For five years, Edmund Montague and I had shared something I thought was love, but he never allowed me to call it what it was, not in front of anyone.

When my best friend stood up for me, he dismissed it coldly, his words slicing through me like a blade.

"This mess you made, fix it yourself," he said with disdain.

"And if you can’t sort it out, don’t even think about returning to me."

The final blow came later when I saw him with my own eyes, holding the face of his first love with a gentleness I could only dream of.

His voice, steady and heartfelt, drove the knife in deeper. "I don’t have a girlfriend. The one I’ve been waiting for… it’s always been you."

At last, exhaustion weighed me down and I chose to walk away.

But then, as if clinging to a script he’d written for us, he boldly declared to everyone that he was planning to propose.

"Victoria, are you certain this time?"

My mentor’s voice over the phone was firm, carrying the gravity of the decision ahead.

"If you commit to the Antarctic expedition now, there’s no going back."

***

Victoria glanced at the phone screen, where a photo of her with her senior colleagues beneath a towering glacier gleamed. The sunlight pierced through the ice, casting a luminous glow on their faces, like flowers blooming in the heart of winter, radiant, alive and full of promise.

But now…

Victoria stared at her reflection on the black screen. The face staring back at her was weary, shadowed by exhaustion and a quiet desolation. It was time to let go.

“I’m certain,” she said softly, her voice gentle but laced with unshakable resolve.

“I’ll send you the application form shortly.”

“What application form?”

The sound of the door unlocking interrupted her conversation and before she could respond, Edmund strode in with hurried steps.

Victoria Windsor quickly ended the call with her professor, offering a few polite words before turning to him. “Just applying for a new research project. Nothing important.”

Her tone was casual, but her heart raced. She was referring to the three-year Antarctic expedition, a chance of a lifetime, both professionally and personally.

As the faint rustle of shoes being kicked off reached her ears, Edmund was suddenly in front of her. With one swift motion, he leaned down and encircled her in a firm embrace, keeping her seated in her chair.

His warm breath brushed against her neck, teasing her skin with an intimacy that always conflicted her.

“Apply for whatever you want,” he murmured, his tone deceptively light. “But don’t even think about Antarctica. A girl like you, running off with a bunch of men to the ends of the earth? How could I ever feel at ease?”

Victoria’s chest tightened. The Antarctic expedition had been approved six months earlier. It was a golden opportunity—her professor’s recommendation, her perfectly aligned research and the promise of career-altering discoveries. She had been a shoo-in for the project, the professor’s favored choice.

But Edmund had refused.

He had ripped her application form into shreds, ignored countless calls from her professor and plunged them into a cold war.

“If you’re so determined to go, then we don’t need to see each other anymore!” he had declared, his words like a dagger to her resolve.

And in the end, she gave in. She sent her professor a heartfelt apology. The email had gone unanswered.

Victoria knew why. Her professor, usually kind and understanding, had been deeply hurt. The silence stretched for two long weeks before they spoke again.

That was Edmund. He refused to give her an official place in his life, yet he kept her bound tightly, refusing to let her drift too far.

And she, despite herself, couldn’t muster the courage to fight back.

But this time, no force in the world could stop her. Not even Edmund.

Victoria stood still, her silence louder than words, her hand no longer reaching out to brush his forehead as it once had, a tender gesture now lost in time.

Edmund’s brow furrowed in confusion. For a fleeting moment, he seemed unsure, but then a familiar spark of determination lit his eyes. Like a magician conjuring a spell, he revealed a bouquet of blue roses from behind his back, their petals glowing like fragments of a dream.

“I promised to meet you for lunch,” he began, his voice gentle, laced with an attempt at charm, “but something came up at school. I couldn’t make it in time.”

With a small flourish, he extended the bouquet toward her with a sheepish grin. “This is my apology. Don’t stay mad, okay?”

Victoria’s gaze flickered to the roses, her expression faltering. For a moment, just a moment, her eyes softened. The vivid blue of the flowers mirrored a time when his gestures had meant the world to her.

Just twenty minutes earlier, a message from Isabella Lancaster lit up her phone screen.

The attached photo was hard to miss. Isabella, with her radiant smile, held a bouquet of roses identical to the ones now resting before her.

[I told Edmund I wanted blue roses. He ditched you to scour the city for them. But honestly, I lost interest once he bought them. Thought he might as well hand them to you instead.]

The truth stung. What lay before her was a cast-off, something discarded, handed over as an afterthought.

Much like Edmund, standing there now, looking at her with that same shallow sincerity.

Victoria’s lips curved faintly as she accepted the roses, placing them on the table with a casual grace.

"I’m not mad. I just got a little hungry while waiting."

"Then I’ll whip up some soup for you! I’ll fry an egg, too.”

Noticing her composed demeanor, he relaxed. But before he could step toward the kitchen, his phone buzzed, breaking the moment.

"I’ll be right there!" he answered swiftly.

Ending the call, Edmund walked briskly to the entryway. "Something urgent came up at school. I’ll order you some takeout later."

It was the same excuse he had used before, but Victoria didn’t seem fazed.

"Alright," she replied with an easy smile. "Be careful on your way."

Her eyes lingered on the empty doorway after he left. It was all too familiar, last night, he had bolted out after a similar call, leaving even his jacket behind.

Concerned by the biting chill of the night, she grabbed his jacket and hurried after him. She called his name repeatedly, her voice echoing into the stillness, but Edmund never returned. Even his phone remained unreachable, its silence mocking her attempts.

Left with no choice, she hailed a cab and followed him. The trail led her to a bar, where the sight awaiting her stopped her cold. Edmund cradled a drunken Isabella in his arms, his movements tender, his tone laced with worry.

"Why would you come to a place like this to drink alone in the dead of night?" he scolded softly. "Don’t you know how dangerous it is? I worry about you!"

The neon lights outside cast an ethereal glow on Isabella’s already captivating face, highlighting her beauty in a way that made her seem almost otherworldly.

"But you already have a girlfriend. Why do you even care about me?"

"If you keep this up, she’s going to get jealous," Isabella slurred, her words tangled in her drunken haze.

There was no sense in explaining things to someone in such a state. Yet, Edmund still made the effort, carefully tilting Isabella’s head back and speaking clearly. "I don’t have a girlfriend. The one I’ve been waiting for... has always been you."

After five years of shared moments and unspoken promises, she didn’t even deserve a title. If that was the case, what was left to hold on to?

The application form had already been completed; only Edmund had destroyed the original. With a swift resolve, Victoria rewrote it and personally delivered it to her mentor’s office.

The older woman’s surprise was evident when she saw her so soon. "I thought you’d take more time to think it over.”

Her mentor had always regarded her highly.

Though she was a woman, her resilience and determination could outshine even the most hardened men. Once Victoria set her sights on something, nothing could deter her; she pursued it with all the fire in her soul.

But this same tenacity had kept her bound to someone even when everyone else had given up. She poured all her heart and passion into him, ignoring the cost to her own future.

Victoria offered an apologetic smile. "I didn’t live up to your expectations before and was being reckless with my own life."

"But now, I’ve made my choice."

"From now on, I will only do what I truly love."

Her mentor’s face finally softened at those words, a warm smile spreading across her features.

"That’s good, that’s good!"

"There’s still half a month before you leave. Be sure you’re fully prepared."

As Victoria left the office, a sense of clarity settled over her, as if the weight had been lifted.

She called her parents and a few close friends, sharing the news of her decision.

Her best friend was taken aback, her surprise evident in her voice.

"Edmund agreed to let you go to Antarctica?"

"Why would I need his permission to go anywhere?"

"But aren’t you and he...?"

"Edmund and I are just friends."

Victoria didn’t even flinch as the words left her lips. To her surprise, she felt a strange calmness wash over her.

She understood why her best friend had asked.

For the past five years, she had loved Edmund with everything she had.

She had learned to cook, do the laundry, handle housework, all for him.

When he said he preferred girls in dresses, she tossed out all her jeans and jackets, replacing them with an endless collection of frilly gowns.

When he said he didn’t want their relationship to be public, fearing it might interfere with his studies, she kept quiet, fading into the shadows as the quiet woman behind him.

Even though everyone knew they were living together, Edmund never acknowledged her on social media.

Not a single photo of her appeared in his posts.

Everyone knew they were together, yet they also knew that Victoria wasn’t Edmund’s girlfriend.

Despite this, she had sacrificed her chance to join the Antarctic research team for him.

Some whispered behind her back, mocking her as a lovesick puppy.

Others said she’d never be anything more than what she was to him now.

Back then, Victoria didn’t care.

Now, she cared even less.

On the other end of the phone, her best friend let out a relieved sigh.

"It’s good to hear you’re thinking like this."

"When Isabella went abroad, Edmund couldn’t get her off his mind. And now that she’s back, he’s practically wagging his tail, begging for her forgiveness."

"If we’re being polite, we’d call it sentimental. But if we’re being honest, he’s just greedy, eating from one bowl while eyeing the next."

"Those two are a match made in hell. I just hope they stay together and leave the rest of us in peace."

Victoria couldn’t help but laugh aloud, but her laughter was cut short when a familiar voice called her name.

"Victoria?"

She looked up and saw Isabella, arm linked with Edmund’s, walking toward her.

"I thought it looked like you. It really is!"

Isabella’s smile danced with mischief, while Edmund looked visibly uncomfortable, his hand instinctively trying to pull away. "Victoria? What brings you here?"

Victoria’s eyes fell on the bowl of food Edmund was holding. He didn’t like buffalo wings, so they were clearly for Isabella.

Isabella noticed Victoria’s glance and explained with a deliberate, almost teasing tone, "I suddenly craved buffalo wings, so Edmund came with me to grab some."

"I’m sorry for being gone so long; I couldn’t even remember where the restaurant was."

"I hope you’re not upset I took him away."

Though it sounded like an explanation, it carried the sharp edge of a taunt.

"Why would I be upset? We’re all friends," Victoria replied with a calm, composed smile.

"But what a coincidence, I was here for buffalo wings too. After all..."

Her gaze swept over the pair before continuing, "After all, my takeout still hasn’t arrived. I wonder if it got delivered to the wrong address."

Her words made Edmund furrow his brow and just as he opened his mouth to explain, Victoria waved at them brightly.

"But now that I smell yours, I’ve suddenly lost my appetite. The meat doesn’t seem fresh; it smells slightly off."

"Well, I’ll be going now. Enjoy your meal."

Back at her apartment, the evening had already settled in.

As her eyes swept around the familiar space, the scattered remnants of their shared life made her feel momentarily unmoored.

She and Edmund had met in their sophomore year.

Though they studied different subjects and were in separate departments, fate had brought them together in the same classroom.