"What do you mean?" Rowan acted as if he had amnesia, forgetting what he had done earlier.

"Nothing. I think I'm just tired," I mumbled, turning my gaze away.

"All right, stop crying now. I'll put some ointment on your wounds, okay?" He gently patted my head to soothe me as he got up to grab the first aid kit, muttering along the way.

"You're a big girl now, Mary, but still afraid of pain and always crying? What would you do without me?" He said it as if he were the only person I could depend on.

Even though he had spoiled me for a full six years, I still knew how to take care of myself and could do anything without him.

But how could I tell him that I didn't want him anymore? That I didn't want this fake love anymore?

That night, I struggled to sleep, enduring both my burn marks and my aching heart.

I tried to sleep, but how could I when the man who caused my heartbreak was lying right next to me? Rowan was sleeping peacefully, his arms wrapped around my waist. But I didn’t like him touching me, so I gently pushed his hands away.

By dawn, I felt Rowan pull me out of bed. I groaned, trying to push him away, but he just chuckled and leaned in to kiss me.

Instantly, all my sleepiness vanished, and I was irritated by his presence to the point that I wanted to slap him, but I controlled myself and tried to calm down.

Luckily, he just gave me a quick kiss, but if it had lasted longer, I wouldn't have hesitated to punch him in the face.

"Wake up, my dear Mary," he said softly.

I got up and wiped my mouth in disgust. "It's the weekend, Rowan. Why can't you let people sleep in?" I said, annoyed.

Rowan looked surprised by my reaction. "Mary, you had a fever last night. I'm waking you up because I'm taking you to the clinic."

Although I felt mostly fine, I couldn't argue with him, so I reluctantly got up. "I can go there alone; you don't need to accompany me."

"No, I'm coming with you," he insisted.

I just shrugged and went to the bathroom to wash my face. Seeing my reflection in the mirror, I noticed something had changed in me. My face looked gloomy, and anger was evident in my eyes.

When we arrived at the clinic, we walked down the hallway and unexpectedly ran into Heidi. It looked like she was having a hard time walking and struggled to hop down the hallway on her own.

I turned to Rowan and saw that he felt pity for Heidi. I wasn't surprised by his next move; I watched him release my hand to go to the woman he had once loved.

I tried to steady myself, but it hurt to see him forget me so quickly as if I no longer existed.

"Heidi? What happened to you?" I could hear Rowan's voice filled with worry.

Heidi smiled at him, then threw a glance toward me. "Oh, I just sprained my ankle; I fell down the staircase because I was drunk. What about you? Are you here for a checkup too?" she asked.

Rowan's expression froze as he glanced back at me, and I could feel him staring at me like a stranger.

"Oh, that's my best friend's little sister. He was away, and Mary got a fever, so I brought her here," Rowan lied.

I wasn’t surprised by that; I had grown used to being called a friend, sometimes a sister. The worst thing he called me was a servant.

From the moment Rowan and I got into a relationship, he always told me not to publicize it and that we should be a low-key couple. Some of his closest friends knew about us, but he warned them not to spread it.

"All right, that's good to hear, Rowan. You're such a kind guy. You better take her to the doctor first; I'll wait here," Heidi said, gesturing toward the clinic.

Heidi turned her back and hopped on her own, but Rowan didn't think twice and scooped her into his arms, startling her.

"Mary, wait for me. I'll just take her inside; she needs to be seen right away."

I was left standing there, watching them enter the doctor's room. Suddenly, I felt my knees weaken, and I grew dizzy. I leaned against the wall to keep from falling.

Rowan didn't even ask my permission; he just carried another woman, leaving me behind.

The fact was that no matter how well he acted like a perfect boyfriend when he faced Heidi, his true feelings for her slipped out, and he forgot his facade. It seemed Rowan didn’t even realize he was making a mess.

"You're busted," I forced a bitter smile and turned, walking on my own to another clinic room.

What I was feeling today wasn't just a headache. I was sick. My temperature had risen to 43.5°C, and the doctor advised that I should stay here for a day.

The burn marks had become infected, worsened by my recent emotional stress, leading to a viral infection that required IV treatment.

Out of habit, I reached for my phone to call Rowan to come over, but I stopped myself from dialing. There was no point in calling him; I didn’t want to waste my time begging.

Suddenly, I heard my phone beep and saw that it was a message from my brother Freddie.

[I've heard you're at the clinic; what happened to you?]

I didn't know what to say to my brother, but I didn’t want him to worry. I texted back and just told him I had a monthly check-up.

Hours later, I finished my IV bag and felt even dizzier. I didn’t even realize I had fallen asleep for a long time. I felt thirsty, but there was no nurse around, so I got out of bed by myself, almost stumbling with my first step.

Rowan still hadn’t returned, and it was already evening. There were no calls, no messages, and I had no idea if he was still with Heidi.

I took my phone again and decided to finally call him to avoid any misunderstandings. He didn’t answer right away, but on my last attempt, he picked up.

"Rowan, I'm still in the hospital. Don’t you plan to take me home?" I asked coldly. I couldn’t manage to go home alone because I was still dizzy. I needed him to assist me, just one last time.

"I'm so sorry, Mary. I was supposed to come back for you right after taking Heidi home, but she suddenly threw up, so—"

Before he could finish, I heard the voice of a waiter in the background. "Sir, your dishes are all served. Please enjoy your dinner!"

Though Rowan quickly covered the receiver, he was foolish; I had already heard everything.

"Okay, seems like you're having some fun. Go on, I can manage myself," I said, about to hang up, but he stopped me.

"Mary, just head home. I'll explain everything later."

I rolled my eyes. What would he explain? To lie just to keep me hanging? Well, there was no need because I had already caught him. I ended the call without a word and contacted my close friend to take me home.

Tonight, I was all alone since Rowan didn’t come back. I was wide awake and remembered there was a meteor shower, so I went to the window to watch the night sky.

One of the beliefs is that it brings good luck when you see a meteor shower and that you should make a wish.

I closed my eyes and wished upon the stars, hoping they would grant it. "I want to be truly loved, to be seen and heard."

After wishing, I returned to bed, but I couldn’t help but scroll on my phone and stalk Heidi. I noticed she had a new story, and when I clicked on it, I saw a romantic photo of her with Rowan under the meteor shower.

[Years apart, and then, beneath a shower of shooting stars, I found my way back to your embrace—a celestial reunion, a love story written in the heavens!] The caption was so poetic.

I stared at their picture for minutes, and I admit I was jealous, but I realized that Rowan wasn’t the mate destined for me and that he was a pathetic wolf who took advantage of me.

Feeling uninterested in prying into their affair, I turned off my phone and tried to rest. The next morning, I arrived at a fine restaurant to meet with my friends and informed them I was going to leave soon.

"But why would you leave our town, Mary?" my friend Gale asked.

I hesitated to tell the truth, but they were my friends, and I trusted them. "It's because I'm going to get married. But keep this a secret, okay?"

My friends were so shocked and curious about who my fiancé was, but I had no idea either, so it was a big mystery.

"Whoever that man is, we hope he won’t hurt you, Mary. We will celebrate your happiness," Gale said happily.

While having a great time with my friends, I couldn’t help but look around the restaurant where Rowan and I frequently had dinner dates.

Halfway through the meal, I excused myself to go to the restroom, only to run into Heidi.

"Hey, Mary!" she greeted. "I didn’t expect you’d be here too! You know, this was the restaurant where Rowan and I had our first date. We've come here so many times."

I was startled by her sharing it when I wasn’t even asking. I forced a bitter smile but didn’t say anything. I was about to leave, but she blocked my way.

"Mary, I'm not stupid. I know you're Rowan's rebound girl. Do you think I wouldn’t know? I noticed Rowan's actions, and it's clear to me he's just toying with you. Poor girl," Heidi sneered, looking me up and down.

What she said made me pause, and I didn’t know what to say. I just felt humiliated and degraded by the way she looked at me.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about," I tried to deny it, and she just laughed sarcastically.

"You see, Mary, even though I left him a long time ago and looked for someone else, he will crawl back to me. He can't replace me with someone like you," she bragged.

"Okay, believe what you want to believe, but get out of my way!" I demanded, but she didn’t listen.

"You think you got his heart, huh? Let me tell you this, Marydale. Those years you've been with him, he never loved you and only thought of me," she added.

Tears welled up in my eyes, and I suddenly remembered a memory where Rowan and I celebrated our anniversary in this restaurant.

He always told the waiter to avoid putting spice in my food when I liked spicy foods. I thought he was just concerned, as eating too much spice isn't good for me. But I was so naive not to realize that all along, he was thinking of Heidi.

I fell silent for a moment, snapping back to reality. I saw Heidi's face, a sarcastic smirk playing on her lips.

"Now what? Does it ring a bell?" she asked.

She was taking this moment to humiliate me, but I refused to give her any satisfaction.

"Sorry, I can't remember anything," I lied, turning my back. But before I left, I wanted to warn her about something. "Whatever you have with Rowan, it's none of my business."

Back at the table with my friends, I tried to act like nothing had happened, but I could sense their curious gazes.

"You okay, Mary?" Gail asked.

"Of course, I'm fine," I forced a smile.

Just as I was about to put that unpleasant encounter with Heidi behind me, I saw the door open.

I was startled to see Rowan walk in. He scanned the room, as if searching for someone, and his eyes landed on me. I could see anger in them, though I couldn't understand why.

"Mary!" he called out, his voice loud enough to draw attention from everyone around us, especially my friends.

"Hey, Rowan? What are you doing here?" I asked, puzzled.

"Come with me," Rowan suddenly grabbed my hand and pulled me outside the restaurant's corner.

"What's wrong with you?" I was annoyed by his sudden appearance and the disrespectful way he dragged me away, right in front of my friends.

"I should be the one asking, what the hell is wrong with you, Mary? Why did you hurt Heidi?!" He was furious, and I didn't expect the slap he gave me across my cheek.

It was the first time he had ever hit me. I stared at him in disbelief. He showed no sign of remorse—just pure fury.

Tears welled up in my eyes as I held my cheek. The slap still stung, like his palm had left a mark on it.

"What the hell! I didn't do anything to Heidi!" I defended.

"Don't lie to me, Mary. I knew you were harsh on her because I assisted her in the hospital. You're so pathetic! You even pushed her, and now she got a knee injury," Rowan muttered.

In the distance, Heidi hobbled toward us, using her cane, but earlier I saw she could walk properly. Rowan immediately reached Heidi to help her, and she dramatically fell into his arms, as if she wanted to prove Rowan would always catch her.

"You should have stayed in your seat. I would have brought her over to apologize to you," I heard Rowan say, his voice filled with tenderness.

With tears in her eyes, Heidi shook her head. "It's okay, Rowan. It's not a big deal. She didn't do it on purpose. Don't be so hard on her," she said softly.

"No! I won't tolerate this. She needs to apologize," Rowan insisted, his voice laced with venom.

"Rowan, we can't do that. If her brother finds out you hit his sister, it might ruin your friendship. It can also ruin the bond in your packs," Heidi added as if she was concerned.

At the mention of my brother Freddie, a strange expression crossed Rowan's face, but it looked like he didn't mind my brother's reaction as he was too focused on Heidi.

"Freddie entrusted her to me. So I have the right to tell her that what she did was wrong," Rowan clarified.

I couldn't stop myself from laughing. "What exactly did I do wrong? Tell me, Rowan! What right do you have to dictate what's right and wrong to me? And who the hell are you to have the authority to control my life? My brother didn't say anything like that!" I said angrily.

Rowan frowned and seemed agitated. "I am your brother's trusted friend, and you were left under my custody."

"Custody?" I was flustered. "Don't treat me like a kid, Rowan! I'm not a robot for you to control me whenever you want! You can't make me apologize for something I didn't do," I dictated.

Rowan clenched his fists and glared at me. "Enough with your lies, Mary! I knew you did it on purpose because there's no camera in the restroom, but you can't run away from your consequences!"

He treated me like a convict when he had no proof, he just believed Heidi's lies. I felt so helpless, but I had to defend myself and not be stung by the injustice.

"How sure are you that it was me, Rowan? She can't show any proof, but you easily believed what she's saying?" I looked at Heidi, who I knew had made up a story just to ruin my name.

Rowan then shook his head. "Why would Heidi wrongfully accuse you? She must have a reason, and she's not the kind of person who lies. I've known her since we were kids," he defended her.

"So you're saying I'm the liar here?" I asked, bitterly.

After years of being together, I thought he would trust my character, but I was wrong. In front of Heidi, our six years meant nothing.

One word from her, and my name would be ruined, and I had no chance to defend myself. I would instantly become a convict in his eyes. Indeed, she was the favorite one, and I was just his second best. She was his everything, and I was nothing but a replacement.

There was no point in arguing. I would just waste my time with these idiots who knew nothing but how to humiliate me.

"Where are you going?" Rowan asked as I turned my back.

I stopped for a second to give him one last look. "Somewhere peaceful, somewhere you don't exist," I mumbled.