As I walked past the study, the unmistakable sound of vases shattering in a fit of rage reached my ears.

When Mathias saw me, his expression shifted, quickly masking the fury that had been boiling just moments before. He casually kicked the broken pieces aside, attempting to cover up his outburst.

"Irene," he said, his tone forced, "tomorrow is our engagement banquet. I’m just… nervous."

He took a breath, trying to regain composure. "Go rest, I'll be in shortly."

That night, Nathalia's message haunted my thoughts.

[Do you believe me when I say I can ruin your engagement banquet?]

Sleep eluded me. I tossed and turned while Mathias never returned to the bedroom.

The next day, at the engagement banquet, Mathias appeared distracted.

His attention drifted, and when his friends congratulated him, he barely reacted, a stark contrast to the eager, confident man he had been in front of the cameras just days ago.

His friends exchanged knowing glances, their eyes betraying a silent understanding. The whole world seemed to know who this engagement was really for.

Suddenly, a shout pierced the air.

"A fire has broken out in the Maplewood Heights apartments!"

I froze. I recognized the name immediately. Nathalia lived in Maplewood Heights.

Mathias snapped, his hand lashing out to grab the speaker by the collar.

"Where did you say the fire was?!"

The guest recoiled, visibly shaken, fumbling for their phone to show the footage.

"Maplewood Heights."

The video was blurry, but there, standing at the balcony’s edge, was a delicate, fragile figure swaying like a ghost in the wind.

"All the other residents have been evacuated, except for one woman… still trapped inside…"

Before the guest could even finish the sentence, Mathias was already charging for the exit.

The engagement banquet descended into chaos, a whirlwind of uncertainty.

I didn’t think; my body moved on its own, following Mathias into the car, driven by something beyond reason.

The silence in the car was suffocating. He dialed the number again and again, his fingers trembling with urgency.

Once. Twice. Three times.

It wasn’t until the seventy-eighth call that the line finally connected.

Mathias’s hand shook so violently that his phone almost slipped from his grip. His voice cracked, raw with desperation.

"Nathalia, where are you? Why won’t you answer? Do you want me to die?!"

I had never seen him so broken, so utterly lost. It squeezed at my chest, a tight, painful knot I couldn’t ignore.

The chaos on the other end was overwhelming, debris crashing, screams echoing through the phone, while Nathalia’s voice remained eerily calm.

"Mathias, I can’t forget you. But you’re about to marry someone else."

"I can’t watch you belong to another."

"So… don’t come looking for me. If I die in this fire, it won’t hurt as much."

The moment she spoke, a deafening crash shook the line, the sound of a beam collapsing.

"No! No!"

Mathias was nearly losing himself, his voice breaking under the weight of his panic.

"Nathalia, please don’t do this! I’m begging you, don’t do this!"

"You know I’ve never forgotten you, not once."

"This engagement… it’s all just a game to get back at you for leaving me without a word."

"You know this. You know that the second you show up, I’d leave it all behind and run away with you."

At that moment, my blood rushed through my veins like a river breaking its banks, and the pain in my chest was so intense it felt like I couldn’t draw another breath.

I had known deep down, for a long time, what the truth was.

But hearing Mathias say it so plainly, without a single pause, without a trace of hesitation. It tore me to shreds.

And yet, he didn’t even seem to notice me.

He kept pleading into the phone, his voice cracking with raw regret.

"Nathalia, please, hold on. Wait for me. I’m coming to save you!"

"I have everything now, please, don’t leave me. I can’t bear it…"

By the time his words faltered, the tears began to fall, each one heavy and relentless, like stones crashing into the depths of my heart.

I was numb, yet my legs moved on their own. I followed him out of the car, my heart pounding with each step as we neared the fiery chaos, the scene surrounded by a sea of onlookers and rescue teams.

While others scrambled to escape, Mathias was the only one pushing forward, desperate to dive into the flames.

Fear seized me, and instinct took over. I grabbed his hand and held him back with everything I had.

"Mathias, you don’t know how intense the fire is or what’s inside! Charging in like this is madness!"

"The rescue team’s already here. They’ll bring her out!"

I had lost my parents to flames; I couldn’t bear the thought of losing Mathias, too.

But without warning, he jerked my hand away, his force pushing me to the ground with an intensity I hadn’t seen since that day at the auction.

I crashed to the earth, my ankle protesting, the bandages soaked in a sickly mix of red and yellow. Yet, the pain in my body was nothing compared to the torment searing my heart.

Mathias didn’t even spare me a glance.

"I can’t lose Nathalia again."

"No one can stop me!"

And with those words, he turned and rushed straight into the fire.

In that instant, the world around me blurred, and I was back in that inferno, watching helplessly as flames devoured everything I loved.

I couldn’t let Mathias face the same tragedy.

Without a second thought, I ran after him.

But I barely took a few steps before a beam crashed down, striking my leg.

The pain hit me like a tidal wave, and I crumpled to the ground, helpless. All I could do was shout, desperate to be heard, hoping someone would come.

The smoke choked me, the air thick and suffocating as it stung my throat.

Then, out of the haze, a pair of hands reached for me, warm and firm, pulling me into safety.

They seemed to be asking how I was, but I couldn’t answer. My voice had abandoned me, hoarse and weak. Through my blurred vision, I could barely make out the person’s face.

Before I lost consciousness, all I could hear was the frantic shout of someone above me,

"She's seriously injured! Get her to the hospital immediately!"

When I woke in the hospital, the world outside buzzed with news. Mathias had pulled Nathalia from the flames, and their love story was now a legend.

"Ten years of devotion, unwavering until death."

"True love reveals itself in times of crisis."

"Only death can tear them apart."

The comment sections were flooded with praise, while others couldn’t hide their venom, calling me a homewrecker who had schemed my way into his life.

Hiding behind the banner of “true love conquers all,” they called me a shameless woman, determined to tear Mathias and Nathalia apart.

Even the nurses who tended to me couldn't help but throw disdainful glances my way.

Some even whispered just outside my hospital room.

"Did you hear? Mathias ran out of his engagement party straight into the fire for her."

"Everyone's saying his fiancée's position is about to change hands."

"I’d say it’s a done deal."

"Well, it’s what Irene deserves. She shouldn’t have meddled."

"She was just deluding herself. The two women are in the same hospital, only one floor apart. But how many times has Mathias been here? Nathalia barely got a scratch on her, and he’s called in the best doctors, staying by her side day and night, treating her like she’s the world’s most precious gem."

"Sigh, if only I could meet a man as devoted as Mathias…"

Their voices faded, drifting down the corridor like the remnants of a storm.

I simply closed my eyes, letting silence wrap around me like a suffocating shroud.

My ankle was shattered, the pain sharp and relentless, and a stubborn respiratory infection clung to me like a shadow.

In the week I spent in the sterile embrace of the hospital, I had already undergone five surgeries, each one leaving me more hollow than the last.

Mathias came to see me once, just once.

He left me with nothing more than a cold, distant sentence. “Irene, please take care of yourself.”

And just like that, he disappeared from my life.

Every time I woke from the fog of anesthesia, the doctors mentioned how I cried, my tears spilling uncontrollably as if my heart couldn’t bear the weight of its own agony.

But now, there were no more tears left to shed.

I wondered, was this how it felt when the heart died, a long, torturous ache that made every breath a struggle?

Somehow, though, I survived it.

For a month, I lay in that sterile room, the hours crawling by.

When the day finally came for me to leave, I had hoped to find Mathias, to speak to him, to have the conversation we should have had all along.

But when I reached his room, the nurse told me he had already left, without a trace, seven days ago.

I sent him a message, hoping that somehow, he would make time to meet me one last time.

After ten years, I deserved to say goodbye properly.

Despite the pain gnawing at my leg, I hailed a taxi and forced myself into it.

When I arrived home, the weight of everything hit me. I began packing up my life, every corner of this place that had once been filled with warmth, now devoid of meaning.

I loaded the last of my things into the truck I had arranged, the one that would carry me away from everything that had once been ours.

And everything Mathias had given me, the gifts, the emerald necklace that shimmered with memories, I left behind without a second thought.

Mathias had always been sentimental.

This house, his old home, was the place where everything started. The place where, when we first came together, I moved in without hesitation.

Even now, despite his wealth and status, he never left. This house was his anchor.

I ran my fingers across the wallpaper, the one I had carefully chosen, and for a moment, it almost felt like a forgotten memory. But then, something caught my attention, a strange sensation, a twist in the air.

My fingers trembled as I peeled back the wallpaper, an uneasy feeling creeping up my spine. What I uncovered made my heart race with dread and disbelief.

Underneath the wallpaper, I found the wall covered with a painting, Mathias holding Nathalia in his arms, a picture of perfect devotion. The words written beside it were like daggers.

‘Nathalia, this is our first home. I will never leave.

Every night, I hold Irene in my arms, but the only person I think about is you.

Will you ever come back?

I have everything now, so why haven’t you returned?

Irene wants to marry me, but I can’t imagine spending my life with anyone other than you.

Nathalia, I really… I can’t hold on much longer…’

Each sentence felt like a flame searing through my chest, burning my heart alive as it fought to keep beating.

Now, it all made sense. No wonder Mathias had kept me from touching the renovations. This wall, this damn wall, had been filled with his longing for Nathalia.

How laughable. The wallpaper I’d so carefully chosen had only served to blind me to the truth.

Mathias wasn’t sentimental; he’d been holding onto her all along.

And? I had never been anything but a punchline in his story.

My nails dug deep into my palm, the sharp pain barely registering as I numbly stared at the words on the wall, reading them over and over like a cruel mantra, torturing myself until the last remnants of my heart’s attachment turned to smoke.

With a steadying breath, I placed the keys on the table, no longer hesitating. Without another glance, I turned to leave.

Then, my phone buzzed, and I finally received a reply from Mathias. [If you want to talk, come to the Belmont Haven Hotel.]

I went. I kept my promise.

But Mathias wasn’t there.

Instead, Nathalia stepped out of a hotel room, draped in an expensive designer suit, her every step radiating grace.

The jewelry she wore sparkled like the cruel glint in her eyes as she looked me over, her gaze dripping with provocation.

“Mathias doesn’t even want you anymore, and yet you’re still clinging to him. Don’t you find that pathetic?”

A sudden clarity hit me.

“That message… you sent it from Mathias’s phone, didn’t you?”

Nathalia let out a laugh, a sound of pure derision as if her silence had already answered my question.