Cecilia had known Jeff her entire life.

Back then, Jones Group and Lawrence Group were partners, and her brother, Elias Jones, and Jeff were best friends.

Cecilia was so happy during those times. She had her brother's love and Jeff, her childhood friend who was always by her side.

When she was 17, Jeff told her he loved her. His eyes were shy, full of love. He was determined to stay with her forever.

Those next five years were the happiest of Cecilia's life.

That was until both Lawrence Group and Jones Group wanted the same project, and Jones Group won it by just a little bit.

Jeff's dad had put too much money into it, and when they lost, he had a heart attack and died. Just like that, Lawrence Group went out of business.

Jeff was so angry that he could not stand the Jones family anymore. In front of everyone, he told Cecilia, "It's either the Jones family or me. You have to choose!"

Cecilia loved Jeff so much, and she felt a little guilty about his dad, so she made the hard choice to stop talking to her brother Elias and went with Jeff to start a new business in the capital.

During that first year, Jeff was really touched. He hated Elias a lot, but he never let it show around Cecilia. He even made sure they never talked about anything to do with work.

By the next year, things had changed. Jeff's job was going great, and Yvonne was his new secretary.

Their relationship started to change in a quiet way.

Jeff stopped coming home at night. When he did show up, he would say he had work to do and sleep in the other bedroom.

He was spending more and more time alone with Yvonne.

Yvonne changed too. She went from being all nervous and trying to hide things to acting like she wanted to start trouble.

Cecilia kept telling herself it was not real, until the car crash. It was not a real crash, but it sure felt like one. That was when she knew.

Jeff did not love her anymore. It was the hard truth.

After she asked him that one big question, he stormed out and did not come back.

At that moment, the phone rang.

"Ms. Jones, Mr. Lawrence is really drunk and he's calling for you. Can you come get him?"

"Talk to his secretary," Cecilia said, and hung up.

However, the driver did not give up. After the fourth call, Cecilia could not say no anymore. She went to the club to find him.

When she got to the private room, she saw it. Jeff was not alone. He was hugging Yvonne tight and kissing her like he never wanted to let go.

Their friends were all cheering them on, like that was just another show for them.

Someone who liked to stir up trouble yelled out:

"Jeff, who's better in bed? Your new girl or your old one?"

Jeff just laughed like he did not care, "Who needs the old one when you've got someone new?"

Everyone cheered again.

"Mr. Lawrence, you're the man!"

That was when Cecilia felt it. In Jeff's heart, she was just his old flame who could not stand up to the new one. She was someone he did not even want to touch.

Her heart hurt so bad that she had to hold onto the wall to keep from falling.

In the private booth, Yvonne's voice, sweet and sugary, tested the waters again.

"So, if that's how it is, why don't you just break up with Cecilia?"

"I'll never break up with Cecilia." Jeff's voice was icy and harsh. "She's the only one who can remind me of how horribly my dad died. She's a constant reminder of the terrible things the Jones family did to me."

Cecilia's heart sank like she was plunged into freezing water.

All these years, Jeff had harbored such deep hatred for her.

Cecilia did not know how long she had been standing at the door.

Hearing the people inside the booth mock her and Yvonne flirting with Jeff so effortlessly, Cecilia felt a deep ache and had no strength left.

She turned to leave with shaky steps, but just then, Jeff and his group came out.

Yvonne, leading the pack, spun around and crashed right into Cecilia.

Cecilia, caught off guard, tumbled forward. Her hand slammed against a fire hydrant, and blood came gushing out.

"Ah, my dress!" Yvonne shrieked as her dress got stained, and in the next moment, she slapped Cecilia across the face. "Watch where you’re going! You've ruined my dress. Can you even pay for it?"

Cecilia was stunned. Her cheek puffed up, and her hair was a mess. She looked completely disheveled.

Jeff quickly wrapped his arms around Yvonne, worriedly asking if she was hurt.

The others were quick to confront Cecilia.

"Who do you think you are, bumping into Mr. Lawrence's girl like that? Are you asking for trouble?"

"Say you're sorry, now! You've messed with Mr. Lawrence's sweetheart, you better start begging for forgiveness!"

Cecilia's heart sank as she listened to their words.

Everyone knew how much Jeff adored Yvonne, and it was obvious he cared deeply for her.

She closed her eyes, not wanting to fight anymore, and turned to walk away.

However, she then heard Jeff's icy voice.

"Stop!"

He sounded forceful.

"Apologize!"

Those two simple words were filled with anger. Cecilia heard it all clearly.

It reminded her of when they first started dating and a bully had bothered Cecilia. Jeff had demanded an apology in the same stern way, but the bully did not apologize and kept on insulting her.

Jeff's eyes had turned red with fury as he grabbed the bully, almost choking him, and they both ended up in the police station.

After they were released, Jeff had held Cecilia, who had cried until her eyes were swollen, and comforted her, "Don't worry, Cecilia, I'm here. No one will ever bully you as long as I'm around."

That promise seemed so clear, yet then Jeff was protecting someone else, not Cecilia.

With that thought, Cecilia slowly raised her puffy face, her red eyes peeking through her messy hair, and let out a raspy, soft chuckle.

"Mr. Lawrence, how would you like me to apologize to make you happy?"

"C-Cecilia!"

Jeff was stunned when he saw Cecilia's face, and he rushed over to her in a panic.

"How did you get here? Are you hurt? Your hand—"

Yvonne's face twisted with a change of expression. A flash of jealousy and resentment appeared in her eyes.

Cecilia pulled her hand back and looked down again. "The driver said you drank too much and sent me to pick you up. Since you're not alone, I'll head back now."

She was just about to walk away when suddenly everything went black and her legs wobbled. Cecilia fainted.

"Cecilia—"

Jeff ran to catch her and yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Get the car. We need to get to the hospital, now!"

Everyone scrambled to help, except for Yvonne, who stood frozen with her fists clenched. Her eyes were filled with jealousy and rage.

Cecilia could not remember how she got to the hospital. When she woke up, it was already the next day.

She knew Jeff was in the ward, so she kept her eyes shut and pretended to be asleep.

She did not want to see Jeff or listen to his lame excuses.

Once the doctor left, Jeff sat by her bed and gently tucked her in, as if she were his most precious treasure

However, he’d treated her like nothing but trash behind her back.

Then, the door swung open again, and a strong whiff of perfume filled the room.

It was Yvonne.

She flung herself into Jeff's arms, her voice whiny and sweet. "Jeff, why are you ignoring me? Are you upset with me? I missed you so much..."

Jeff jumped, then whispered after a quick glance at Cecilia. "Why did you come? I'm not upset, but please go before Cecilia sees you!"

"She won't notice, she's still out from the meds. Jeff, don't you miss me?"

While she talked, Yvonne started to take off her coat, showing off her flashy lingerie. Jeff just stood there, stunned.

Yvonne saw his reaction and knew she had made the right move.

She peeked at Cecilia, who seemed to be sleeping peacefully, and a daring plan popped into her head.

Her actions were daring as she quickly took off her clothes and pushed Jeff onto the small bed next to hers. She kissed Jeff's neck with practiced ease.

"Remember how you said you liked this outfit? I wore it just for you... I felt so many eyes on me on my way here..."

Jeff's breath quickened, but he tried to keep his cool. "Please, let's not do this now. Go back, and I'll come see you tonight."

"But I really miss you, and I know you miss me too," she insisted.

Yvonne knew just how to get Jeff's attention, and she was good at it.

Before long, Jeff could not resist anymore, and his will to say no melted away.

Seeing that Jeff was giving in, Yvonne became even bolder. She reached for his belt and made sure to moan loud enough for Cecilia to hear.

Cecilia, lying in her hospital bed, knew Yvonne was doing that to hurt her. She felt as if her whole body had turned to ice.

So, this was what betrayal felt like. It was not just heartbreaking; it was also humiliating and cruel.

The man who had once loved her so deeply had already given his heart to someone else.

Just when things were about to go too far, Jeff's voice shook. "Let's go to the ward next door."

Jeff quickly grabbed a coat from the floor, covered Yvonne with it, and carried her out, heading to the ward next door.

Soon after, Cecilia could hear faint sounds from the other ward, even though she tried not to listen.

Tears streamed down her face.

She slowly sat up in bed, pulled out her notebook, and turned to the third-to-last page. With a shaky hand, she wrote:

[I forgive Jeff for the 97th time. He was with another woman, right in front of me.]