Chapter 2

At eleven that night, a sudden bout of acute gastroenteritis hit me like a truck.

I gritted my teeth and drove myself to the ER. As the nurse inserted the IV needle into the back of my hand, I instinctively closed my eyes.

In my daze, I felt like I was back in the high school clinic at seventeen. A hand had covered my eyes back then.

"If you don't look, it won't hurt."

I opened my eyes, and to my shock, I actually saw Carter.

He was standing not far away, his expression tense.

I instinctively called out his name: "Carter."

The next second, my voice was drowned out.

"Carter, I'm fine. I'm just a little cold."

Mia was sitting in a chair nearby, her voice soft and fragile.

Carter immediately took off his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders.

"Put this on first."

He leaned down to adjust her collar, his movements natural and practiced.

I snapped back to reality. The boy standing there was no longer the seventeen-year-old Carter who covered my eyes because he was afraid I'd feel pain.

My throat felt incredibly dry and bitter, like a pill I couldn't swallow or spit out.

"What are you doing here?"

Carter's gaze swept over to me casually, his brow furrowing.

I didn't answer.

He looked at my IV bag, then at my bloodless, pale face.

"Are you sick? Or is this another one of your attention-grabbing stunts?"

I found it hilarious.

"Why else would I be at the hospital?"

I was no longer the Sera Miller who would take ice-cold showers in the dead of winter just to give herself a raging fever so he would come take care of her.

"Carter," Mia called out softly from behind him. "I'm cold."

His eyes lingered on my face for a split second before he turned around.

That split second felt like an illusion.

As he brushed past me, a faint scent of sandalwood drifted by.

Two years ago, this was my absolute favorite scent.

Now, it just felt completely foreign.

After Carter helped Mia through her checkup, he walked back over to me.

"Let me borrow your umbrella."

"Why should I?"

He looked up at me, his face tight with impatience. "Mia has a cold. She can't get wet. She needs this umbrella more than you do."

Carter stared at me for a few seconds, then suddenly snatched the umbrella straight out of my hand.

He pulled so hard that a tiny bead of blood welled up where my IV needle had just been pulled.

He opened the umbrella and shielded Mia as they walked into the pouring rain.

I watched his retreating back grow smaller and smaller.

Always like this.

He was always so ruthless.

It was the exact same during our last fight.

That day, the lab was voting on the prestigious research exchange spot.

The final, deciding vote lay in Carter's hands.

He voted for Mia.

I waited until everyone had left before I finally asked him, "Why?"

"You know how long I prepared for this! You know my academic records are way better than hers!"

Carter just laughed.

"Sera, you're being ridiculous. The decision is mine to make, not yours."

I fought back my tears. "Either we go public right now, or we break up. Choose one."

Carter looked at me as if I were a hysterical stranger.

"If you want to trap yourself in this dramatic relationship loop, that's on you."

"Don't act like you're some tragic victim."

That night, Mia boarded a flight to London.

And I received a phone call saying my mother was in critical condition.

I dialed Carter's number over and over. Fifty calls, all ignored.

When it finally went through, Mia's voice answered.

She asked softly, "Sera, is something wrong?"

I clutched my phone, my entire body turning ice-cold.

Over the receiver, I heard the faint rustle of fabric, followed by Carter's low, raspy voice.

"Who is it?"

"It's Sera."

"Just hang up."

The call went dead.

That week, I lost my mother, and I completely lost Carter.

The sound of the rain snapped me out of my memories.

The moment I walked out of the hospital clinic, I saw Carter holding a newly bought umbrella.

"Get in the car."

"You just got an IV. You look like a ghost. Why are you still being so stubborn?"

I didn't budge.

"Are you still throwing a tantrum over that research spot? I voted for her because she needed that opportunity more than you did."

"Her parents passed away when she was a kid. She has to work multiple jobs just to afford tuition. You, at least, still have your mom. And you have me."

I stared at him and asked quietly, "So, wanting my boyfriend to stand by my side when it doesn't even violate any ethical rules—is that really so wrong?"

Carter let out a scoff.

"You always take emotions way too seriously."

"And you always treat my emotions like they're worth absolutely nothing."

"Sera, it's pointless."

Those three words again.

I suddenly didn't want to fight anymore.

"Give me back the silver bracelet my mom gave you."

My mother had gifted it to him when she first found out we were dating.

Carter had worn it for years.

I used to think it was proof that he accepted me, proof of our relationship.

Carter's expression darkened.

"What? You really want to draw a line between us?"

I didn't say a word.

Carter yanked the bracelet off his wrist.

The next second, he hurled it violently at me.

"Sera, are you ever going to stop?!"

The metal bracelet slammed hard against my collarbone, knocking the breath out of me.

Carter turned and stormed off.

I knelt in the rain, picking up the scattered pieces of the bracelet one by one.

The rain washed over the muddy ground.

It felt as though even the very last bit of warmth my mother had left me was being washed away.