Chapter 2

I walked home like a ghost.

My mind was such a mess that I kept bumping into pedestrians along the street.

"Hey! Watch where you're going, crazy!"

"Is she blind? What a freak!"

"If you don't need your eyes, donate them!"

I stiffened, letting out a self-deprecating laugh. "Yeah... I must be blind."

The rude passerby gave me a weird look and quickly walked away without another word.

They probably thought I was insane, but I didn't care to explain.

Suddenly, the sky opened up. Heavy rain poured down, soaking me to the bone in seconds.

But I felt nothing. The icy water mingled with the tears rolling down my cheeks.

By midnight, I had developed a raging fever.

As I lay shivering in bed, my phone buzzed. It was Andrew.

"Audrey, can you bring some hangover pills to the club for me? These guys are totally wasting me."

My body went rigid. Out of habit, I almost stood up to search the medicine cabinet.

But then reality hit me. I stopped myself. "Sorry, I have a fever. I can't go."

There was a brief silence on the other end, followed by some loud teasing in the background:

"Looks like you lost, Andrew! Guess you'll have to buy your own hangover pills."

The sweet, giggling voice sounded incredibly familiar. It was Chloe.

I let out a cold sneer, and Andrew hung up immediately.

In the middle of the night, Andrew stumbled into the apartment, smelling heavily of tequila.

He violently pulled me up from my sleep.

"Are you out of your mind? I was getting hammered by my friends, and you made up some lame excuse about a fever just to avoid coming?"

"Do you even care about me anymore?!"

The suffocating smell of alcohol snapped me fully awake.

I held my throbbing forehead, trying my best to stay steady. "I told you. I have a fever."

My flat, serious tone finally made Andrew look at my face.

My bright red, flushed cheeks spoke for themselves.

He went quiet for a second, then muttered, "Sorry. I'll sleep in the study."

I scoffed and fell back onto the mattress.

There was no way I could sleep now.

Soon, I heard muffled laughter and whispers coming from the study next door.

It was loud and humiliating. I stayed awake all night.

The next morning, Andrew walked out of the study looking refreshed, with Chloe right behind him.

The moment Andrew saw me, his smile froze.

He instinctively took a step away from Chloe. "Morning."

"The party ended too late last night, and Chloe lost her keys. So I brought her back here."

I just nodded, stepping aside to head toward the front door.

Andrew grabbed my wrist. I looked at him, confused.

He stammered, "Where are you going? Aren't we supposed to go dress shopping today?"

I paused, then turned to him with a smile. "Why don't you two go instead? I have some urgent stuff to handle at the office."

Andrew visibly let out a sigh of relief. His smile became genuine.

"Alright then. Chloe has amazing taste. She'll make sure we get the perfect dress."

"Sure," I replied softly.

The moment I left the apartment, I sent a Snapchat blast to Andrew’s family and friends, informing them of the venue change.

Then, I texted my own family and friends that the wedding was canceled.

After that, I turned off my phone. I didn't want to explain myself to anyone.

I immediately drove to the agency to finalize my passport and visa. I had been accepted into a prestigious exchange program in London months ago.

Initially, because we were getting married, I didn't want to be away from Andrew for so long, so I had put it on hold.

But now that the wedding was dead, I was absolutely not giving up this opportunity.

When I stepped out of the government building, I saw Andrew and Chloe coming out of the City Hall next door.

Both of them were beaming with joy.

But the moment Andrew’s eyes met mine, he froze.

"What... what are you doing here?" he asked, panic flaring in his eyes.

He looked incredibly guilty, his gaze darting away from me.