When I got back, Hudson wasn't home.

"Jov, Hudson really is Maverick. I know it's hard for you to accept it. But Maverick came back to me. As my best friend, shouldn't you be happy for me?"

With a chuckle, Quincey swirled the wine in her glass and looked at me with disdain. I didn't understand why Quincey had become like this. We got along so well throughout four years of college.

We practically shared everything with each other. And she knew perfectly well what Hudson meant to me.

"Why pretend? If you love Maverick so much, why won't you let go of Hudson? Is it really just because Hudson has Maverick's heart?"

"Jovienne, after all these years, do you still not understand me?"

Quincey let out a long sigh and looked at me regretfully. "If Hudson sees you hurt me, do you think he'll still stay with you?"

As the door lock turned, Quincey smugly smashed her wineglass and picked up a shard to slash her own arm without hesitation. Blood ran down her arm.

Before I could even react, she stumbled toward the door in panic, falling right into Hudson as he came in.

"Hudson, I'll never call you Maverick again. Please ask Jovi not to kill me!"

I hadn't had a chance to explain before Hudson pushed me hard, shielding Quincey behind him. I fell into a pile of shattered glass, my body stained—whether with red wine or blood, I couldn't tell.

"Jovienne, didn't I just warn you?"

The coldness in Hudson's eyes hit me like a gust of icy wind—it was piercing and painful. He didn't spare me a glance as he carried Quincey in his arms and rushed to the hospital.

"Jovi, I won't let anyone bully you!" Hudson's promise still echoed in my ears.

"Hudson, be nice to Jovi." Mirelle's dying wish replayed in my mind.

I stared at the empty room, my body numb to all the pain. In a daze, I staggered out and collapsed into someone's arms just as I was about to faint downstairs.

When I woke up again, I saw Gideon. My injuries had already been treated.

"Jovienne, don't you want to know the truth?" Gideon handed me a folder.

"I'm the Maverick Quincey kept talking about. Quincey loves daffodils the most. She says people should only love themselves. She has a mole on her chest—"

"Stop," I cut him off as I shut my eyes. I knew there was no way Gideon could know Quincey that intimately.

But he kept going, "Back then, Quincey didn't want to make our relationship public, so she made up this Maverick person. She and Hudson have been lying to you all along."