Since that day, Roy did not contact Willow again, nor did he go home.

Willow knew that Roy was angry. He was punishing her for her defiance. Usually, she would cave in to him within three days. However, this time, Willow glanced at the calendar and decided to give herself a break.

The weather turned dreary on the last day of October. That evening, Willow got a call from Roy. He gave her an address and told her to dress up.

Though the nature of the event was not spoken of, Willow knew that Roy’s best friend, Adrian Cavill was celebrating his birthday. From the day Willow got together with Roy, she had taken note of all the important dates of his friends.

Willow agreed to go, and none of them brought up the last fight they had. As she had been wearing slip-ons at home to let her foot heal, her foot protested as she wedged it into stilettos to match her evening gown.

At the party, Willow was surprised to see Roy’s mother. The poised woman took Roy’s arm and brushed past Willow, her gaze fixating on Willow’s face for a moment before shifting away.

Roy’s mother said to Adrian with a smile, “You’ve got your gift. I won’t stay and make things awkward for you young people. Have fun.”

Sierra popped out of nowhere once Roy’s mother was gone. It then dawned on Willow the reason why Roy had brought her to the party.

There had been whispers in the community that Willow could stick by Roy’s side for so long largely because his mother had never openly criticized her. Of course, Roy’s mother could not possibly be fond of Willow. Willow was simply invisible to her.

As it turned out, Willow was just a shield for Sierra, taking the brunt of Roy’s mother’s rage if any, and the thought of it made Willow chuckle silently.

After seeing his mother off, Roy returned to the venue and headed straight to Sierra.

Sierra wore a bluish dress, her long black hair cascading down her shoulders. She looked timid, her eyes darting around curiously.

Roy stared at her, his emotions hiding behind his eyes.

Sierra bumped into a passing server with a tray in hand. As the tray tipped over, Roy snatched her waist and pulled her to safety.

The smashed and shattered wine glasses caught everybody’s attention.

Startled, Sierra clenched to Roy’s collar and recoiled in his arms. “Oh, no, Roy. Did I cause a scene? It’s embarrassing.”

Roy stroked her back to offer solace. “No one will say that you’re embarrassing.”

“I-I’ll clean up the mess right away.” Sierra got down to clear the glass shard, only to withdraw her arm with a shriek.

Roy nervously examined her hands.

On his knees, the terrified server apologized profusely while picking up the broken glass.

“Ha…”

A sneer came from behind Willow.

“This one is worse than the last.” The comment was made right in Willow’s face.

The insult was directed at Sierra and Willow.

In fact, Roy’s friends had never accepted Willow. They looked down on commoners like her. They could be all friendly in front of Roy, but the taunts and disdain would go on behind his back. Besides, no one was worried that Willow would complain, given her history of clinging to Roy and submitting to his wishes.

Willow went outside for a breather since it was freezing for anyone to hang around the pool. However, the warmth from staying indoors was fleeting, and soon, she was shivering.

She eventually regained some temperature from taking two drinks when Sierra showed up. Sierra’s cheeks were flushed as she wobbled her way over, a glass of wine in hand.

“I need a word with you, Willow.”

Willow backed away, keeping a distance between them.

“Don’t try me,” she warned.

Nevertheless, Sierra stuck close to Willow and murmured in her ear, “If we both were to fall into the pool, who do you think Roy would save?”

With a splash, Sierra pulled Willow into the water.

Ice-cold water filled Willow’s lungs as the weight of her soaked gown pulled her down in the water. She thrashed hard against the water, but her tight dress restricted her movements. She felt trapped, unable to surface out of the water or reach the bottom.

As her heart pounded out of her chest, Willow felt the burn in her lungs. She tried to rip open the dress binding her feet desperately. Amid her struggle, her toes touched the bottom of the pool. With all her might, she pushed off the bottom and surfaced.

People gathered around the pool, their voices a blur.

While Willow gasped for air, Roy pushed through the crowd and leaped into the water without taking off his shoes. He swam toward Sierra. The water splashed on Willow’s face, blurring her vision.

Roy quickly carried Sierra to safety, both looking pale with dread. He grabbed a towel and wrapped it around Sierra. He held her tight as if he had almost lost her.

Sierra opened her eyes, tears streaming down her face. “I was terrified, Roy…”

Wiping the water off her face, Willow hovered toward the edge of the pool with the help of a float. Then, she reached for the ladder and pulled herself up.

Looking up, Willow was greeted by Roy’s menacing face.

“Apologize.” He towered over her.

Willow met his gaze. “I didn’t do it.”

“Don’t tell me she did this to herself. She’s terrified of water. She can’t swim at all!”

Sierra sobbed softly while the crowd looked over, whispering among themselves.

A blinding spotlight shone down on Willow, making her feel like a criminal on trial.

“Willow, apologize!” Roy was on the verge of blowing up.

“Uh, what is going on?” Adrian, the birthday boy, rushed over to pull Roy away. “Willow has no reason to put herself in danger. I mean, just look at the state she’s in.”

Adrian was one of the few good ones among Roy’s friends who did not speak ill of Willow.

Roy sneered, his piercing gaze cutting through Willow. “Oh, she’s an expert at making herself out to be the victim.”

Before Adrian could intervene again, Willow broke into a smile.

“I’ll apologize. I’m sorry, Sierra.” Willow beamed as she apologized.

Roy was taken aback. Even Adrian did not see it coming. After all, no one in their right mind would smile in such a situation.

Willow tugged lightly on Roy’s pants and mumbled, “Don’t be mad, okay?”

That was the Willow they knew. She would do anything to please Roy. An apology was no big deal. It did not matter who was at fault.

Relieved, Adrian had Willow pulled out of the pool.

Roy made a face, his anger peaking at Willow’s light chuckles, yet his fury melted away when she apologized softly. Still, unrest stirred within him like something was slipping out of his control.

When Willow picked up her dress and walked past him, Roy grabbed her wrist.

“My belly hurts, Roy…” Sierra’s timid voice came through as she clutched her stomach in distress.

After a brief pause, Roy released his grip on Willow and rushed to Sierra’s side. “Come on. I’m taking you to the hospital to run all the tests.”

Willow was left there in a crumpled gown, facing the scrutiny all on her own. The looks she received were judgmental, taunting, and thrilled.

“I bet Mr. Chester will dump Willow this time. He just walked away with his new girlfriend. If I were her, I wouldn’t show my face ever again.”

“That’s you. We’re talking about Willow here. She has a big heart. She’ll be begging for his attention by tomorrow.”

Adrian embarrassedly handed Willow a towel. “Let’s get you to a dressing room.”

“Thank you.” Willow clad her thinly veiled dress with the towel and trailed behind a server.

The burn on her foot had scraped against the pool’s tile during the struggle, leaving a bloody gash. However, she paid no heed to her injury and sauntered along with composure.

It was around eleven at night by the time she got back to the villa. She headed upstairs, changed out of her dress, and took a suitcase she had packed earlier from the closet.

As Willow made her way to the living room, the housekeeper emerged and asked with concern, “It’s late, Ms. Croyton. Where are you going?”

Willow grinned. “Thank you for everything for the past three years, Hailey. Goodbye.”

The clock on the wall let out a hum when it struck twelve. It was over; everything was over.

Willow dragged her suitcase out the door as relief washed over her. At that moment, her phone rang. Roy’s name lit up on her mobile screen.

Outside the hospital, Roy stared at his phone in disbelief. He could not believe that Willow hung up on him.

Willow never terminated his call. She would always make sure to pick up right away. As such, Roy dialed her number again.

The call connected moments later, but it was quiet on the other end of the line. Roy, not one to cave in, said nothing. A tense silence lingered in the air, broken only by their breathing.

Roy felt bad as it just occurred to him that Willow’s foot was bleeding when he left. He was going to get her patched up. However, Willow was stubborn, as always. Despite her kind heart, she was headstrong. No one knew her better than Roy.

At the time, her uncompromising stance had rubbed him the wrong way. Hence, he said nothing and took Sierra away.

“Your foot–”

“It’s over between us, Roy.”

They talked over each other.

Roy paused for a minute before sneering. “What did you say, Willow?”

Willow remained indifferent. “If there’s anything between us, to begin with, that is. Else, you can say that you left me.”

Roy smirked. “Have it your way, Willow.”

After that, Willow ended the call, and Sierra came out of the assessment room to find Roy laughing away while staring at his phone.

She drew close with a smile. “Roy, what’s so funny–”

Roy hurled his phone, smashing it to the ground with a loud bang. Sierra clammed up in fright.

Roy’s chauffeur burst in. “Mr. Chester, I got a call from Hailey, saying that something isn’t right with Ms. Croyton. She left with a suitcase in the middle of the night…”

He trailed off when he saw the shattered phone on the floor.

With a grin, Roy uttered, “She better not come back.”

In less than a week, the city buzzed with the news that Roy had moved on to a younger model and finally ditched Willow after three years for a nineteen-year-old Sierra.

Unlike with Willow, Roy gave Sierra the world. Someone commented that Sierra’s long hair looked like Willow’s from behind, and Roy responded by kicking him into the pool. Since then, no one spoke of Willow in front of Roy anymore.

Still, everybody noticed that anything could set Roy off lately. Due to his unwarranted outbursts, his friends stopped the jokes.

One night, Roy lounged in the club after a business meeting, his eyes heavy with drink. It did not take Sierra long to join him, and Roy caught a whiff of her perfume. Then, at the faint sound of a click, his eyes snapped open.

With her back facing him, Sierra was busy texting away. From where he was sitting, Roy picked up that it was a photo of him lying down.

“Did you take a picture of me?” he murmured.

Sierra shuddered and dropped her phone on the sofa.

Roy’s eyes fell upon the phone screen, where a photo captured him reclining, his hand resting on the sofa, while Sierra leaned in, their poses suggesting an intimate embrace. Willow’s profile picture on the dialog box caught his eye right away.

Sierra swiftly grabbed her phone and put it behind her back.

“Roy, I-I…” Caught in the act, Sierra stammered for words.

Roy fell silent for a moment. “Come here.”

Before Sierra knew it, Roy pulled her into his arms and planted a kiss on her cheek. While that was happening, he held Sierra’s phone to take a picture of them and tapped to send the photo.