Two years after breaking up with Evan Grey, my lung cancer finally reached its final stage.

At the end of my life, I dragged my aching body to Lake Manco, where we promised we'd come together on the 999th day of our love.

In the end, I was the only one who went.

As the doctor's calls came in endlessly, no doubt urging me to return to chemotherapy, I silenced my phone and buried the pendant Evan gave me by the lake.

"Evan, maybe this is the last time I'll think of you…"

As soon as the words left my mouth, a drop of blood from my nose fell into the sand. Then, from behind me, I heard the voice I'd missed every day for the past three years, "Miss, could you please take a photo of me and my girlfriend?"

My heartbeat screeched to a halt.

Wiping the blood from my nose in a panic, I whipped my head around to see Evan standing there. The moment he saw me, his pupils contracted sharply, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"Evan, do you know her?" The girl next to him clung to his arm affectionately as she looked at me with curiosity.

Evan stiffly tore his gaze from my face and pulled her into his arms, his voice as cold as the chilly wind that blew across the lake. "No, I don't."

Two years of love, and he said he didn't know me.

I forced a bitter smile on my lips, but my heart felt like it was being pricked by a thousand needles, the pain so overwhelming I almost couldn't breathe.

Before I could even gather my thoughts, Evan stuffed the camera into my hands. "Are you going to help us or not? We don't have all day."

The girl, thinking that he wasn't being very polite, gave me an apologetic smile. "Sorry, he's got a terrible temper!"

Then, she turned toward Evan, her voice filled with gentle reproach as she playfully scolded him, "Evan, your mom told us to come on this trip to become closer, and told us to take a photo for her! I know you're unhappy, but that's no excuse to be impolite, right?"

After bringing up Evan's mother, she turned toward me with a polite smile and a promise, "We'll pay you for this, so please help us out."

Evan furrowed his brows. "Why are you wasting your time on her, Jane?"

The moment I heard his words, I felt my mind go blank.

The girl who was there in front of me was Jane Starling, the one Evan's mother had decided was her perfect daughter-in-law two years ago.

Back then, I'd just finished clearing up the terrible mess in the restaurant and went out to find Evan, only to hear his mother's voice over the speakers.

"The only daughter-in-law I'll ever recognize is a girl like Jane, who's ambitious and knows how to move up in life! How could that girl from a restaurant possibly help you in life? How could someone be so shameless, clinging onto my son like that!"

After a very long pause, Evan replied, "Fine, I get it. I'll marry a woman that you like."

And now, a mere two years later, they were about to make good on that promise.

It felt like every organ inside of me was being torn apart, and it took all I could to not collapse on the spot, numbly accepting the camera.

Through the viewfinder, Evan wrapped an arm around Jane's shoulders, his gaze gentle. Meanwhile, Jane leaned into his embrace, her smile sweet and brilliant.

With a click, the shutter sounded, and my vision blurred as tears welled up without warning.

Jane took the camera, scrolling through the photos with satisfaction, completely unaware of my emotional turmoil.

Evan, however, stepped closer to me, his voice a low rumble, "Why are you putting on that pathetic act, Melody? You didn't seem so sentimental when you threw me away like trash."

I forced my tears back, lifted my head, and forced out a smile. "Aren't you overthinking things, Mr. Grey? We were incompatible, so let's not be dramatic about it, alright? I, for one, have never regretted breaking up with you."

His face immediately turned stormy with anger, as if I'd just punched him in the gut. "Alright, color me impressed! Don't expect someone like you to ever be truly loved by anyone!"

After that, he turned around, grabbed Jane by the wrist, and left the scene with a brisk walk.

As I watched them disappear into the distance, I finally let bitterness creep into my smile.

That's right, I was the one who dumped him, so what right did I have to cry?

I didn't regret breaking up with him at all, nor would I ever have any chance to regret it in the future. I was dying, after all.

Hands trembling, I pulled out a painkiller syringe from my purse and slid the needle into my wrist with practiced ease.

As the cool liquid seeped into my veins, I took one last look at the place where I'd buried my pendant before throwing the syringe away and getting in my car.

Just as I reached the exit of the lake, however, a commotion broke out ahead.

It was Evan.

"Why won't you let us out?"

In spite of Evan's chilly rage, the staff at the lake kept a firm attitude.

"Sorry sir, but since it's peak travel season, no vehicle is allowed to enter or exit without a registered reservation!"

Evan's face grew even darker, his patience thinning to a terrifying degree. But then, Jane noticed my car, and her eyes lit up as she hurried over.

"Sorry to bother you again!" She tapped gently on my window, her expression apologetic. "Evan's mother arranged this trip for us at the last minute, so we left in such a rush that we forgot to reserve transportation, and we can't get out now!

"Your car seems like it's been registered, so could you please help us out here?"

My heart sank, drowning in the cold waters.

Earlier, when Evan had called my name, I actually felt a sense of relief and happiness. I thought, for a split second, that he'd done it for my sake, for more or for less.

But in the end, he was just following what his mother arranged for him. I was the only one who remembered our 999-day promise. He just so happened to be passing by.

Gripping onto the steering wheel, my gaze met Evan's nearby.

Jane continued, "Our hotel's just close by, it's called Hotel Santiago! Could you please help us?"

Hotel Santiago was the exact hotel I was staying at.

In a daze, I heard myself say, "Yeah, sure."

With a grateful smile, Jane slipped into the passenger seat and waved towards Evan. "Come on, get in!"

Evan walked over and instinctively reached for the front passenger door, the seat he had sat in for almost two years. But just as his hand was about to touch the door handle, he abruptly turned and slipped into the back as well, squeezing in beside Jane.

The entire way there, the car was filled with dead silence. It was so awkward that I regretted agreeing to help, but Evan's voice suddenly drifted from behind me when he saw the medicine bottle I kept in the car. "What's that?"

Those were my strongest painkillers, but I couldn't let him know that.

"Vitamins," I lied quickly.

Evan sneered. "You sure know how to take care of yourself, huh?"

Jane shot him a reproachful look, a pout on her face. "Evan, why are you always so mean to her? You need to be more gentle toward girls, you know?"

She yawned mid-sentence, and Evan naturally reached out to press her head onto his shoulder, his movements practiced and gentle. "Get some rest."

Jane blushed. "Hey, we're not alone."

My vision blurred for a moment.

Back when we were still together, he used to come help me every night, skewering meat, cleaning tables, and working until late.

Once, I was so tired that I squatted by the door, unable to stand. Back then, he sat down beside me and teased me for looking like a mess, hair matted with grease and smoke.

Then, he pressed my head gently against his shoulder, and we looked at the empty road outside. Suddenly, he turned towards me, his eyes filled with nothing but my reflection.

"Wait for me, Melody. I promise I'll marry you."

But now, he was someone else's fiancé.

A crushing pain surged through my chest, wave after wave, and I couldn't tell if it was the pain from my sickness, or if it was from my broken heart.

When we finally reached the hotel, I could barely breathe. I'd just gotten out of the car when his voice hit me like a cold splash of water. "Miss Quinn, why are you still following us? Haven't we already paid you?"

I was in so much pain that the simple act of drawing air into my lungs made me shudder, and the hotel receptionist came and took my luggage for me. "Welcome to Hotel Santiago, Miss Quinn. Your room is ready for check-in."

Only then did Evan realize his mistake.

Embarrassed, he rubbed his nose and turned away, letting me continue checking in.

That night, I lay in bed, my body racked with pain so intense that my vision blurred, and I felt like I was on death's door.

Suddenly, I heard pounding on my door, over and over, urgent and unrelenting.

God, couldn't a woman die in peace?

Furious, I struggled to my feet, staggered to the door, and yanked it open.

Who else was outside but Evan?

Jane stood behind him, looking a little embarrassed. "Sorry, Miss Quinn, but the heater in our room's broken. Can you let us use your shower, please?"

Out of instinct, I was going to refuse, but Evan sneered as if he could read my mind. "What, are you worried that we're going to dirty your room, Miss Quinn? Don't tell me you're that stingy.

"Or maybe… You've got someone hiding in there that you don't want us to see?"

Utterly baffled by his audacity, I tugged the door open as hard as I could. "Well, come in then!"

After Jane went into the shower, the two of us were left in the room. The sound of running water filled the air, and the tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife.

Evan stared straight at me the entire time, and the pressure of it was so much it made my scalp tingle. Just as I was about to turn around and escape to the balcony, his voice rumbled, "How much longer are you going to avoid me, Melody?"

He stepped forward to grab my hand and I, panicking that he might see the needle marks, jerked my hand away.

Evan froze mid-grab, his fingers closing on empty air. The very next second, his eyes reddened. He strode forward, pressing me hard against the wall.

"You blocked my number, deleted my contacts, and now you're avoiding me like the plague? How much longer are you going to run away from me?

"Why did you break up with me out of the blue? Was it because my project failed, and you thought I wasn't good enough for you? Or was there someone else that got your attention?

"What did I do wrong, Melody? Please, can't you tell me…?"

His voice was so raw it broke apart at the edges, and his eyes were wet, glimmering like a lake about to spill over.

My heart was about to shatter into pieces, but what could I say?

Was I supposed to tell him that I was going to die of cancer? Or that I heard his mother call me a shameless woman?

Was I supposed to say that I heard him promise his mother he'd marry someone she was satisfied with?

Well, maybe that was better. I didn't want to ruin his life any further.

I turned my face away, forcing a lie out in a brittle whisper, "There's no reason, Evan. We're just… Not right for each other."

His breath hitched and he froze, staring straight at me, before he suddenly laughed.

"Wow. Great! You're really something, Melody!"

He bit down on his words with bitterness, pulling out his phone and tapping on one of the photos of him and Jane. As quickly as he could, he tapped a caption and posted the photo on social media, before shoving his screen in my face, forcing me to read it.

[With the right person, at the right place.]

"There! You said we weren't right for each other, right? I'm with someone who's suitable now, so are you satisfied?!"

A metallic taste rushed up my throat, and my entire body was in so much pain that I could barely stay on my feet.

Something in my expression must have given me away, because the fury in his eyes faltered, a flicker of confusion crossing his face.

"Melody, are you…"