"Who's there?" asked my mother, Lyla Sadler.

Her voice, weak and hoarse, called from inside as I yanked Shawn into the stairwell.

I couldn't let him see my mother! She wouldn't be able to take it.

There were some things I never intended to let Shawn know.

All I wanted was to keep him away from that ward. Nothing else mattered.

Once the stairwell door shut, I realized in a panic that I was practically pressed against Shawn, pinning him to the wall.

Embarrassment hit me a moment later, and I tried to back away.

Shawn's gaze darkened. Without warning, he grabbed my chin and kissed me.

We were already broken up. He hated me, and I hated him. We should have been like two parallel lines that never crossed each other's path. That would have been best for both of us.

I turned my head to avoid his kiss.

However, my resistance seemed to anger him. He yanked my hand up above my head and shoved his other hand under my shirt, rubbing my most sensitive spot.

My body reacted before my mind could. Physically, I wanted more, but a crushing shame and fear flooded over me. Before me, I saw Chris' twisted, lustful expression and heard his slick, disgusting breathing in my ear.

Staring at Shawn, I couldn't tell if I was in the present or being dragged back into the past.

"Don't touch me!" I screamed hysterically and shoved him away.

A flash of something unreadable crossed Shawn's eyes. He wore a look of contempt and wiped his mouth roughly.

"Who would want to touch you? You're so easy that anyone who paid could get you. You really think someone like you would interest me?"

His nasty tone was nothing like the lover I remembered.

I tried to keep my composure, but my hands and feet went cold.

"Since you hate me so much, stop showing up in my life! It just makes me think you're pretending to be tough when you can't let go."

I wanted to tell him to just disappear. I wanted the Fred in his memory to be proud and dazzling, not filthy and cowardly like right now.

"You've got some nerve!" Shawn sneered before walking past me.

The door swung open and slammed shut with a loud bang.

I covered my face with my hands and slid down the wall.

My commission on the project was gone. I was buried in debt and couldn't afford time off, so I rushed back to the office that afternoon.

Having my project stolen and my team parceled out was only the beginning.

The company had performance targets. Every employee, except interns, had a quota of 500 grand. Miss it, and your bonus would get docked.

I had just hit 500 grand, but they docked my entire bonus.

The director told me, "Fred, I can't help it. Mr. Lubbard said you have to close at least one million in deals each month to be qualified."

If one failed for six months in a row, they would be demoted.

I had missed the target only for the first month under him, but I was dropped two ranks to a regular employee, and my salary was halved.

To chase deals, I was out all day.

The next day, they labeled me absent without cause for the day before and said I had lost my perfect attendance record for the month. If it happened again, they would make me leave.

That was just one of the snarls I had to deal with.

People could see that Shawn was singling me out and quietly kept their distance.

I clenched my jaw and put up with it for three months, but in the end, I couldn't hang on any longer. I wasn't as strong as I initially thought.

Distraught and at the end of my rope, I tracked Shawn down.

"Can you stop pushing me like this? It's not entirely your fault we got here, but it's not only mine either."

He sneered. "You cheated on me and used me as an ATM, and yet you have the gall to say that? You're even more shameless than I expected."

I took a deep breath and kept my voice steady. "I'm only telling the truth. Let's act like we've never met. That's better for both of us—"

But Shawn treated me like I was making excuses and dismissed me.

He believed I owed him.

"I'm taking Steven to choose a car. If you've got nothing else, get out," he said impatiently and called Steven in.

Steven had been my rival at the company. Now, he was his new lover.

Shawn was cruel to me and doting toward Steven. Whether he truly liked Steven or was just tormenting me, I didn't know, and it didn't matter anymore.

In desperation, I asked one last time, "Shawn, what will it take for you to leave me alone?"

To that, he stepped up close and said slowly, "Only if you die."

Those four words killed my last sliver of hope.

My heart sank.

I pulled a knife from my pocket and, while Shawn stared in shocked panic, drove it deep into my chest.