Chapter 3Love will dissipate like mist

After finally calming me down, Liam, as usual, leaned in to kiss me, but I pushed him away. He awkwardly cleared his throat, released me, and held out his hand for a gift.

“Hey, what about that gift you promised me?”

I told him to wait, went back to my room, and retrieved the wedding invitations Liam and I had picked out together. I grabbed a pen, crossed out the groom’s name, and wrote my name and Ryder Blackwood’s on it. Then, I put the invitation back in the box.

Downstairs, I handed him the box.

“What’s this?”

Liam was curious and reached to open it, but I stopped him.

“Open it on the first of next month.”

At that date, Liam’s hand trembled. Wasn’t that the day he was supposed to marry Valerie?

“Why?”

“Because the first of next month was supposed to be our wedding day, right? A perfect day.” I smiled, taping the box shut. “Now that the wedding’s postponed, I’m giving you a big gift. You’ll be surprised.”

“Great, I love surprises.” He playfully poked my nose and pulled me into a hug. “Sera, I’m so happy today.”

Happy? The light in my eyes faded, just like those wilting roses he’d given me, silently dying. But Liam didn’t notice. What was he happy about? Probably that he successfully proposed to another woman, assuming I was none the wiser.

That evening, Liam went to take a shower. I was sitting on the sofa, scrolling through my phone, when I accidentally saw a post on Ins from one of Liam’s friends. It was a video of Liam’s proposal to Valerie.

The caption read: “The love we always envied has finally found its happily ever after. Let’s celebrate tonight at our usual spot.”

I froze, about to tap on it, when a comment popped up below.

[You actually posted this? Did you block Sera Adams?]

The friend replied: [Do you think I’m stupid? Of course, I blocked her.]

I looked at the comment, a mocking smile twisting my lips. When Liam and I first started dating, he introduced me to all his best friends. They called me “Liam’s girl” and treated me like family.

They’d said, “Hey, Sera, if Liam ever messes with you, just tell me. I’ll beat him up!”

“Yeah, Sera, don’t worry, we’ll keep an eye on him. He won’t be fooling around. If he ever finds another woman, we’ll be the first to tell you.”

But now? They were all conspiring to help Liam keep the fact that he was marrying someone else a secret!

In less than a second, the Ins post was deleted. Soon after, Liam emerged from the bathroom.

“Sera, you—”

He’d just washed his hair and hadn’t even dried it, rushing out in a panic.

“What’s wrong?”

I looked up at him, expressionless, as if I hadn’t seen anything. Seeing my lack of reaction, Liam visibly relaxed.

“Nothing, just letting you know I’m done.”

“Mm.”

I got up. Just as I reached the door, I heard Liam on the phone with his friend. “Are you crazy? Delete that post right now! What if Sera sees it? I told you, she absolutely cannot know about this. Are you trying to get yourselves killed?”

“Alright, alright, it’s deleted. Sera definitely didn’t see it. Anyway, you’re not coming to your own celebration? Valerie’s already here.”