Chapter 2

When the words landed, disbelief flickered in his eyes. Then he met my calm expression, and his voice softened.

"Nessa, about Penny, I can explain."

I turned my head to the side and didn't look at him.

"There's nothing to explain. Let's break up."

The corner of his mouth twitched, as if my words had caught in his throat.

Clifford leaned closer. The wind lifted the hem of his shirt and carried the scent on him into my nose.

Jasmine.

"Vanessa! This bottle of jasmine perfume is something my husband brought back from abroad on a business trip. Do you want a spritz? It smells amazing!"

"No, thanks. I don't like jasmine."

My conversation with Penelope was still surfacing in my mind when another memory suddenly cut in.

"You went to France on business and all you brought back was a bottle of perfume?"

"Mm. I passed a perfume shop with a coworker and picked it up on a whim."

"But I thought you didn't like wearing perfume…"

I hadn't even finished back then before he brushed me off with work as his excuse.

So it turned out he'd made a special trip to get it for her. Not something picked up along the way.

He crouched down and took my hand.

For a moment it was like being back in the summer we were eighteen. The person hadn't changed, but the heart had.

"Nessa, I understand you're angry, but don't keep waving a breakup around like a weapon. We're not young anymore. A breakup does neither of us any good."

There was a faint laugh under his words, as if he were certain I'd come around.

But he was wrong. Giving him up wouldn't touch my future at all.

Five minutes before he arrived, I'd found a chat window that had gone quiet long ago and typed out one line.

"Do you still need a design director?"

After I sent it, I'd expected some hesitation on the other end, but the reply came fast.

"Of course. Ten times the salary, as promised. Welcome aboard."

I closed the chat window and booked a flight to Metropolis three days out.

In the past I stayed in Harborview for you, gave up too much of my own future. Now I've made up my mind to let you go, and to leave Harborview too.

In the quiet, a nurse's figure appeared. He abruptly let go of my hand and got to his feet.

"Did something happen with Penny?"

The nurse shook her head, out of breath. "No, it's just that Miss Swanson is making a fuss about being discharged. She says it's only a small injury and she's fine. Do you want to go check on her?"

Clifford took a quick step forward, then stopped short.

"Nessa, Penny's hurt badly. She needs me to look after her. I'm worried she'll do something reckless, so I'll go see her. I'll explain everything about her when I get home. Stop sulking at me."

With that, he left without a moment's hesitation. The nurse swept a silent glance over me, contempt in her eyes.

I stared at the raw, ugly gash on my leg, and my heart ached in waves.

When the horse went wild and out of control, Penelope had cried out in terror. "Vanessa, save me! I'm scared, I don't want to die!"

In that moment, the kindness in me told me I had to save her.

I fought to control the horse beneath me, gripped her reins hard with one hand, and the leather cut a bloody line into my palm.

I didn't fall from the horse until my strength gave out.

I shielded her under my body and said softly, "It's okay now."

Her injuries were nothing compared to mine, and yet in his eyes they were so serious he could throw me aside.

When someone doesn't love you, nothing you say matters.

Once the stitches were done, I decided to head back to Harborview early.

Before the bus started, I opened the social media feed I hadn't touched in ages and posted something.

【Clifford and I have broken up. The wedding is off. Please spread the word.】

I'd shut down my feed years ago because Clifford didn't like me showing off our relationship. Now it was finally good for something again.

The moment it went up, my best friend Evangeline Harding called, shouting at the top of her lungs.