"It's nothing," I said. "Just some gossip I heard. Apparently, a guy went behind his girlfriend's back and secretly married her best friend. My friend said he's completely awful, and his poor girlfriend was totally blindsided."

To my surprise, Felix reacted with unexpected intensity. "Why are you even talking about something so pointless? What if the guy didn't have a choice? What if it was some kind of fake marriage to fulfill a dying person's wish?"

The self-righteous look on his face struck me as absurd. Even after more than a decade together, he remained a complete mystery to me.

Felix started with his usual routine again. Pulling me into a hug, he kissed my forehead.

"What's going on with you lately, Sylvie? You've been so withdrawn. Don't let your imagination mess with what we've built. After all this time, how can you question how much I care about you? Once we figure out Lilian's situation, we'll get married, okay?"

His hand slid under my collar, groping my bust. "Sweetheart, it's been too long since we've been together."

"I'm sorry. I'm not feeling it tonight. I'll sleep alone," I said.

His touch filled me with disgust. I shoved him away and left, closing the door behind me.

…

The sudden blast of a car horn jolted me awake early the next morning.

Sitting in the courtyard was a pink RV I knew all too well, its flawless surface gleaming in the sun like liquid gold. I'd put that RV together with my own hands, but it belonged to someone else now.

Lilian was behind the wheel, sunglasses on, a smirk across her face as she dangled the keys.

She called out in an overly dramatic voice, "What do you think, Sylvie? Felix gave it to me."

I stared at her, the person who used to be my best friend. I couldn't quite figure out how she'd turned into someone so cruel.

Her stilettos clicked sharply against the pavement as she stepped out and walked toward me, her eyes gleaming with triumph.

"You know what Felix said? He thinks it suits me better." Her fingers glided over the RV's surface as if caressing some priceless treasure.

I stared at the RV, my stomach churning with disdain. That RV was my design, my sweat, my dream. It seemed like Lilian was hell-bent on taking everything that mattered to me.

Out of nowhere, she thrust the keys into my hand. Then, with a piercing cry, she collapsed to the ground.

At that exact moment, a voice I knew all too well called out from behind her. "Sylvie! How could you do that to her?"

Felix quickly stepped forward, his gaze sharp and full of blame, as though everything unfolding before us was squarely on my shoulders.

"This is what Lilian deserves. I built this RV from the ground up, and now she's the one who gets to keep it!" I yelled.

My words broke the last bit of control he was holding onto, and he struck me across the face.

A thick, oppressive silence settled over us.

The sting of his handprint seared into my skin. Tears blurred my vision as I pressed my palm to the throbbing ache. I stared at him, stunned, pain and grief twisting inside me like a knot of barbed wire.

"How could you hit me over her, Felix?" I asked, my voice trembling. "I'm the one who built this RV. What did she do? Or does playing the victim mean she gets to take whatever she wants?"

Felix's face hardened as if he'd never expected me to challenge him like this.

"When did you turn into this, Sylvie? What happened to the kind person I used to know? You've got everything—money, status, freedom. Is it really too much to let her have just this one thing?"

As he spoke, he carried Lilian in his arms, her face pale.

"Look at what you've done," he snapped. "The stress has made her worse. All she wanted was to feel what it's like to hold onto a dream before it's too late. Was that really too much to ask?"

My fingers tingled with rage. I sneered as I locked eyes with him.

"Yes, it was! You know exactly what this RV means to me, Felix. I spent night after night working on it, my hands covered in grease, tweaking the engine, fixing the chassis.

"It's basically a part of me. And you expect me to just hand it over? If Lilian wants a dream, she can make her own. You don't get to steal something and then act like the victim!"

I could let go of scum like Felix without a second thought, but my RV? Never. I built it with my own two hands.

Felix went still, his expression shifting as though he were staring at a stranger.

Finally, he said, "You're not the same anymore."

Then, he turned his back on me, carrying Lilian as he walked away.

A wave of rage surged through me, and my heart condition flared up. I crumpled to the ground, crying out in pain, "Felix… help me…"

He didn't even look back.

…

When I came to, I found myself in a hospital. Someone leaned in and wrapped me in a warm embrace.

"Let's head home, Sylvie."

It was Harold.

I closed my eyes, finally surrendering.

"Okay," I murmured.

It was true that hope could vanish in the blink of an eye.