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.

Willow stared at the photo on her phone.

With his eyes closed and shirt collar undone, Roy’s relaxed posture belied the underlying intensity and revealed the sensuality of a man accustomed to the finer things in life. In the same photo, Sierra was snuggling up to his chest, smiling smugly at the camera.

A new photo, though slightly blurred, jumped out, showing the man leaning in to kiss the woman. The fluster and joy in the woman’s eyes were so real.

Six months ago, Willow would be hurt and upset to tears by the photo. Now, her gaze lingered on Roy’s aroused face before she deleted the photos with a tap.

Over the past few days, Sierra had been sending photos and text messages to get a rise out of her. Willow had yet to block Sierra to keep tabs on Roy. She had unfinished business to deal with, and the last thing she needed was for Roy to ruin things for her.

Men had fragile egos, and when she walked out on him, Roy’s response left a lingering doubt that things were far from over.

The next day, Willow went to her advisor’s office.

“When can I expect the recommendation letter for my PhD studies abroad, professor? Next week is the deadline.”

The advisor remained silent. The swelling on his face had subsided.

Willow gritted her teeth and flipped over her bang, dropping all its contents out to prove she did not have him on tape.

“I can understand that you’ve changed your mind about writing me a recommendation letter, but why did you have to stop Professor Anderson from writing me one too?”

The advisor pushed his gold-rimmed glasses up his nose and replied, “We’ve received an anonymous complaint, calling your personal conduct in question. You have a history of promiscuous behavior.”

“Is there a rule against dating while enrolled in the school?”

“Ha… Are you saying that you were dating the young heir of the Chesters? What a fancy way of putting it.” The middle-aged man mocked, “He should have no problem sorting your recommendation letter out if he was your boyfriend. You won’t have to grovel at my feet.”

“That’s my business. I’m earning my way to study abroad. If it weren’t for your abuse of power and your vendetta against me, I wouldn’t be wasting my time here.”

With a scowl, the advisor jolted to his feet and lunged closer. “Do you think I don’t know Mr. Chester got sick of you and dumped you? You better drop your attitude now that you don’t have a sugar daddy to back you up.”

He was utterly humiliated when Roy beat him up. Now, consumed by rage, the advisor grabbed Willow by the hair.

“Why don’t you get down on your knees and beg?” He leaned close, his breath hot against her ear. “Show me how you got all over the Chesters’ heir. Maybe, just maybe, I’ll write you that recommendation letter.”

Forced to look up, Willow could feel the outline of his junk against her skin. With a blank face, she snapped up a pot of boiling tea near her and threw it at him.

The man let out an excruciating scream. Then, with a smack, Willow took a hit to the face and fell to the ground.

She grabbed her things on the floor and scurried out of the office without another word.

“Willow…”

Sierra caught up to Willow in the corridor.

Taking a good look at Willow’s face, she said with a smile, “What happened to your face?”

Willow looked at her. “You were the one who went and told the school, didn’t you?”

Since Willow kept her academic life separate from Roy’s world, her advisor would not have found out unless someone leaked the information.

Sierra beamed. “I was only telling the truth. Did it upset you, Willow?”