Tyler had said, "Should you ever need my help, I'll do everything I can to help you."

After we parted ways that day, I never took the initiative to contact him. It was always him reaching out to me. He'd send me little gifts or pick me up after class to take me to the amusement park.

At the end of October, he and his mother moved overseas, but he never stopped contacting me. If anything, the distance only made us talk to each other more often, which strengthened our connection.

He would send me pictures of the streets over there and some random moments from his daily life. Before I knew it, he became a huge part of my life.

During the New Year holiday, I got into a huge fight with my family and moved out to live on my own. As luck would have it, I caught a bad bacterial infection and had to be hospitalized.

Curled up on the cold hospital bed, I watched the fireworks outside all alone while listening to the New Year countdown on the TV. My phone was blowing up with messages from Tyler.

Unable to hold back, I texted him back. "I really wish you were here."

After hitting send, I passed out. I woke up to find that Tyler still hadn't replied. I would be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed.

But I knew that with thousands of miles separating us, expecting him to show up out of the blue was nothing more than wishful thinking.

As time went on, Tyler's replies were intermittent at best.

Just when I couldn't take the uncertainty anymore, the hospital room door swung open.

He was out of breath with a bouquet of pink carnations in hand. Cupping my face, he smiled and said, "Rose, I've come to see you. I'll take you home once you get discharged."

In an instant, all the pain I had bottled up for so long finally burst forth. Throwing my arms around him, I sobbed my heart out.

From that day on, we officially became a couple. And so began our five-year long-distance relationship.

Throughout those five years, Tyler came to see me every single month, even though we were in different countries and thousands of miles apart.

I told him he didn't have to go to such trouble, but he said he missed me.

He told me he wanted to see me, wanted to do many things together with me. He said he couldn't live without me.

Tyler asked, "Do you remember the day you stepped in front of us and called the police for us? Back then, everyone called my mom a homewrecker and me a bastard.

"You were the only one who called the police and helped us. Then, when that video went viral, you defended me and helped report the hate comments. Rose, I don't know how I could ever repay you. You're my lover and my savior."

He kissed the back of my hand with such tenderness and devotion that, when I later learned he had a girlfriend all along, I thought I must be dreaming.

By our fifth year together, Tyler was swamped with schoolwork, and I frequently went an entire day without hearing from him. More often than not, I would wait for his reply until I could no longer keep my eyes open anymore.

The next day, the only thing waiting in our chat was a short reply. "In class right now. Can't talk."

As I stared at those words, the yearning in my heart overflowed, like water spilling over the edge.

I decided to go see him. Just as he had traveled thousands of miles to see me, I wanted to do the same for him.

Without letting him know, I quietly booked a plane ticket. I took a three-hour high-speed train ride from home to an international airport, flew with a layover in Aviza, and then continued on to Molovia.

The entire journey took 48 hours. By the time I got off the plane, my head was pounding.

People all around me were speaking languages I couldn't understand. But with the help of a translation app, I eventually found my way to Tyler's university.

I wandered around the unfamiliar campus twice before finally tracking down some of his friends. When they asked why I was looking for him, I told them I was his girlfriend.

A complicated look suddenly crossed their faces. Then, the shock on their faces slowly shifted into something that looked a lot like pity.

In the end, I never got to see Tyler. I only received a phone call from him as I was saying goodbye to his friends.

"What are you doing here?"

Over the phone, his tone was nothing like the gentle one I was used to. Instead, he sounded almost frantic as he demanded an explanation.

His shout left me stunned. The joy and anticipation I'd built up along the way instantly turned into a painful knot in my throat.

My throat felt tight as I said, "I missed you."

Tyler was silent for a moment. He then spoke in a tone that was as gentle as it had once been. "Rose, I'm not there right now. Go home for now. After I finish up here, I'll come back to see you, okay? Just do what I say."

For some reason, I suddenly felt a wave of grievance. I didn't ask why he had yelled at me like that in the beginning. I merely cried, asking, "Tyler, which city are you in? Can I see you? I want to see you right now."

The other end of the line fell silent again. Finally, he asked, "Are you sure?"

After I gave him a definite answer, he booked a flight ticket for me. "Call me when you land. I'll come pick you up."

With that, he hung up. The screen was still showing our chat interface.

His last message was from a week ago, at 3:00 am. Tyler had said, "I just got out of class. I'm so tired. I miss you so much. I want to kiss you so badly, babe…"

The next thing I knew, I was on a plane again. It was an eight-hour flight from where I was to his city.

And during those eight hours when I was cut off from the world, he confessed everything. He told me that he'd had a girlfriend the whole time, and her family was well-off.

They had already met each other's parents and agreed to get engaged as soon as Tyler graduated.

In the chat interface, Tyler admitted he had been deceiving me all along. He said he was a bad person, a scumbag, and that he had failed me.

But since all the fault lay with him, he begged me not to go looking for his girlfriend.

"Rose, both you and she are wonderful women. This is all my fault. I hurt you. So please don't go looking for my girlfriend. Don't let her know about any of this. I don't want to upset her."

Standing in the bustling airport, I couldn't stop my hand from shaking as I held my phone. As I stared at the word "girlfriend", I cried so hard that I could barely breathe.

If she were his girlfriend, then what was I?

What did that make me? We were together for five whole years. How could everything change so suddenly?

I sat outside the airport until night fell, until my tears finally ran dry. Then I sent Tyler a message. "Do you have time now? Let's talk."

A long while later, he replied, "How about a little later? She's on her period. I need to stay with her."

My heart ached all over again.

I wanted to cry, but there were simply no tears left. My hands shook as I texted, "Okay."

The moment I hit send, it felt as though something inside me shattered completely.

We met at a restaurant. He repeated everything he had texted me earlier that day.

All I could do was cry. With tears in my eyes, I told him that he had wronged me and called him inhumane.

As Tyler spoke, he sounded a little irritated, as if my crying had gotten on his nerves. "I thought we were just fooling around. Who knew you would take things so seriously?

"After what you did for me back then, I had always thought that you were a strong woman. Do you really have to be this desperate for love, Rosemary?"

My broken, tearful accusations came to an abrupt halt. I stared at him in shock for a long time, then I slapped him.

Tyler's head was turned to the side by the force of the slap. Staring at him, I spat, "Tyler Goff, you're a piece of trash! If I had known it would turn out like this, I never would've helped you and your mom!"

Tyler's face stiffened briefly, then a short, incredulous laugh escaped his lips. He gave a slight nod and, without warning, swept everything off the table.

He screamed right in my face, "That's right. I am a piece of trash. I guess I freaking deserved everything back then! But what about you, Rosemary? Aren't you also a homewrecker now? As if you can act all high and mighty!"

With that, he stormed out. I was left standing there, shaking like a leaf as I felt everyone's eyes on me and heard their whispers.

That night, a video of our fight was posted online, and it blew up instantly.

Full of resentment, I posted everything—our chat logs, screenshots of him cheating, all the evidence.

At the time, I thought that since he had screwed me over, I was going to make him pay for it. There was no way I was going to be the one slinking away from their lives in disgrace.

My update made the video go even more viral. The internet was flooded with hate. Even his university got involved and called him in for a talk.

However, not long after, a video was posted from Tyler's account. And in it was the girlfriend he'd told me about.

She looked frail, as if she had just recovered from some serious illness. She actually seemed pitiful.

In the video, she framed both herself and Tyler as victims. She claimed that I was the one who had come between them, that I was crazy enough to stalk him across continents and wouldn't leave them in peace.

At the end of the video, she tearfully begged people not to cyberbully her boyfriend anymore. "I'm sorry for taking up everyone's time, but I just have to stand up for my boyfriend. The person who's actually in the wrong needs to pay!"

The internet turned against me overnight. All the hate and attacks shifted onto me. I was bombarded with insults. People called me a whore, a slut, and a homewrecker.

My DMs on every platform were filled with vile words.

All that hate made me so depressed that I almost ended things while I was still abroad. In the end, my parents found out about everything and arranged for someone to bring me back home from overseas.

The day I was set to return home, Tyler messaged me after being silent for such a long time. "I owe you an apology, Rose. About that video… I just didn't want the rumors to affect my life with Amelia. I've deleted it now. Where are you? Are you okay?"

Even though I was seeing his name on my screen again, I no longer felt any sadness. Only nausea and disgust remained.

Before I deleted his number and blocked him everywhere, I sent one last text. "Tyler, I hope you and that other piece of trash stay together forever. May you both be infamous for the rest of your lives."

Then I turned off my phone and left that wretched place for good.

…

When I opened my eyes again, the landing announcement was already playing.

A message from our potential business partner popped up. "Ms. Fritz, welcome to Molovia. We've booked a hotel for you. The address will be sent to your phone shortly.

"The meeting is tomorrow at 10:00 am. Until then, we can show you around a bit."

I texted back a simple "Thank you" before reaching for the door of the car they had sent. All of a sudden, a hand grabbed my wrist.

Tyler was standing behind me, out of breath as if he had been running for a long time. "Rose, give me a few minutes of your time. I need to talk to you!"