I shivered, glancing around the room where faint moonlight streamed through the windows. The sound of ocean waves filled my ears.

“Where's Dante?!” I shouted.

His face was menacing as he approached, grabbing my chin. “You wake up just to look for that jerk. Have you ever considered how I feel?”

Ignoring him, I scrambled off the bed, desperate to escape. He didn't try to stop me.

Opening the door, the salty sea breeze hit me. We were at sea?!

The ocean outside was an endless blackness, threatening to swallow everything. I collapsed on the floor, eyes vacant.

“Jensen, what do you want from me?”

He crouched beside me, forcing me to look at him. “I want you to see only me. No one else.”

“Stay away from that pretty boy!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll take you to a deserted island where we can start over. Once you change your mind, we’ll return.”

I let out a hollow laugh, my gaze vacant as I looked past him.

“Jensen, let me go. I don’t love you anymore.”

He roughly grabbed my shirt.

“What do you mean?! You always said we’d be together forever, that you only wanted me in this life! You endured three years of hardship for me!”

“Why did you change?! It’s because of that pretty boy, isn’t it?! Why won’t you see me?”

Before, I didn’t hate you like I do now.

Jensen destroyed everything yet played the victim. So pathetic, so pathetic, so pathetic.

Everywhere he touched burned, making me feel sick.

I clawed at my arms, my neck, leaving my skin raw and red.

“Stella! What will it take for you to speak to me?! Do you know I gave up everything for you! Can’t you just look at me?!”

Ha.

An abuser, begging for forgiveness.

I finally looked at him, and he seemed frightened by my gaze.

“Do you want to know why?”

“For three years, I only got three hours of sleep a night, juggling five jobs to pay for your medical bills.”

“I lived on the cheapest meals, dinner rolls and pickles, just to save every penny.”

“I couldn’t refuse any job, no matter how hard. Even when bullied, I endured it.”

“Remember Major Sanchez? He tried to assault me and refused to pay me for a month! Did you know that? Did you?!”

He shook his head, terrified. “No, I didn’t know. Angel told me it was just a minor…”

I laughed bitterly. “Angel again. Did she also tell you how she sent disgusting clients to harass me at the bar? When I refused their advances, they beat me up. I couldn’t get out of bed for two weeks.”

“To this day, I can still hear the cracking of my bones. Snap, snap. One after another. Jensen, it was excruciating. All my ribs were broken. Do you even know I almost didn’t survive?”

“And where were you during that time? With Angel, or were you laughing at my misery?”

“When they threw money at me, I wanted so badly to refuse, but thinking of you in that hospital bed, I swallowed my pride.”

“You have no idea how much blood and tears I’ve swallowed these past three years. Standing on your moral high ground, blaming me, never understanding your so-called good intentions.”

“You’re selfish and will never understand.”

“The Stella who was once devoted to you has been erased.”

Jensen’s expression shattered piece by piece.

“I didn’t know, I didn’t know any of this! Stella, please forgive me! I really didn’t know! It was all Angel! I didn’t know you suffered like this…”

He collapsed to his knees, unable to bear the weight of his guilt, covering his face in anguish.

Jensen, so you can feel pain?

I gave a scornful smile.

While he was lost in his thoughts, I seized the chance to run from the room.

The wind on the deck was fierce, whipping my hair around wildly.

By the time Jensen realized and ran after me, it was too late.

I stood at the edge.

The rooftop I hadn’t jumped from three years ago—I could jump from now.

But this time, I wasn’t afraid.

Sorry, Dante, for not keeping my promise.

“Stella—!” Jensen’s scream rang out, but I didn’t hesitate for a second longer.

I leaped into the abyss.

The seawater swiftly engulfed me. I closed my eyes with a serene smile, free from panic or fear, only calm. Suddenly, a figure dove down above me. He swam frantically toward me. The moonlight filtered through the water, revealing his face bit by bit. It was Dante.

Dante swam toward me as fast as he could, grabbed hold of me, and steered me toward the nearby yacht. Once we were on board, he held me tightly, a trace of panic in his eyes.

"Are you hurt anywhere? I'm so sorry, it's all my fault. I fell asleep, and that's how he managed to take you. I'm sorry, Stella, don't be afraid. I'm here now."

His warmth chased away the chill of the seawater. At that moment, I felt hope reignite in my heart. He hugged me tightly, like a child recovering a precious lost toy.

Jensen's boat quickly pulled alongside us, and he stumbled out toward me. He embraced me frantically, "Thank goodness, Stella, you're safe!"

I pushed him away in disgust, retreating into Dante's arms. Jensen dropped to his knees, his face full of regret.

"Stella, please, forgive me. I was immature and didn't know how to love someone."

"I finally get it now."

"Stella, you can't be so heartless. You taught me how to love you, and now you're leaving me."

"Please don't leave me! I'll do whatever you want!"

"I'm begging you, please forgive me."

I watched his emotional outburst quietly. After a long moment, I spoke softly.

"Jensen, if I had a choice, I would have rather never met you."

"These past three years have been too painful."

He didn't say another word.

In high school, the last paragraph of the love letter I wrote for you went like this:

I must focus all my energy on moving forward. This is my vision and my goal. I may not have exceptional traits, but I can only say, in my current state of mind: it’s you, my pursuit includes you. You are my aim, my motivation, that's all there is to it.

"So why didn’t you give me the letter?" I asked.

Dante rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "I was so scrawny back then. I worried I’d just hold you back."

I laughed and replied, "I wasn’t worried about you holding me back. I was worried you wouldn't need me."

His face suddenly flushed a deep red.

After that day, Jensen seemed a bit out of sorts and distracted. He didn’t even have his security try to stop us; he just let us leave without any fuss.

Dante and I went to the hospital, and luckily, our injuries were just minor, nothing serious.

In the meantime, I went ahead and filed charges against Jensen for attempted murder and kidnapping. I heard that when he was arrested, the police found Angel in his office, beaten beyond recognition.

But none of that mattered to me anymore. Because, sitting right there on my couch, was a CEO who, despite his stature, was childishly eager to be taken care of.

I carefully tucked the love letter away, placing it gently into a box. With a broad smile, I said to him, "You've been having some stomach issues lately, how about we have oatmeal tonight?"

Blushing intensely, he reminded me, "Just don’t put any ginger in it, okay?"

"Alright, but I'll add some celery," I joked.

He nodded in agreement with a quiet voice.

Outside, the sun was shining brightly.