14.20 % Chapter 2 Back then , I might've believed he was truly busy with team duties . But now , with all these " coincidences " piling up , it felt like I couldn't even breathe under the weight of it all . Once doubt crept in , it spread like wildfire in my mind . I lay awake deep into the night , only drifting off when the sky started to lighten . But I didn't sleep long . I was jolted awake by the sound of Eric on the phone . He was on the balcony , voice low , but I still caught a sentence loud and clear : " Take down all the forum posts before sunrise . I don't want this affecting her . " I didn't need to guess who " her " was . My heart sank . I pulled the jacket draped over me closer . It wasn't mine . It was a military - issued ndbreaker , and at the collar was a faint cedarwood perfume . never used that kind of perfume . Neither did Eric . The implication was obvious . When I checked the forum again , every post about Jade had vanished without a trace . Even the comments had been scrubbed clean . Eric ended the call and came back inside . Seeing that I was awake , he rushed over and pulled me into his arms , burying his face in the crook of my neck . His voice was s muffled . " Shhh ... don't move . Let me just hold you for a while . " His breath was cool from the early morning air , but his arms clung tightly around me , like he was afraid I'd slip away . For a moment , I hesitated again . Maybe I was just overthinking . Maybe he was only helping an old comrade with post - deployment matters . After all , they'd been through life - and - death missions together at the border . My arms moved on their own , wrapping around his back . My fingers brushed gently over his spine , like I was trying to soothe an anxious cub . But just as he nuzzled my cheek , I caught a glimpse of something on the collar of his white undershirt - a smudge of red . A very specific shade . The exact same lipstick Jade had worn in her interview on the base the day before . The words I had planned to confront him with got stuck in my throat . All I could think about were Jade's mocking remarks from years ago , and those intentionally public displays of affection she had posted to provoke me . In that moment, everything came rushing back , magnified . It felt like I was the one intruding on their love story . " Glinda ? She's just a cover for the engagement . Eric's only ever loved me . " Back then , I could still muster the strength to argue Now , I couldn't say a word . After a long silence , I gently pushed him away and muttered hoarsely , " It's nothing . I ... just miss my mom a little . " Chapter 2 3 MoboReels - Short Dramas & Movies 28.57 % He paused , then looked relieved . He cupped my face , his eyes full of warmth . " Then let's go see her right now , yeah ? I already asked for the morning off . " Before I could respond , his phone rang . It was on the nightstand , and the name flashing on the screen pierced through my eyes like a needle . Jade . He pressed a quick kiss to my forehead and picked up the phone , stepping onto the balcony . I couldn't hear what he was saying , but I saw his furrowed brow and the way he spoke urgently . When he came back , he looked at me with obvious guilt . " I'm so sorry , baby . I can't go with you to see your mom today . Something urgent came up with the team . I have to head out . " I bit my lip , swallowing back the tears burning in my eyes . " Eric , we ... We should break up . But I couldn't say it . The words trembled on the edge of my tongue and never came out . " We ... we'll go next time . " He pulled me into another hug and comforted me gently . " Okay , just wait for me at home . " Before leaving , he kissed me long and deep , just like he always did . For a moment , I even wondered - was I really just imagining things ? But that afternoon , Jade updated her social media again . The photo showed her ankle wrapped in gauze . The caption read : [ Kudos to someone for taking such good care of me . ] The comments exploded ! [That ' someone ' must be Colonel Lowell ! Jade got injured , he's obviously by her side ! ] [ She broke her leg saving him back at the border . Of course he's taking care of her ! ] [ The fiancée should stop fooling herself . This is what a real bond built on life and death looks like ! ] Some people questioned it : [ Even if they're old teammates , isn't this too close ? Isn't Colonel Lowell getting married soon ? ] } [ Military marriages are legally protected . If something's going on , the Military Affairs Department should be notified . ] But before those questions could gain traction , Jade deleted the post . All related discussions were shut down too , as if nothing had ever happened . I held my phone , fingers icy cold , refreshing the page over and over again . It was him again . Always him . Eric was still protecting her , even if it meant sacrificing me . Just then , a message came in from an unfamiliar account . The profile picture was Jade's back in camouflage . Chapter 2 MoboReels - Short Dramass Me 28.57 % She sent a photo - Eric sitting by a hospital bed , gently blow - drying her hair . The tenderness in his eyes was unmistakable . The caption read : " So he proposed to you , huh ? And what ? The bond Eric and I built , side by side in uniform , in the mud , under fire - do you really think a loveless engagement could compete with that ? " Then another message popped up : " One call from me , and he drops everything to be with me . And you ? You can't even keep your fiancé's heart . Pathetic . " This time , I didn't fight back . I didn't even reply . 1 just kept staring at that photo , tears slipping silently onto my phone screen . The man I had cherished for years ... turned out to be someone she could summon with a single call . I looked at our chat history - our last interaction was a missed call from me that he had declined . I stubbornly refused to message him first , thinking that by pulling away , he'd finally notice something was wrong . But in the end , all I did was punish myself . Days passed , and still , I heard nothing from Eric . Until this morning , when I had finally written a long message to send . Before I could hit send , his reply came through : Blade and I slept together . Let's break up . ] My mind went blank . A sharp , dull ache hit my chest , followed by a suffocating pressure . So all those sleepless nights I spent in pain ... he really had been with her ? Tears flooded my eyes . 1 remembered my birthday last year . He had just returned from a three - month overseas deployment , his face sunburned and peeling . He secretly booked the small auditorium in the family district and filled it with 99 white roses he arranged himself . Under the moonlight , he held my hand , gently tracing the indentation where my ring had once been . " Glinda , I'll only ever marry you . No one else . " Those memories played like a movie in my mind , overlapping with Jade's photo , stabbing at my chest until I could barely breathe . I collapsed against the wall , sobbing until my entire body went numb . Then , blood spilled from my lips . Everything went dark . When I opened my eyes again , I was lying in a hospital bed at the military base . The purse told me a military wife from next door had found me unconscious on my doorstep and called for help . The doctor explained that my emotional breakdown had triggered acute gastric bleeding . I needed to be monitored for at least a week . I stared blankly at the IV drip . There were no lears left . When I finally checked my phone , there was only one message from Eric : * I'll be home tonight . We need to talk . " The heart monitor beside me suddenly shrieked with an alarm . The doctor rushed over , suggesting I stay longer for observation But I insisted on leaving When I got home , I saw a document envelope sitting by the door . A corner of it showed it was a property contract . Suddenly , I remembered what Jade had posted on social media : [ Eric said he's going to build a house with a yard for me in my hometown , somewhere no one will ever find us . ] I didn't open the envelope . Instead , I packed my things and headed straight to the law office . There , I drafted an agreement to terminate our engagement . I had always been a coward in love . I couldn't confront him face to face . I couldn't even tell my mom . If she found out what I'd gone through , she wouldn't be able to sleep for weeks . I left the agreement in the drawer of Eric's desk , then booked the earliest flight out of the country . On the way to the airport , I passed the honor wall at the base . There he was , in his recon uniform , his chest decorated with a third - class military merit medal , eyes sharp as a hawk . I stared at his photo and laughed bitterly . Good thing we had kept the engagement private . Otherwise , I would've been the laughingstock of the base by now . After boarding the plane , I powered off my phone and leaned against the window , watching the city grow smaller and smaller below . All I wanted was to disappear into a place where no one knew me , just for a while . When I finally landed in a foreign country a day later and turned my phone back on , my phone was flooded with missed calls and When I finally landed in a foreign country a day later an messages . There were texts from my mom , my friends , and - most of all - from Eric . My hands trembled as I opened our chat . And in the next second , I froze . 2067 %