When the lights came on at the end of the graduation party, the spotlight suddenly shifted and froze on a young couple kissing passionately at the back of the auditorium.

The young man held up a bouquet of roses and shouted to the crowd, “Sophie, be my girlfriend!”

The moment the girl covered her face and nodded, the cheers in the hall nearly lifted the roof.

Amid the thunderous applause, my hand trembled around my phone. The screen still showed the message he had sent half an hour earlier.

Rowan: [Wait for me. I’ll come to you right away.]

After the party, I took off the couple’s bracelet from my wrist and threw it into the gutter, along with four years of love.

“If we told Madison that tonight’s confession was just a bet between friends, do you think she’d believe it? She’s never been able to tolerate even the slightest flaw. She’s going to start something with you again. Rowan, did I cause you trouble again? I’m so stupid…” Sophie Wendell’s sweet voice trembled with concern.

Leaning against a large tree outside the auditorium, I heard her cloying tone and instinctively looked up. Rowan Shelby was gently brushing her soft, long hair. “Silly girl, don’t worry. I’ll handle her,” he said.

My hand trembled. Ash from my cigarette fell onto the back of my hand, and the sharp sting brought tears to my eyes.

I lowered my head and let out a bitter laugh as I flicked the cigarette away. As the two of them approached, I stepped out from the shade of the tree.

The moment they saw me, both of them froze.

Sophie quickly pulled her hand behind her back when she noticed my eyes locked on their tightly clasped hands. However, the diamond bracelet on her wrist still burned in my vision.

“Madison, long time no see,” she said. “Rowan bought this bracelet for you. I was just giving him some advice. Don’t get the wrong idea.” She hurriedly removed it and held it out to me, but her tear-filled eyes made it look as though I had done something to her.

Rowan’s brows knit together as he stepped in front of her protectively. “I asked Sophie to try it on,” he said. “Madison, can you stop being so unreasonable?”

“Thank you.” I took the bracelet from Sophie, slipped it on, and held up my wrist to Rowan. “Does it look good?”

Rowan stared at me for a long moment. The words caught in his throat before he finally gave a neutral hum.

I glanced down at the bracelet, which hung slightly loose on my wrist, and smiled—cold and sarcastic.

Sophie’s soft sobs eventually broke the silence. “I knew Madison would mind me being here. I’ll leave right away.”

She ran off in tears. Rowan gave me one last frigid look before chasing after her. “It’s late. I don’t want you walking home alone. Let me take you.” He practically shoved her into the passenger seat.

Seeing me still standing there, frozen in thought, he snapped, “Why aren’t you getting in? Waiting for me to beg you?”

Swallowing my emotions, I got into the car.

The ride was filled with lighthearted laughter and chatter between the two of them in the front seats. The flirtatious atmosphere between them was so sweet that even I, his actual girlfriend, couldn’t help but think how natural they seemed together. Watching Rowan’s tenderness, I realized something: he only ever seemed human—truly human—when he was with Sophie.

As we pulled up, Sophie tried to turn and say goodbye to me, but Rowan blocked her with his arm and nudged her toward the entrance. “It’s late. Go home and get some rest,” he said softly, as if afraid I might do something to her.

Sophie nodded sweetly and walked off obediently.

Only after her graceful figure disappeared upstairs and the eighth-floor lights turned on did Rowan put out his cigarette and return to the car. He met my gaze in the rearview mirror. “Sit in the front passenger seat.”

I said nothing. Just stared at him.

After a long pause, Rowan’s patience finally snapped. He started the engine with a frown. “Whatever.”

At last, I spoke. “Rowan, don’t you have anything to explain to me?”

The car came to a halt.

He turned to face me. “Madison, I’ve been putting up with you all night. You’ve had that long face ever since you saw Sophie. What do you want from me? If you’ve got something to say, then say it already and get it over with!”

As soon as Sophie left, he returned to his usual indifference.

Even after four years of enduring this suffocating feeling, I still couldn’t stop the wave of disappointment that washed over me. I gave a self-mocking smile and spoke calmly.

“Rowan, I’m really curious—what kind of bet makes you confess to Sophie at the graduation party? Who was that oversized bracelet really for? You promised we’d take a trip tonight. If you couldn’t make it, why not just say so? Why lie and tell me your friends dragged you out for drinks?”

The air inside the car felt stifling. It was like all the oxygen had been sucked out.

Rowan rolled down the window with an impatient flick and lit a cigarette, his movements smooth, practiced. He exhaled slowly before replying in a tightly controlled voice.

“The bet was made by those childhood friends before Sophie went abroad to study. She and I were childhood sweethearts—I couldn’t let her lose face in front of them. The bracelet is the style you like. Didn’t I promise I’d replace your old one with a diamond bracelet? Sophie only borrowed it because it looked nice. That’s all. She’s never missed a graduation with us since high school. She came back early just to be part of our big moment. I didn’t want to ruin that for her.”

“So it’s my fault?” My composure cracked. “Rowan, if you love her so much, why didn’t you just stay with her in the first place? Why come after me?”

The moment I said it, his expression darkened. “Madison, you’re acting like a damn shrew!”

He slammed the car door and stepped out, glaring at me through the window. “You think I’ve wronged you? That I’ve been unfair? If you really can’t get over this, call off the engagement!”

His anger, instead of inflaming me, had the opposite effect. It steadied me. He always did this whenever it involved Sophie—he would protect her at all costs. Then he’d turn around and use my vulnerabilities like weapons.

My chest ached, but I didn’t want to back down like before. This time, I met his gaze head-on.

“Let’s break it off,” I said. “Rowan, let’s break up.”

His jaw clenched as he gritted out, “Madison, do you think this is some kind of joke? You think upsetting me will get you what you want? You’re the one who can’t live without me. You’re an orphan. Without me, where would you even go?”

I let out a low, humorless laugh but said nothing. Instead, I reached for the cigarette pack in my pocket.

Seeing my silence, Rowan assumed I’d backed down. His tone softened. “Alright, let’s just forget this happened. The engagement party will go on. Can we go home now?”

My nose stung as tears threatened to fall. I quickly shut my eyes and took a deep breath, forcing the emotion down. When I opened them again, everything was clear.

I lit the cigarette and took a long drag. As I exhaled, it felt like the last trace of sadness left with the smoke.

Rowan didn’t notice anything was wrong. He just frowned and reached for my cigarette. “Who was it that told me to quit smoking and get ready for a baby? What’s the point of this now? Give it to me. Don’t you want the baby anymore?”

I leaned away and blew a smoke ring into his face.

“No. Rowan, I don’t want the baby anymore. I don’t want you anymore either.”

I grew up in an orphanage. Growing up without a family, I craved warmth, happiness, and a home more than anything.

When Rowan first confessed to me, I told him clearly, “I don’t fool around. If I commit, it’s forever. Rowan, if you can’t do the same, don’t start.”

But he had stayed. He’d been so kind, so attentive. He fulfilled every little request. The day we got together, he promised me solemnly, “Madison, we’ll build a home together. We’ll have a warm, happy life.”

And I believed him. I gave him everything without hesitation. For four years, we were the perfect couple—except when it came to Sophie.

She was the one shadow that never went away. Around her, I could never feel secure.

With Rowan insisting that Sophie was just a friend, I chose to dismiss their occasional ambiguous gestures as the kind of excessive familiarity that ignored boundaries. All the unease faded once Sophie found a boyfriend abroad and fell deeply in love.

As our engagement party approached, I thought happiness was finally within reach.

However, when Sophie broke up with her boyfriend and returned, all my hopes were shattered. It hit me then—Rowan had only ever loved Sophie.

Rowan looked at me darkly, as if he couldn’t understand why I’d suddenly changed. After a long silence, he finally compromised. “It’s my fault tonight. I promise I’ll go on that graduation trip with you right after I finish all this work. Let’s not fight anymore, okay?”

When he reached out to pinch my cheek, I coldly slapped his hand away and pushed open the car door. While he sat there stunned, I pulled off the bracelet and forced it into his hand. “Since you bought it according to Sophie’s wrist size, it was never mine. Give it back to her.”

“Madison, that’s enough!” Rowan gripped the bracelet tightly, confronting me.

I had no intention of arguing and cut him off. “I don’t want to say more hurtful words. Just stop pretending to be the perfect boyfriend. It all ends here.”

I walked away from him in the other direction. Rowan didn’t follow. Instead, his voice rang out behind me, harsh and threatening. “Madison, if you come back now, I’ll let this go, but if you don’t, don’t expect forgiveness, even if you end up crying at my feet!”

Only the night breeze and the sound of my quickening steps responded to him.

I found a random hotel and spent the night. I then blocked Rowan and everyone close to him. I erased all traces of him from my phone.

When I woke up, it was already the next afternoon. Feeling refreshed, I decided to return to Rowan’s place to collect my things. I assumed he’d be too busy celebrating with Sophie to care, but the moment I opened the door, someone grabbed my wrist. Startled, I looked up—only to meet Rowan’s gaze, calm and unreadable, as if he’d been expecting me.

He looked at me with a half-smile. “You came back after all. Even after you blocked me. Madison, you’ve got guts.”

I frowned and shook off his hand. “Even if I block you, you always find a way, don’t you?”

My eyes drifted past him to Sophie, who was calmly eating fruit in the dining room. “So you’ve got a beauty to keep you company. No wonder Mr. Shelby couldn’t be bothered to look for me, but could you at least stop pretending to be madly in love with me? It’s revolting.”

A voice cut in from behind me, sharp and cold.

“She really knows how to talk, doesn’t she? No wonder she’s the only one whose parents died. That mouth of hers is pure bad luck. If Rowan hadn’t protected her all these years, does she really think she’d still be standing here acting like a victim? She’s so out of her league.”

It was Rachel Shelby.

She stepped forward and placed the bracelet, still glistening from the rinse, into Sophie’s hand. “Here, it’s clean. Put it on. It was Rowan’s gift.”

“Rachel!” Sophie blushed immediately and glanced at Rowan. When he didn’t object, she quietly slipped the bracelet onto her wrist.

Rachel and Rowan were cousins. The three of us had gone to the same university, though we studied different majors. When Rowan first brought me into their circle, Rachel made it clear she didn’t like me. No matter how hard I tried, I could never win her over.

Rowan used to reassure me, “Don’t take it to heart. Rachel just seems cold, but she’s actually soft-hearted inside.”

However, the moment Sophie appeared, Rachel lit up with a smile. How could I not see the truth?

Sophie was the only one Rachel had ever accepted.

Rachel now barked at me, “What are you doing just standing there? Come help! You were the one who insisted on raising capital for the company. Now the investors are questioning the proposal. If we lose that funding because of you, you’ll be out of Rowan’s company!”