Giselle's expression remained skeptical, as if she refused to believe a word Jason said.

I stood up, intending to explain everything, but Jason couldn't wait. He grabbed my hand and pulled me toward him. "Winter, I lied. I'm not your boyfriend. Just ask your parents if you don't believe me," he said, looking almost remorseful. "Just tell Giselle—nothing happened between us over the past two months."

However, that hint of remorse was nothing compared to how Giselle saw him.

Was it really true that nothing had happened?

The Jason who had always argued with me, who mocked me the moment we met, and who had only ever seen me as a childhood friend, like a brother, had been completely different over the past two months.

No matter what I said or did, he always complied. I felt dizzy, yet he was even more anxious than I was, worried it might be an aftereffect of the accident. For the first time, I spoke gently, like a girl in love, and he responded in a tender tone I had never known from him before.

If that was really nothing, then who had I been to him? My wrist ached where he held it so tightly, and suddenly I felt like crying.

He claimed to be my boyfriend, and I allowed him to toy with me while keeping my feelings secret. When he said he wasn't, I had to pull back, behave as I should, and even help him with someone else's romance.

Our relationship had always been dictated by him.

I took a deep breath and lifted my chin, fighting back tears, and forced the lightest, most casual tone I could muster. "Jason, you're such a fool—you really got tricked. I haven't lost my memory. I was just teasing you."

Then I turned to Giselle. "We are just ordinary friends. Don't worry."

"Winter, you little liar!"

Jason hadn't expected to be the one deceived. He jumped up and down in frustration, while Giselle looked at me repeatedly, as if confirming the truth of my words.

I gave her a small nod, signaling that she could relax.

She reached out, took Jason's hand, and lightly flicked his forehead with her finger. "We weren't together before, so I ignored your nonsense. Don't ever pull that again."

Jason went suddenly quiet, as if he had evolved from a mischievous monkey into a civilized man. He clasped her hand, holding it as reverently as if it were a sacred relic. "It won't happen again, I promise."

Only then did the tension finally ease. Cheers erupted around us. I gently rubbed my sore, red wrist and took a step back.

After closing the private room door, the tears I had been holding back finally slipped free, striking the doorknob with a sharp, shattering plop, breaking just like my heart.

Jason had finally gotten what he wanted and was as deliriously happy as a mad dog. He posted endless sweet couple photos on social media.

Giselle made him look far better than he did in real life. It was a complete contrast to the old days with me, when he would boss me around to take his photos, always stuck in the same stiff, victorious poses.

Lately, his photos were filled with silly, relaxed smiles, seemingly influenced by Giselle's cheerful spirit. In each one, he grinned broadly, as if to say, "I've never been happier."

In his most recent post, Jason and Giselle were wearing matching rings. "Guys, don't invite me to hangouts anymore. I'm focusing on my career. I want to give Giselle the future she deserves."

After seeing that, I blocked him.

Jason had always struggled with commitment. After graduating, he flitted from one company to another. He couldn't handle the pressure of a big corporation, and the pay at smaller companies never impressed him. I had followed him through it all, changing jobs alongside him.

Last month, he quit without even telling me, leaving me alone at our small company. Now he was working at the big corporation he once despised, and the complaints were gone.

That was fine with me. I no longer had to wander from job to job, only to be scolded by my parents when I got home.

I decided to open a flower shop. Software engineering had never been what I wanted to study. When I hesitated back then, Jason simply took the mouse and made the choice for me.

"Winter, what's there to hesitate about? You can survive without me, can't you?" he said, smiling in a way that made my teeth itch. "I made the decision for you—same school, same major. I've got your back from now on."

Back then, I had gritted my teeth and studied a subject I didn't like, all for a crush I had carried for years. Fate had a way of turning the tables. Now, Jason was forcing himself into a class he didn't enjoy for love, and I was free.

In fact, I had quietly taken floral design classes alongside my job. If I couldn't be with the person I liked, at least I could do something I loved.

I rented a small shop in the old neighborhood. It was simply decorated and barely cost anything. Each day, I took photos of my arrangements, posted them online with clear prices, and slowly gained a small but steady following.

When orders picked up, I was so busy I forgot the smell of coffee that had once filled the company, or the tears that had fallen on the doorknob months ago.

One afternoon, Susan Pierce, a former colleague I barely spoke to, reached out to me to order flowers. She sounded thrilled. "I found a flower shop online called Bellefleur, and it was gorgeous. I went to add the owner as a friend, and that's when I realized it was you."

I hadn't expected such a coincidence. Though we had barely interacted before, we were reconnecting through flowers. It made me feel unexpectedly warm. "Since you're my first customer, I'll send you a bouquet," I replied.

Susan grew even more animated, as if a floodgate had burst open. "You're so nice. It's just that we always saw you with Jason before, so we didn't know how to get close to you. To be honest, we all assumed you were a couple. I never thought his social media post would be about another woman."

A beat later, she deleted her message and added an apology. "Sorry. You've already left the company, and we're still bringing this up."

Her words made me pause. "Why did you think…"

I chose my words carefully. "Why did you think Jason and I were a couple?"

Her response came right away. "Felicity Martin from the administrative office once confessed to Jason. When he turned her down, he said you were his girlfriend."

That one message threw my mind into chaos. Distracted, I pricked my finger on a rose thorn I had been trimming, and blood immediately welled up.

The sharp pain brought me back to reality. I couldn't bear to look at my phone, so I hurried to clean the wound. When I returned, the phone was still buzzing nonstop with messages from Susan.

"It's because Felicity got rejected that she kept messing with you afterward. To deal with the mess, Jason worked late every night for a week, often until dawn. Didn't you know?"

She added, "I've gone and said too much. Don't let anyone know it was me! Thanks for the flowers!"

I stared at the phone, lost in thought. Could that really be true? I only remembered that last year, there was a period when Jason had indeed worked extra shifts for several days.

During that time, he broke his usual habit of leaving the office with me. Every day, he insisted I go home first because he had to work late. I couldn't leave him on his own, so I went down for some instant food and returned to sit beside him while he kept working.

He typed so fast it was like the keys were on fire. Between bursts of furious typing, he muttered complaints about his boss without pause. The strange rhythm of his swearing and tapping was hypnotic, and I soon found myself dozing off next to him.

When I opened my eyes, Jason's jacket was draped over me. The sun was just appearing over the horizon outside the huge windows. He was still typing, though now with a softer, slower rhythm.

His swearing had stopped, and his gaze was fixed on the screen. In the reflection, I saw a rare seriousness on his face, so unlike the carefree Jason I usually knew. For some reason, it made him look kind of handsome, and I couldn't tear my eyes away.

With my brain in a fog, I reached out and tapped his face. That poke seemed to cut through the pretense he had so carefully built.

He grabbed my hand quickly, paused for a second, then flung it away with mild annoyance. "You promised to stay and work with me! You just sat for a bit and fell asleep. Buddy, that's not fair of you."

His usual animated, chaotic self was back. For once, I didn't argue with him. Instead, I held my finger in front of his eyes, pointing straight toward the window. "Look, the sunrise."

He slowly turned his head, as if afraid my finger might touch his cheek.

The moment he turned, the sun fully emerged over the horizon.

"Damn it," Jason muttered under his breath.