Sierra's POV

Was I really just the thief standing between him and Veronica, stealing the happiness that should’ve been theirs?

I broke down. I screamed, I lost control, I completely fell apart.

Refusing to accept any of it, I smashed everything in the house. I clawed at Liam’s face until it bled.

Yet he didn’t move. He just stood there and let me unleash all of my rage.

But before my anger had even burned out, his phone buzzed again.

It was a new message.

A 5 a.m. plane ticket and pregnancy report.

Then came Veronica’s shaky and miserable voice, echoing through the dead-silent night again and again.

“Liam, I don’t want to pressure you, but I’m pregnant. I’m right next door. I need you to choose between us. I’m not like Sierra. I have nothing. If you don’t come talk to me when the sun comes up, I’ll die with this baby in front of you.”

The man who was always calm panicked.

The same Liam, who never wavered at my questions, who showed no reaction to my tears, suddenly lost all reason when it came to Veronica.

And just like that, he rushed to her.

I slumped against the wall, exhausted and hollow, and whispered, “Liam, if you walk out that door today, there will never be a way back for us.”

There, he stopped, but only for a second. Then he walked out without even looking back.

The driver grimaced, lit a cigarette, then, remembering my condition, quickly put it out. He sighed helplessly and remarked, “You can never predict people’s hearts.”

He was right. People were unpredictable, and fate was even more so.

If the story had ended there, then at worst, it would’ve been a breakup. Painful, yes, but after some crying, after enough time, I would’ve healed.

But that night, fate played the cruelest joke on me.

I called my dad and told him Liam had hurt me, that I couldn’t stay anymore, that I wanted to come back home, back to them.

My dad panicked. He got in the car immediately, driving through the night to pick me up.

But the snowstorm was too heavy. The mountain roads were too dangerous.

And on the way to me, he crashed.

The car was destroyed, and my dad died on the spot.

Just how unfair this world was.

A man as cold and faithless as Liam got to live, yet the person who loved me the most was taken away.

By the time I got the call and rushed to the scene, all that was left was a body covered in a white sheet, waiting to be pushed into the cremation chamber.

They told me his injuries were too horrible, so they didn’t want me to see him. They simply advised me to stay strong.

But he was my father. The man who loved me, protected me, and put me first for my entire life.

How could I ever be afraid of him?

Ignoring their advice, I tore away the sheet.

But what I saw wasn’t even a face, just blood and ruined flesh. No features left. Even the skull was shattered beyond recognition.

I couldn't describe what I felt then. It was like my mind slipped out of my body as if I drifted into a world far, far away, a world where there was no pain, no death, no betrayal, no tears.

Later, I went to see a psychologist. He told me I was experiencing dissociation, a severe psychological condition. He suggested I get treatment as soon as possible.

But my mother fell apart before I could even take care of myself.

My father’s death broke her completely. She became unrecognizable— confused, unstable.

The gentle, graceful woman she used to be had lost control whenever she saw me now. She hit me. She cursed me. She spat on my face.

Once, she cried and screamed at me.

Sierra's POV

“It was you. You’re the one who killed your father! You’re the one who destroyed this family! Sierra, why did you make that call? Why did you get involved with Liam? I hate you. I hate you!”

Yeah, why? Why did fate have to be so cruel to me? I kept asking myself that question, hoping someone could give me an answer.

But no one could.

Overnight, everything changed. I lost my husband. I lost my friends. I lost my parents. I lost the warm, happy home I once had.

And there I was, sitting alone on the street, letting the cold wind cut through me until I felt like nothing but open wounds.

That was when Veronica sent me their maternity check-up photos. The two of them holding hands, looking like a loving married couple—sweet, intimate, complete.

A picture-perfect family.

For a moment, I wanted them gone—both of them. But I still had my mother to take care of. My father was gone, so I couldn’t stay a child forever. I had to carry what was left of this broken home on my own.

So, I asked Liam for a divorce.

And the ridiculous thing was, he refused.

He said he couldn’t bear to lose me, couldn’t bear to throw away our ten years together.

“Sierra, you don’t understand,” he told me. “Feelings between people are complicated. Choosing Veronica doesn’t mean I don’t love you. She’s not like you. You grew up in a loving home. You had your parents supporting you. But Veronica, she only has me.”

He said that once Veronica gave birth, he’d give her some money, send her and the baby away, and then he and I could go back to living a good life together.

“Sierra, everything passes eventually. People have survived far worse than this. When the dust settles, let’s forget all of this and go back to how we were, alright?”

No. No, it was not alright.

Ten years of my life, and the cost of one human life. How was I supposed to forget everything and pretend it never happened? How could I live with myself?

So, I went to court.

The case dragged on for a while, but eventually he signed the papers. Not because he understood what he did wrong, but because he wanted to give the child in Veronica’s belly a name—to build a new family with another woman.

After the divorce, we cut all contact.

Liam went on teaching and painting, while I took my mother from hospital to hospital. We sold the cattle at home, one by one. But her condition never stabilized. Sometimes, she would cling to me and cry. Other times, she would hit me or scream at me when her illness flared up.

The house was filled with bottles of psychiatric medication back then.

There were countless moments when I wanted to end my life. But every single time, I forced myself to keep going because Mom still needed me.

And then, eventually, she couldn’t fight anymore. Her mind cleared again, just like the mother I remembered.

On her deathbed, she held my hand and said, “Sweetheart, you’ve suffered enough. Mom can’t keep dragging you down. I don’t blame you. Your father and I never blamed you. When I’m gone, let the past go. Live your life well. And don’t sacrifice your whole future for someone like him.”

Another ten years passed. I walked out of that snowy night of pain. I cried every tear I had left.

I told myself I was going to live differently—better.

But at my mother’s funeral, I was diagnosed with cancer.

“All those years of psychiatric medication harm the body. This isn’t unexpected,” they told me.

But despite hearing that, I wasn’t even that sad, just regretful. Regretful that in the past ten years, I never truly lived.

“So, in the final stretch of my life, I decided to take a trip—just drop everything and go. I just didn’t expect that after ten years of no contact, I’d run into Liam here of all places. But it’s fine. Everything’s in the past. I let it go a long time ago.”

By the time I finished, the driver beside me was already crying, tears streaming down his weathered face. He asked me why I didn’t tell Liam any of this.

I shook my head. “What’s the point?”

Was I supposed to hold up my father’s death like some tragic badge? Or admit that I was the one who ruined everything and killed him?

I couldn’t say it. I couldn’t even face that thought myself.

Life had already thrown every hardship it could at me. All I could do now was face it with whatever calm I had left and let go.

After all, this life of mine was already set on its course.

While we were talking, the car pulled up to my stop.

I got out and stretched, breathing in the thinning evening air.

The sky was dimming, but the wild cornflowers were still blooming.

Then, a gust of wind swept over them, sending petals across my coat and blowing several medical reports out of my bag.

Instinctively, I ran after them.

When I turned back, I saw Liam standing behind me.