Chapter 2
Paula's POV
I took a cab straight to the office.
"Paula! Have you lost your mind?" My colleague Gina hissed, checking over her shoulder after I handed in my resignation. "You're quitting? Moving to Austin City? You and Nathan are getting married! You're going to live thousands of miles away?"
I packed my design sketches into a cardboard box, forcing a polite smile. "Nathan’s biotech company is promoting him and transferring him to the Austin branch. We're turning the move into a road trip."
"Oh, thank god. You scared me!" Gina patted her chest, eyes sparkling with envy. "Driving all the way from Seren City to Austin... That is so romantic!"
For seven years, I had begged Nathan for that road trip. I had drawn the route by hand. Each time, his answer was the same: "Paula, the new drug trials are at a critical stage. I don't have the time. Let's wait until things settle down."
"Road trips are peak romance," Gina sighed, scrolling through her phone. "Look at Roxanne's profile. She posted a photo shoot last week—she looks like a movie star. Kissing her boyfriend under the sunset in Joshua Tree, lying in the back of a truck looking at the stars... I swear, it’s the most romantic proposal trip I’ve ever seen."
My hands froze over the cardboard box.
Joshua Tree. Sunset kiss. Stargazing in a truck bed.
Those were my dreams. The exact itinerary I had emailed Nathan a dozen times.
I snatched the phone from Gina's hand.
On the screen was Roxanne’s Instagram feed. The latest post, dated four days ago, was tagged in Joshua Tree. Against a backdrop of blood-orange sunset, Roxanne in a flowing red dress was locked in a passionate embrace with a tall man.
His face was silhouetted by the light, but the dark grey t-shirt he wore was one I had personally bought for him.
The suffocating reality tightened around my neck like a noose.
On Valentine's Day last year, Nathan told me an autoclave had malfunctioned in the lab and he had to pull an overnight shift. That same night, Roxanne posted a photo of a candlelit French dinner. In the corner of the frame was a wrist wearing a silver watch—the watch I gave Nathan for his thirtieth birthday.
On my birthday last month, he missed my dinner to attend a medical conference in Boston. Roxanne's feed just happened to feature a sunrise over the Boston Harbor.
Gina was still talking, but her voice was a distant hum. I pulled down to refresh the feed. A new post popped up.
It was Roxanne, standing in front of a mirror wearing a silk wedding gown. The caption read: Finally, the choice that belongs to me.
I looked at the date.
Today was our seven-year anniversary. It was also the day we were supposed to go wedding dress shopping.
A week ago, Nathan had canceled the appointment for the eighth time.
"Roxanne didn't pass her Senior Designer review," he had argued. "She's in a very fragile state right now."
"But this is the eighth time we've rescheduled, Nathan."
"Paula, the bridal boutique isn't going anywhere. Why do you have to be so incredibly selfish when she's going through a crisis?"
I had stayed up all night, drowning in guilt, believing I was a terrible, unsupportive friend.
I grabbed my coat and sprinted out of the office.
When I arrived at the bridal boutique, I stood outside the massive glass window. Through the glass, I saw Nathan. He was dressed in a tailored suit, his eyes filled with a profound, aching tenderness I had never once received.
He gently took Roxanne’s hand and slid a dazzling pink diamond ring onto her ring finger.
That pink diamond was a design I had stayed up for three nights sketching. I had named it The Eternal Covenant. Nathan had praised the sketch, promising he'd have the finest craftsman bring it to life for me.
He had kept his word. He just gave the ring to someone else.
The shop assistants clapped, and Roxanne wept tears of joy, collapsing into Nathan’s chest. The sheer devotion in Nathan's eyes as he held her shattered the final remnants of my dignity.
I didn't storm in. I simply took out my phone and recorded the entire scene—the embrace, the ring, the kiss.
A masterpiece of betrayal, orchestrated by the two people I loved most.
Nathan didn't return to our apartment until midnight, smelling heavily of alcohol.
He stumbled into the bedroom and threw his weight onto me. I pushed his chest hard. "Nathan, get off me."
He grabbed my wrists, laughing drunkenly. "Roxanne... don't be like this..."
My entire body went rigid.
He leaned down, kissing me roughly, his hands tearing at my silk pajamas.
"Let go of me! Look at who I am!"
"I know who you are," he mumbled, his eyes closed as he pinned me down. "I can finally marry you, Roxanne..."
I fought him with everything I had, my knees scraping against the bed frame, but his weight was crushing.
"Nathan, stop!"
I thrashed and screamed, but he ignored my cries, brutally forcing himself inside me.
A sudden, sharp pain ripped through my abdomen. It felt like being torn apart from the inside.
I gasped, my entire body seizing up in agony.
Beneath us, the warmth of a thick, heavy rush of blood began to slick my thighs.
