- 8.
Declan and Noelle moved into the new house.
He’d prepared it for Noelle all along.
く
His plan from the start was to use Sierra to
get this house.
But as he walked in and saw Noelle cooking,
a strange emptiness settled in his chest.
Back in the rental, when he came home from
work, Sierra would always be there, cooking.
The food always smelled amazing.
It was the same action, Noelle cooking, but it
felt completely different.
Dinner tasted like ash in his mouth. That
hollow feeling persisted, like something vital
was missing.
He kept glancing at his phone, scrolling,
searching for some lost piece of information.
Until Noelle interrupted him: “Are you
wondering where Sierra went?”
Declan froze, then quickly denied it. “No, I’m
not.”
Noelle suddenly flew into a rage. “Declan, I’ve
known something was off with you! You
promised you’d break up with Sierra, but your
phone screensaver is still her, and you haven’t
even thrown out the damn quilt she bought!”
“After seven years with her, did you fall in
love with her?”
Her words silenced Declan.
Truthfully, he’d been wondering the same
thing.
く
Why else would he feel so agitated hearing
she’d left?
But he’d only ever been using her. Right?
- 9.
I flew overseas to find my mom.
The truth is, I come from a wealthy family.
After I fought with my mom over Declan, she
cut me off financially.
But now, she’d forgiven me.
I was back to being the rich heiress I once
was.
Mom pulled strings and got me into the
entertainment industry.
She said, “Forget about the ugly past. From
now on, you’re going to shine.”
And she was right. I didn’t want to think about
it anymore.
Those memories made me sick, filled me with
horror.
Even now, I can’t stand to think about how I
was used and deceived by a man for seven
years.
