

The setting sun cast long shadows across the ground, stretching my loneliness out farther and farther.

From that point on, Bettina forbade me from being close to Frayne or even from speaking too much to him.

He stopped tutoring me. He stopped accompanying me on grocery runs for snacks.

Instead, she coaxed him into skipping class to wander the streets.

She taught him to ride a motorcycle, letting him taste speed and adrenaline for the first time.

That year, during the final exams, both of their grades plummeted to the middle of the class.

Lory’s POV

Overnight, I rose to the top of the class.

When Frayne’s parents confronted our homeroom teacher about the sudden change, they went home and beat him in frustration. The teacher, too, lectured him tirelessly. But nothing could pull his attention away from Bettina.

I didn’t want him throwing his future away for the sake of a high school romance.

As his friend, I decided to talk to him, though I knew deep down he wouldn’t listen.

I found him leaning lazily against his Harley-Davidson motorcycle. In his arms, Bettina wore heavy smoky makeup, a scarlet wig, black stockings, and a miniskirt. The two of them were kissing in a back alley.

I walked up, trying to pull Frayne aside. But Bettina swatted my hand away.

“What? You again? Whatever I want to do, how is that your business?”

Ever since Frayne let loose, his temper had grown violent and unpredictable.

Biting my lip, I pleaded with him stubbornly.

“Frayne, I know you like Bettina. But can’t you at least wait until after the SATs to start dating?”

Then I turned to Bettina.

“Studying isn’t the only way out, I know. But given your family background, isn’t it the best path you’ve got?” I asked. “Don’t you care if the person you love throws his life away?”

She curled her arms around Frayne’s neck, planted a kiss on his cheek, and looked at me with mockery in her eyes.

“Girl, get this straight,” she snapped. “Frayne and I are the couple here. We’ll do whatever we want. What does that have to do with you?”

She smirked, adding, “Besides, he already promised me he’d marry me someday. What do I have to be afraid of?”

A stabbing ache tore through my chest. Frayne avoided my eyes, puffing on his cigarette and staring off elsewhere.

Bettina’s tone sharpened, cutting straight into me.

“Don’t tell me you actually thought Frayne liked you? Frayne, it’s time you chose. Do you want her—or me?”

A chill autumn wind swept through, carrying dry and russet leaves that swirled in the air. My heart pounded as I waited for his answer.

Frayne stubbed out his cigarette. And then, he bent down and pressed a kiss against Bettina’s cheek.

“What she can give me…” he said, turning to look at me, “you never could.”

I was not gonna accept it. I kept my gaze locked on him, desperate for some other answer.

But Frayne didn’t say more. It was Bettina who spoke again, this time pointing at the Harley-Davidson beneath them, her voice cold.

“I can sit on the back of Frayne’s motorcycle and go wild with him. Can you?”

I wanted to refuse. But the ridicule shining in her eyes cut deep. My chest tightened, and in a rush of defiance, I nodded.

“If I do it—if I ride with you—will you finally change, Frayne?”

He opened his mouth to object, but Bettina blew a smoke ring straight at me. Their friends even burst out laughing.

“What’s wrong? Got any more complaints?”

The racecourse was a looping mountain road. The start line was also the finish.

The sharp howl of the wind screamed in my ears.

My nails dug into my palms as I gripped the seat, too terrified to open my eyes.

Two motorcycles roared down the track, neither willing to yield.

At the last tunnel before the finish, the rival cut the corner first, slipping past the line.

Frayne gritted his teeth, shifted gears, and pushed harder, refusing to fall behind.

My jaw trembled. I clung to him tighter and tighter.

Suddenly, out of the darkness, a massive freight truck barreled out of the tunnel.

In a split second, Frayne wrenched the handlebars, swerving hard.

A bone-grinding screech of brakes split the air, followed by an earth-shaking crash.

The force hurled me off the motorcycle, my body slamming into the ground. The twisted motorcycle flipped and came crashing down onto my lower leg.

Nearby, the other girls shuddered in fright. One of them, hands trembling, hurriedly pulled out her phone and dialed for help.

Lory’s POV

Bettina was the first to rush over and help Frayne up. I immediately turned my eyes to him, silently pleading for help, but his gaze remained fixed only on her.

The two of them clung to each other, kissed, and left the scene hand in hand.

Before walking away, Bettina even threw me a mocking smile.

In an instant, the light of hope in my eyes dimmed. It felt as if the hot blood surging through my veins had frozen on the spot.

During those endless days on the hospital bed, whenever I closed my eyes, the image of Frayne turning his back on me replayed over and over again.

In that haze of memories, I finally understood.

I wasn’t just saying goodbye to Frayne. I was saying goodbye to the girl I used to be.

It was time to end this love.

“Dad, Mom… I’m sorry for making you worry,” I told my parents.

I paused before adding softly, “Can we… move away?”

Although I eventually recovered enough to walk, the injury to my leg was too severe. I would never again be able to engage in strenuous activity.

No matter how many times Frayne and his parents came knocking on our door with apologies, I refused to see them.

In the end, fearing for my health, my parents decided to uproot everything. We moved north and never looked back.

By the age of twenty-six, the magazine I had founded was already making waves on major forums across the country. That success led to an invitation to attend an elite networking conference.

What I didn’t expect was to run into Frayne there.

Once, he was the person I thought of day and night, the love engraved into my bones.

And yet, he was also the executioner who had pushed me into the abyss.

Perhaps love could never be judged in terms of right or wrong. Maybe, on that day, he had simply been too consumed with protecting Bettina and had forgotten me.

But it was true—I no longer wanted to look at him again.

But perhaps it was fate. Some things seemed to be arranged by unseen hands.

One afternoon at the supermarket, we happened to reach for the same brand of yogurt.

Frayne froze where he stood, his eyes trembling.

A storm of emotions churned inside me, pressing down on my chest until I could hardly breathe.

At my side, Tom Dillon quickly steadied me. “What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

I shook my head, my voice hoarse. “Just a little dizzy.”

I tried to step past him, but before I could take another step, a hand grabbed my arm. I stumbled forward, crashing right into Frayne’s embrace.

“Lory, are you alright?” he asked, his voice low and strained.

He leaned closer, desperation etched across his features. “Please… give me a chance to make things right. Don’t leave me again, okay?”

I tried again and again to break free. But each time, he blocked my way.

Just then, Tom reappeared, shoving him back with force. Broad-shouldered and solidly built, his frame towered over Frayne’s leaner figure.

“Hey, man,” Tom said sharply. “Do you really have to cling to her like this?”

His voice hardened. “Try laying a hand on her again, and don’t blame me if I get rough.”

He rolled his neck, and his knuckles cracked with a sharp series of pops.

Frayne narrowed his eyes. Their gazes clashed like sparks in the air.

“Tom,” I said quickly, my voice unsteady. “Take me home.”

He grinned. “Your wish is my command.”

Looping his arm through mine, Tom marched us straight out of the supermarket.

After returning to my hometown, I hadn’t had much direct contact with Frayne, though mutual friends occasionally mentioned him.

I later learned that not long after my family moved away, things between him and Bettina fell apart.

He had thrown a stack of cash at her in public, ordering her to get lost. From then on, he devoted himself entirely to his studies.

By the time he took the SATs, his scores in nearly every subject were close to perfect, attracting offers from all the top universities.

After graduation, he went alone to New York to start a business. In just a few short years, he had transformed himself into a multimillionaire.

Wherever he stood, his presence was undeniable—so commanding it set him apart from everyone around him.

Tom, however, was different.

Though his family was well-off, he never flaunted it. Whether making friends or chatting casually, he never carried himself like the stereotypical rich second generation.