"Are you seriously not going after her, you hopeless romantic?"

Nolan let out an icy laugh. "She's just throwing a tantrum. If I actually go after her, what about you?"

He shrugged like it was obvious. "Besides, she has no one to rely on except me. She's way easier to deal with than you."

My heart felt like it had been split open. His words cut through me like a knife, slicing into wounds that had never fully healed.

Six years ago, right there, Nolan had confessed to me. He told me I was the one he wanted for the rest of his life.

Truth be told, it had not been easy for him to win me over.

When I was fifteen, my parents both remarried and started new families of their own. I became the extra piece no one wanted to talk about.

I resisted relationships and I resisted the idea of building a family.

I turned him down five times.

The last time, I was living alone when a stranger started following me. I did not even realize how dangerous it was until it was almost too late. Nolan showed up just in time and took the guy down. He got hurt in the process and ended up in the hospital.

After the nurse finished bandaging him, his eyes suddenly turned red.

"Whitney, why do you always act so tough?" he said, his voice tight. "Why won't you let me protect you?"

At that moment, something inside me softened.

I thought that maybe being with someone like him, someone strong and gentle, would not be so bad.

That very night, he asked me out again and brought me back there to confess.

When I finally said yes, the calm, composed Nolan I knew completely lost it. He hugged me like a kid and spun me around in circles.

We got so dizzy that we both fell to the ground.

Even then, he held me tight, shielding me with his body.

We sat together on the steps outside and, under the moonlight, he swore that as long as he was there, I would never be alone again, never abandoned again.

However, the wound I had gathered the courage to show him, the one that had only just begun to heal, had been ripped open again. This time, he drove the knife in himself.

I let out a quiet, bitter laugh.

Then I opened the email that had been sitting in my inbox for five days, just hours away from expiring.

[Whitney agrees to transfer to headquarters.]

So those words were not that hard to type after all.

I looked up at the moon, half-hidden behind thin clouds.

"Nolan, I'm not that easy to handle. And from now on, I won't need you to handle me at all," I told myself.

I booked my ticket for the afternoon of the second, so I did not have much time left. The moment I got back to the apartment, I quickly cleaned myself up and started packing.

There were not many of my things to begin with, so it did not take long. One large suitcase and one small one were enough.

At three in the morning, I booked a hotel for a temporary stay. Just as I was about to leave, I ran straight into Nolan, who had just gotten back from partying.

He helped a completely drunk Silvia onto the couch, then handed me a bag of pears.

"Good, you're still up," he said. "She drank too much. Make her something to help sober up or she's going to be a mess all night."

I stood there and did not move.

Back when we first moved in together, he had come home drunk one night, throwing up nonstop. I felt bad for him and got up in the middle of the night to make something warm to help his stomach. However, the pot I used was of poor quality. The moment it hit the heat, it cracked. Boiling soup and broken shards splashed all over me.

When he saw it, he sobered up instantly.

Looking at my burns, he was both heartbroken and full of guilt.

From that day on, he never let me step into the kitchen again.

There was even a time when he was sick and wanted something light, he ordered takeout instead of letting me cook.

For years, I never stepped into the kitchen. Even fruit was always washed and handed to me by him.

To this day, there was still a sign hanging on the kitchen door that he had made himself.

[Kitchen Area. Whitney Not Allowed.]

I let out a small, mocking laugh and pulled the sign down, tossing it straight into the trash. "Sorry," I said flatly. "That's not my responsibility. If she wants something, order takeout."

With that, I grabbed my suitcase and headed for the door.

However, he suddenly grabbed my wrist and pushed me back against it.

"Alright, Whitney. Saying it is one thing, but why are you actually packing?" he said, frowning. "I told you. It was just an April Fools' joke. Stop messing around."

His voice softened. "I know you want to marry me soon. I do too. Next year. We'll definitely get married next year, okay?"

The faint smell of alcohol lingered on his breath as it brushed against my neck.

However, this time, I did not melt like I used to. I pushed him away and slapped him.

"Nolan, I've made myself very clear, we're breaking up. I'm not marrying you."

That slap did not just wake him up. Even Silvia, sprawled on the couch, seemed to sober up a little.

She stumbled toward me, barely steady on her feet, and raised her hand to slap me.

"What do you think you're doing?" she snapped. "Who gave you the nerve to treat Nolan like that?

"If you want to break up, then break up. There are plenty of better girls out there. You… who do you think you are?"

My cheek burned. The pain was sharp and immediate.

My eyes stung as I lifted my hand to slap her back. However, before I could, Nolan grabbed my wrist and shoved me away. My lower back slammed into the doorknob, and pain shot through my whole body.

He pulled Silvia behind him, shielding her. There was irritation in his eyes. "She's drunk. Why are you arguing with someone who's wasted?

"Just go outside and cool off," he added. "We'll talk about it tomorrow."

I stared at him in disbelief. The way he spoke so calmly made it feel like I was nothing to him, just someone unimportant.

However, he did not look at me again. Instead, he lowered his voice and started comforting Silvia, who was still acting out from being drunk.

All his patience, all his gentleness, was for her.

I clenched my hands so tightly my nails dug into my palms, then I grabbed my suitcase and walked out.

After checking into a hotel room, I did not fall asleep until almost dawn.

When I woke up, my phone was flooded with messages.

Some were just the usual prank messages people sent on April Fools' Day, but most were from coworkers and friends asking why I had not shown up to work. Some were curious, even excited, wondering if I had some kind of good news to share.

My chest tightened.

I sent a quick reply saying we had broken up, but I felt drained down to my bones.

The notifications kept coming.

Some people thought I was joking, some said it was impossible, while others told me not to overreact just because I did not get a proposal.

From their perspective, Nolan was gentle, steady, and the kind of man who always had everything under control. The kind of good man one would rarely find.

What they did not know was that this same man had once set up what looked like a romantic proposal scene on our fourth anniversary, only so I would let my guard down. Then his childhood friend showed up with a real snake to scare me.

On our fifth anniversary, he even used a prank ring she prepared to "propose" to me.

I ended up getting my finger caught in a trap mechanism. I spent the whole night going back and forth between the ER and treatment rooms. I almost lost that finger.

Yes, he was good at cleaning up the aftermath.

It was just that the person he protected was never me.

Back then, I kept ignoring all the things that felt wrong. I told myself over and over that aside from Silvia, he was actually good to me.

However, now that I was finally thinking clearly, I understood something I had avoided for far too long. Even if this relationship had led to a real proposal, it never would have had a future.

I let out a bitter laugh and opened social media out of habit.

My feed was filled with their prank posts. The most eye-catching one was a full set of photos Silvia had just uploaded. Nolan was with her at the movies, at a claw machine, playing arcade games.

Even before, he would spend April Fools' Day with Silvia first, and then come celebrate our anniversary with me.

However, he had never once taken me to do any of those things. He always said those activities were for younger couples, that they were a waste of time and not meaningful. He said it was better to do something simple, like making things at home or watching a movie together.

I thought that was just him being mature, so I pushed down all the little, naive wishes I had about being in my first relationship.

Now, looking at the carefree smile on his face in those photos, I finally understood.

It was not that those things were boring. It was that doing them with me was boring.

The comments were full of people saying how perfect they looked together. All our mutual friends had liked the post. The number of likes was even higher than when we had first announced our relationship.

I was just about to close the app when a message popped up.

It was from Nolan.

[Don't get the wrong idea, I just took her out to relax. If you have time, come back. She said she wants to apologize to you.]

I frowned and was about to reply that there was no need.

Then a delivery notification suddenly popped up.

I tapped it open. It was the anniversary gift I had ordered earlier.

The address was still set to the apartment.

I hesitated for a moment. It was time to make things clear and I still needed to return the key.

At the very least, we should end things properly.

I packed up quickly and headed over.

However, the moment I stepped through the door, a splash of liquid with a sharp, stinging smell poured down over me.

My skin started to burn.

"Surprise! Happy April Fools' Day!"

Before I could even open my eyes, Silvia rushed over.

She grabbed a makeup wipe and started scrubbing my face hard, dragging it back and forth.

The burning grew worse. It came with a crawling, biting itch that spread across my skin, so intense that it felt like my face was being torn apart.

I shoved her away.

Instinctively, I reached up to scratch my face, but the second my fingers touched my skin, a sharp, piercing pain shot through me.

"I… I can't… my face… what did you put on me?"

Coughing, I could barely get the words out.

Nolan rushed over and grabbed my hand, his voice tight with anger. "You said it was just makeup remover. How is she having such a severe allergic reaction?"

Silvia froze for a second, her face flushed red. "I… how was I supposed to know? I just grabbed something randomly."

She bit her lip, then snapped back defensively. "Besides, I've never liked that fake innocent look she always puts on. Standing next to me, it just looks worse. You said it yourself that it didn't look good, which is why you agreed to let me mess with her, right?"

My whole body started trembling. My limbs felt numb, and even breathing became difficult.

"So that's why you were so willing to let her 'apologize' to me," I forced out, my voice shaking. "Nolan… you don't deserve a clean breakup."

Gritting my teeth through the pain, I staggered toward the sink, trying to wash my face.

However, I had barely taken a step when everything went blurry.

"Whitney, don't scare me!"

When I woke up again, it was already evening. The pain I felt in my face was still intense.

Through the haze of being rushed to the hospital, I vaguely remembered someone saying my chin and the right side of my face had been cut and needed stitches.

As I shifted slightly, Nolan, who had been sitting by my bed, woke up.

"Whitney, you're finally awake. You scared me to death," he said quickly. "The doctor said you came into contact with an allergenic disinfectant and went into anaphylactic shock."

He leaned closer, speaking fast. "She really wanted to apologize to you. You know how she is, stubborn and all. Some things she did might have gone too far, but she didn't mean it. Don't be mad, okay?"

He never once asked how I felt about my injuries, or whether the damage to my face might upset me. All he did was make excuses for her.

I looked at him, at the face I had loved for so many years, and suddenly it felt completely unfamiliar.

Tears slipped down without warning.

"I'm not mad," I said quietly. "I just regret it. I shouldn't have been with you in the first place."

He froze, clearly caught off guard, and was just about to speak when his phone suddenly lit up.

When he saw the name on the screen, he quickly hid his expression. "I need to step out for a second. Get some rest. I'll be right back."

He left in a hurry.

I did not know why, but I found myself following him.

Through the slight crack of the stairwell door, I saw him sitting next to Silvia.

"Hey, don't blame yourself," he was saying softly. "She won't be mad. Isn't this how it always goes?"

Silvia punched him lightly. "If she can't even handle this, what's she going to do if she finds out that you only pursued her because you lost a bet with us? And that the day you confessed was picked on purpose for April Fools' Day? She'd lose it."

Those words exploded in my ears.

A loud ringing noise drowned out everything else.

Nolan immediately covered her mouth and glanced around nervously. "Shh! That was ages ago. Forget it and keep it to yourself."

My legs gave out, It felt like all the bones had been pulled out of my body. I could not even stand.

All the confusion that had haunted me for so long finally had an answer.

Why, whenever it came down to choosing, I was never the one he chose.

Why, even though he said he loved me, he always allowed her to hurt me.

I had been stupid enough to think he just valued his friendship.

I had never imagined that everything he gave me was a lie.

Even the moment I thought had saved me, the beginning I held onto so tightly, had been built on deception.

So that was the truth. From their point of view, I had never been Nolan's girlfriend. I was just a joke, a clown they could play with whenever they wanted.

At that moment, whatever dignity I had left was shattered completely.

I pressed my trembling lips shut with all my strength.

I had to leave. Leave this, this suffocating, fake world behind.

I took a taxi back to the hotel, grabbed my luggage, and headed straight to the train station, where I switched to the earliest train to the city where the headquarters was located.

Right before boarding, my phone lit up with a message from Nolan.

[The doctor said you still need observation. Don't go running around. Where are you? I'll come find you.]

I stared at the message and let out a laugh that turned into tears.

I did not reply. Instead, I blocked and deleted his contact, along with every one of his friends.

'Nolan. Your April Fools' game ends here. I'm done playing.' I told myself that silently.