That evening, Jesse took Courtney to the beach. The place was bustling with people, and he kept an arm securely around her to shield her from the crowd.

The next moment, dazzling fireworks exploded in the sky. Soon, the fireworks lit up the entire night sky.

"Wow, is someone proposing? This is stunning!"

"Look at all those fireworks! Did they buy out the entire supply in the city?"'

"How romantic! If a man did this for me, I'd marry him in a heartbeat!"

Courtney let out a small smile when she heard that.

Young girls were so easily swept off their feet, she thought. A single display of fireworks could win their hearts, and they'd promise a lifetime of love without hesitation.

However, Courtney wasn't so gullible.

Jesse had asserted that a man's love and lust were separated, but not for her. No matter how much he claimed to love her, betrayal was betrayal, and she could never forgive it.

"Babe, look!" Jesse pointed to some fireworks bursting in the sky.

It formed two letters—J and H. Jesse Hawthorn. Next, a large pink heart appeared, and afterward, another set of letters—C and L. Courtney Lloyd.

Jesse leaned close to her ear and whispered, "I'll love you forever. Let's be together for the rest of our lives, okay?"

Before Courtney could respond, he got on one knee and loudly declared, "I love you, Courtney Lloyd. Forever and always, in this life and the next. I'll never stop loving you!"

The crowd erupted into applause, mixed with squeals of delight and admiration from the women.

One girl asked, "Are you proposing to your girlfriend?"

Jesse smiled and shook his head. "We've been married for four years."

"Is it her birthday? Or your wedding anniversary?"

"Neither."

The girl was confused. "Then why go all out like this?"

Jesse gazed at Courtney passionately as he answered, "I just wanted my wife to know how deeply I love her. She's been a little unhappy lately, and I wanted to make her smile again."

Another wave of awed gasps rippled through the crowd.

Courtney found herself the subject of countless envious stares, but only she knew the reality.

Her husband had been unfaithful for four years. He'd held another woman's hand, kissed her lips, and spent countless nights with her.

A little girl approached, holding out a glow stick. "This is for you. I hope you two stay together forever."

Courtney turned to Jesse. "Did you tell her to do that?"

Jesse shook his head. "No. I guess she's moved by our beautiful love story."

Courtney returned the glow stick to the kid and said, "Thank you, but I can't accept it."

She tilted her head dumbfoundedly. "Why not?"

Because their relationship was far from beautiful. It was riddled with lies, betrayal, and deceit. Such a love story shouldn't be idolized by innocent children.

Jesse gently reassured the little girl, saying. "I'll buy her a glow stick later. Thank you. Now, go back to your parents, okay?"

"Mister, you must have a baby girl with your wife. She'd be as pretty as her mom!"

Jesse chuckled. "All right, I'll work on it."

When he returned to Courtney's side, he half-jokingly suggested, "Babe, let's have a daughter."

Courtney asked, "Do you really want kids?"

"Actually, I prefer just the two of us. But don't most women want a child with the man they love?"

"That's what M—"

Courtney stopped herself just in time, nearly blurting out Mia's name.

She wanted to confront him and demand to know the truth about his relationship with Mia. Would he continue their affair? How were the three of them supposed to coexist moving forward?

But then she noticed the mark on Jesse's neck—a love bite left by Mia, still visible after days.

Courtney averted her gaze, unwilling to look further or to raise her questions.

It would be pointless anyway. She didn't want to be the type of woman who screamed at her cheating husband in public and caused a scene. She still had her pride.

If he wouldn't change, then she would. She'd take the memory-erasing potion, move to a city where no one knew her, and start over.

"What were you saying earlier?" Jesse asked.

Courtney shook her head. "I was saying that most women think that way, but not me."

"You don't want to have children with me?"

"No."

"Are you scared of the pain or that it'll damage your body? Don't be. I'll love you no matter what."

"Let's go home."

"Are you mad? I'm sorry, babe. I didn't mean to upset you. It's fine if you don't want kids. We'll stick to just the two of us."

Courtney paused mid-step.

Exactly. While she wouldn't bear his child, someone else might.

He'd spent an hour and forty minutes with Mia in the car that day. For all she knew, Mia could already be pregnant with his child.

"What's wrong—"

Jesse's phone rang, interrupting him. He glanced at the screen and answered the call irritatedly, "Didn't I say not to bother me for the next few days? I'm with my wife..."

Whatever was said on the other end made his expression falter.

"Fine, I'll be there soon."

Hanging up, Jesse turned to Courtney and said, "Babe, something urgent came up at work. Let me get a taxi to take you home, okay?"

"I'll get one myself. Work's important. You should go ahead."

"You're the best. Text me when you get home safely."

With that, Jesse hurried off in his car.

Courtney did hail a taxi, but she didn't head home. Instead, she told the driver, "Follow that car."

Jesse's car stopped at the hospital.

Mia rushed into his arms, crying.

Jesse held her and comforted her and then draped his suit jacket over her shoulders. Following that, he knelt on one knee and pressed his ear to her abdomen.

Mia swatted him playfully. "It's only been a month. You won't be able to hear anything."

So, Mia was pregnant. No wonder he'd seemed so distracted when he left.

The taxi driver asked Courtney, "Miss, should we stop here too?"

"Yes, but don't go yet. I'll pay double the fare."

Through the tinted windows, Courtney watched Jesse lift Mia off the ground and spin her joyfully in circles at the hospital entrance, oblivious to everyone around them.

Mia giggled happily. "Hubby, put me down! I'm pregnant!"

She was already calling him pet names now.

Jesse carefully set her down, and Mia wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Do you want a boy or a girl?"

"A girl. We met the sweetest little girl at the beach today."

Mia pouted in dissatisfaction. "I saw it. You set off fireworks for Courtney at the beach, with both of your initials and a giant heart in the middle."

"Are you jealous?"

"Yes. I want that too."

"Not here. Courtney'll see."

"Then let's go somewhere else. We can celebrate my pregnancy."

"But Courtney—"

"You promised you'd give me anything but a title. You can't even give me a fireworks show?"

Jesse was clearly in a good mood. After a moment's hesitation, he agreed. "Fine. But the media would spot us if we do it in the country. I'll take you overseas for a vacation."

"Hubby, you're the best!"

Under the dim lights, Jesse cupped Mia's face and kissed her deeply.

A sharp honk from behind startled Courtney.

"Miss, the car behind us is honking," the driver reminded her.

Courtney looked away. "Let's go."

As the taxi pulled away, Jesse and Mia disappeared in the rearview mirror.

Before long, Courtney's phone buzzed with a message from Mia.

It was a picture of a prenatal check-up report. It read, "Four weeks pregnant. Risk of miscarriage."

Mia texted, "Courtney, I'm pregnant with Jesse's child. He was too rough the other day in the car, and I started spotting. The doctor said there were signs of a threatened miscarriage, but the baby would feel safe once they sensed their father.

"Now, the baby is healthy and thriving in my womb. It'll be born in eight months. Was that you in the taxi? I know you can't tolerate infidelity. So, why not let me have him? I don't want my child to be born illegitimate."

Courtney simply replied, "As you wish."

As she neared home, Jesse called. "Babe, did you get home safely?"

"Yes."

"Good. By the way, I need to go on a business trip for about three days."

"Sure. Go ahead."

"Are you upset? Forget it. I'll cancel and come home to be with you."

In the background, a woman's annoyed huff was audible. It was probably Mia, impatient for their overseas trip.

Courtney said, "I'm not upset. You can go."

"Really? I'll be back in three days for my birthday. Let's celebrate together."

She snorted softly. "We'll see."

"Promise me you'll wait for me at home. I'll go crazy if I come back and you're not there—"

Courtney hung up.

How could he claim to love her while betraying her?

She didn't understand, and she no longer cared to understand.

Her phone rang again, but this time it was the delivery man. "Ms. Lloyd, your package is here."

At her doorstep, she signed for the parcel. It was a vial of memory-erasing potion along with a manual.

"Once consumed, all memories will be erased permanently. Please use with caution."

Courtney slept soundly that night.

The next morning, she met with staff from a local charity and donated all the clothes she had sorted through.

As for her personal items and every gift, letter, or memento Jesse had ever given her, she took them directly to the crematorium. She handed the staff a generous sum of money and had everything burned.

Meanwhile, Mia's text messages arrived as expected.

"This place is stunning! Thank you, Courtney. If it weren't for you, I'd never have met Jesse. Without him, I couldn't have dreamed of vacationing in such a luxurious place!"

Mia proceeded to flood Courtney's phone with photos, and all of them were of Jesse. He applied sunscreen on Mia's shoulders, grilled lobsters for her, and held her close as he kissed her.

Courtney didn't bother opening the photos. She shut off her phone and focused on making final preparations to leave.

On the second day after Jesse's departure, Courtney went to the bank. She withdrew every cent from her accounts, converted it all into Alorian currency, and closed out all her cards under her name.

Next, she visited the local government office to inform them of her move and update her address.

Later that evening, she went out for dinner with her closest friends.

Starting over with a new identity didn't scare her as she was confident in her ability to build a good life no matter the circumstances. But saying goodbye to her friends was hard.

Courtney didn't mention her plans to leave, though. Instead, they ate, sang, and laughed the night away.

Mia, however, refused to let up.

After a day of leaving her phone off, Courtney turned it back on at home, only to be bombarded with Mia's messages.

"Jesse's already looking into early childhood education and baby food recipes. He's such a good man, Courtney. Thank you for handing him over to me."

Attached were more photos of Jesse. He was at a desk, seriously taking notes with glasses perched on his nose and a pen in hand.

If not for the book title—A Guide to Prenatal Care for Babies—it might have looked like he was analyzing financial markets or academic papers.

His desk was stacked with books, ranging from early childhood education to pregnancy care essentials, and preventing postpartum depression.

Jesse wasn't just invested in the baby anymore.

Unbeknownst to him, Mia had already crept into his heart. His body had betrayed Courtney, and it was only a matter of time before his heart followed.

Courtney found herself wondering when Jesse came home to find her gone, would he panic like last time? Would there be frantic calls to the police and private investigators?

Or would he shrug it off and assume she was out shopping, then wait for her to return? Or perhaps, by then, his heart would be entirely occupied by Mia and their unborn child.

The care he had for Courtney would shrink, little by little, until it disappeared altogether.

Courtney stopped her thoughts from wandering further.

She had already made her decision. Whether Jesse regretted losing her or not didn't matter anymore. She only knew that leaving him and forgetting him was something she would never regret.

On her final day, she slept for a full 12 hours. She woke feeling refreshed, radiant even.

Looking at herself in the mirror, Courtney gave her reflection a wide, confident smile.

When she left the house, she carried no luggage. Everything she owned had been donated or burned. The only thing she took was a small sling bag.

Inside were Nessa's ID, passport, visa, and a one-way plane ticket to Aloria.

Besides that was a small vial of memory-erasing potion.

The last tie to Courtney was her phone. She used it to call a taxi one last time.

Upon arriving at the airport, she transferred the driver the full balance of her account and got down.

The driver hurried after her while exclaiming, "Miss, you must've made a mistake! The fare was only 18 bucks, but you paid me 1,800."

Courtney smiled. "It's yours. Thank you for driving me to the airport."

"This is way too much! I can't take it."

"You didn't just take me to the airport. You took me to the starting point of my new life."

She said her goodbyes to the driver, then removed her SIM card, snapped it in half, and tossed it along with her phone into the trash. With that, every link to Courtney Lloyd was erased.

She asked the staff at the airport for a pen and paper, then wrote herself a letter.

"Nessa, when you read this, your new life begins. Don't dwell on the past, and don't try to uncover who you used to be. Trust me, move forward with determination. You have what it takes to live a brilliant life.

"Also, never believe in love or any nonsense men spout. People change. No one is ever truly reliable. The only person you can count on is yourself. You must love yourself first and foremost."

She folded the note and slipped it into her pocket, ready for herself to find when she woke.

The airport speakers announced the final boarding call.

"Passenger Nessa Hill, your flight is about to depart. Please proceed to Gate H25 immediately."

Courtney pulled out the vial of memory-erasing potion and downed it. The liquid was bitter, but she savored it like the sweetest nectar.

Then, she boarded the plane without looking back.