When my mom texted me, urging me to go home for a blind date, Charles had just finished with me.

His warm breath brushed against the back of my ear, sending a tingling sensation straight to my heart.

He wiped away the traces on my skin with gentle care, but when he spoke, his voice was chillingly indifferent.

"Since Mrs. Shaw is pushing you, you should head back soon."

I thought he was jealous, and a surge of sweetness filled my heart. I quickly grabbed his wrist, telling him my feelings.

"Charles, I want to stay with you. I'm not going anywhere!"

He froze for a moment, then let out a derisive laugh. One by one, he pried my fingers off.

"You didn't actually think I was jealous, did you?"

Tucking my damp, messy hair behind my ear, he remained as gentle as ever, but his words were almost cruel.

"Rose is pure and innocent. I couldn't bring myself to touch her before marriage, so I used you to satisfy my needs. However, now, our engagement is set. She'll soon be my rightful wife. You're no longer needed."

The room was warm and toasty, yet a chill ran down my spine.

Just moments ago, Charles had been all sweet whispers and soft caresses, but then his words cut through me, leaving me reeling.

I paused, a weak smile tugging at my lips.

"Charles, you're pulling my leg, right?"

He looked at me, long and hard, before letting out a derisive chuckle. "Jennifer, come on, we're grown-ups. It was just a bit of fun, a fling. You didn't think it was more than that, did you?"

I stayed silent, my eyes cast down to shield the storm of feelings within.

To him, our three-year whirlwind was just a game, but not to me. I had fallen for him, hard, and that feeling had lasted a whole decade.

We were the kids who grew up side by side in the same neighborhood, the kind of friends who shared every childhood adventure.

Charles was always the one everyone looked up to, not big on chit-chat, with an air of mystery about him.

However, it was that very Charles who, cheeks red with embarrassment, bought me my first pack of pads.

When kids taunted me about not having a dad, he was the first to jump to my defense, pulling me to safety behind him.

After high school, when it was time to pick colleges, he came back from university just to tell me, with those intense eyes of his.

"Jennifer, go for Capital Heights University. I'll be waiting for you there."

So I did. I filled out every single application with Capital Heights University without a second thought, heading straight for the city where Charles was.

I really thought he felt the same about me.

Three years back, someone spiked his drink. In his haze, he clung to my hand, his eyes drowning in emotion, and I was lost.

However, when the sun rose and clarity returned, he looked at me and got up in a fury.

Her eyes were icy, cutting through the air and straight into me.

"Jennifer, what are you doing here?"

I barely had a chance to speak before he unleashed a storm of accusations. "Jennifer, do you have any idea how low that was? Slipping something into my drink and then sneaking into my bed—how desperate can you get? Are you that hungry for a man?"

I felt like I had been drenched in ice water, frozen from head to toe.

The words I wanted to say were trapped in my throat, unable to escape.

In Charles's eyes, I was nothing but despicable.

He stormed out, the door slamming shut behind him.

I sent him message after message, trying to explain that night, but he never responded.

Three days later, he sent me an address and a door number.

I showed up, and the moment I stepped through the door, I was pinned against it. His kisses fell like a relentless storm, his eyes ablaze with desire, his touch rough and untamed, like a beast unleashed.

Afterward, Charles lay there smoking, the smoke curling around him as he said with icy detachment.

"Jennifer, since you're so into me, I'll do you a favor and hang out with you for a while."

No flowers, no sweet words, just a body marked in red and a flippant "hang out for a while."

That's how I became Charles's secret fling.

Every time he texted, I would drop everything to meet him.

As time passed, he spent more time with me, and he started treating me better—so much so that I almost forgot all the messy stuff from before.

I got lost in that fake kindness, falling all over again, foolishly believing he might actually love me.

However, today, I found out that the past three years were just a game to him.

A wild dream that crumbled to ashes at dawn.

The guy in front of me was waiting for my answer. I looked up, and our eyes locked.

"Of course not. You're engaged, so this is the end for us. Charles, I hope you find happiness."

Charles, hearing what he wanted, somehow felt a pang of loss. He opened his mouth, but no words came out.

I was done playing his games. I got dressed and was ready to leave, but then I heard the sound of a key in the lock.

A jolt of dread hit me.

Before I could even think, the door swung open.

There she was—Charles's fiancée, Rose.

"Charles, who is this?"

Rose's voice was cloyingly sweet, tinged with a whiff of hurt.

Charles's gaze softened, like ice thawing in the sun, and he reached past me to drape an arm around Rose's shoulders.

"The sister I've told you about, Jennifer."

Sister.

The word sister tumbled from Charles's lips and burned through me, bringing tears to my eyes.

I bit down on my lip so hard I tasted blood, fighting back the wave of emotion.

Rose, clueless to the tension, kept up her chirpy act, playfully swinging Charles's arm.

"So you're Jennifer! Stay for dinner, then. Charles is cooking tonight."

My eyes went wide.

Just last week, I was sick with a fever, begging Charles to make me oatmeal. He claimed he could not cook and left me to fend for myself.

Turned out, he could cook all along—he just would not do it for me.

Charles seemed to remember that day too, a guilty look flashing across his face before he quickly got his act together and added. "Since Rose invited you to stay, join us for the meal."

I nodded absentmindedly, lost in my own world.

The memories of time spent with Charles were like the scent of a meal drifting from the kitchen—haunting me, yet slipping through my fingers.

"Jennifer, got someone special on your mind?"

Rose's voice snapped me back to reality.

I followed her gaze down to the cluster of love bites on my neck and instinctively buttoned up my shirt.

With a knowing smile, Rose giggled behind her hand.

"Come on, Jennifer, we're all grown-ups here, no need to be shy. However, Charles is old-fashioned. He says it's only the wild ones who give it all away before marriage, so he keeps his hands to himself."

My cheeks flared up, feeling like I had been slapped out of the blue.

I opened my mouth to speak but no words came out.

Was Rose wrong?

After all, I had been with Charles for three years without any real commitment—was not that reckless?

Right then, Charles walked in with a tray of food.

In no time, he had whipped up three dishes and a soup.

So much for his claim of not knowing how to cook.

I kept quiet and just focused on my meal.

The food was delicious, but all I could taste was the bitterness.

Rose, cool as ever, glanced between Charles and me, her eyes smiling.

"Charles, did you hear Jennifer's got someone on her mind? I'm curious when she'll bring him around for us to see."

My lips were sealed tight, and without even thinking, my eyes flicked to Charles.

He was cool as a cucumber as he said, "Rose has a point. If you've got a crush, bring him around for us to meet. We can check them out for you."

My heart plummeted. I just nodded, my mind a mess.

Rose, though, was not about to drop it. She went on about how she and Charles were each other's first love back in college, the kind of couple everyone wished they could be.

Even after Rose jetted off to study abroad and they split, neither of them could really let go.

It was not until Rose came back home that Charles raced over to the Canfield family to pop the question, and they finally made it official.

I did the math, Charles had come to talk to me about my college choices right when Rose had left the country.

So what was I? Rose's stand-in?

I guess I had been nothing but a distraction for Charles from the start.

Dinner was a chore, every bite as bland as cardboard.

When it was finally over, I stood up to leave, but Rose insisted on walking me out.

I could not say no, so I ended up in her car.

The moment I closed the door, Rose's whole vibe changed, and out of nowhere, she scoffed.

"Jennifer, you're hung up on Charles, aren't you?"

Rose said it matter-of-factly, which left me momentarily stunned, staring at her in shock.

Rose did not care for my response and continued speaking, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"I had barely left the country for my studies, and you immediately got into Capital Heights University. Were you that eager to steal someone else's man?"

I tried to protest, to tell him that it was Charles who had talked me into volunteering, but the words just would not come out. They were lodged in my throat, stubborn and unmoving.

"However, no matter how hard you try, you're just a secret mistress, a nobody. What makes you think you can even hold a candle to me?

"The moment I got back, Charles couldn't wait to kick you to the curb and come ask for my hand. Take a hint and beat it. Don't stick around like some annoying cling-on that nobody wants."

Her words stung, leaving me feeling utterly humiliated. I was about to defend myself when Rose dialed a number.

With a taunting smile aimed at me, she cried out in feigned terror. "Charles, you have to come save me! Jennifer's gone crazy—she's threatening to take us both out…"

With that, she cut the call short.

Before I could even process what was happening, the car swerved violently and slammed into a low wall by the roadside.

The impact flung me forward, my forehead slamming into the seat ahead, and blood poured out, darkening my vision.

Rose was a mess too, her hair wild, a streak of blood running down her face.

She was insane!

To set me up, she went to such extremes.

It was not long before Charles showed up with paramedics in tow, rushing to gently pull Rose from the wreckage.

"Rose, are you okay?"

Through her tears, Rose looked as fragile as a flower in the rain, nestled in his arms, choking back sobs.

"Jennifer's mad at me for taking you from her, she tried to grab the wheel, and said I had to pay…"

My head was pounding, but I forced myself to speak up.

"I… I didn't…"

Charles shot me a look of pure loathing, his voice as icy as frost. "You'd stop at nothing to get what you want, aren't you? You had the nerve to hurt Rose today, and I swear you're going to pay for it!"

Before I could get another word out, Charles was already racing towards the ambulance with Rose in his arms, leaving me with nothing but the sight of his determined back.

As the paramedics were about to hoist me into the ambulance, Charles blocked them.

"Perps and victims don't share rides, ever. She needs to head to the station and face the music."

The doctor protested urgently. "We haven't gotten to the bottom of this yet, and she's clearly in worse shape. Without quick treatment, she could be looking at some serious, lasting damage."

Charles looked like he might give in and let me aboard, but then Rose, weakly nestled in his embrace, whispered.

"Charles, please… don't let her near me. I'm scared she'll hurt me again…"

After hearing that, Charles's eyes turned to ice, and he told the paramedics.

"Get Rose to the hospital. Her safety comes first. You're on my dime, so don't waste time on someone who doesn't matter."

With that, the doctor had no choice but to set me back down, and the ambulance took off without me.

I was left alone at the crash site, surrounded by a crowd that did not lift a finger to help. My wound kept bleeding, my mind getting fuzzier by the second.

I whispered over and over. "Home… I just want to go home…"

Time lost all meaning until another ambulance showed up and whisked me away to the hospital.

Hanging on by a thread, I begged the doctor for a phone and dialed my mom with shaking hands.

"Mom, I miss you so much. Can you come get me? I'll go on those blind dates you've been asking me to…"

However, the words barely left my lips before darkness took me.