Chapter 4 The plane began its descent into Nautilum, a coastal city I'd never set foot in but had wanted to see for years. Here, I was free of Kyle, Ruby, and the gossip that used to hang in the air like smog. I watched the plane's wing slice through the clouds, and suddenly, I was pulled straight back to that night six years ago, when the rain had poured down in sheets. Kyle had been waiting outside my building. His clothes were soaked through as he confessed his feelings. "Be with me, Holly. I'll build a good life for us!" I switched on my phone and saw 17 unread texts, with the latest one from five minutes ago. "Holly, I'm at the city hall, by the main entrance. When are you getting here?" I stared at the screen, and a laugh slipped out of me. How ironic. After 27 days of begging, all he offered was a promise to marry me in three days. Those three days came and went, and I couldn't even find the strength to call that lie out. My fingertip slid over his name on my contacts list, and the six years of our past together flashed through my mind like a quick little movie. The night he confessed in the rain, drenched to the bone. Our scrappy startup days in a crammed rental, sharing one bowl of instant mac and cheese. The way he lifted me and spun me when he landed his first contract. Frame after frame flashed by until it froze on Ruby in my pajamas, her arm linked with Kyle's. I'd been trapped in a cage named Kyle for six years, and I was finally stepping out. Maybe it was true that once you let go, it was easy to make peace in an instant. "Ma'am, the exit is this way." A flight attendant's gentle reminder snapped me out of my thoughts. After all those years building a company with Kyle, I'd almost traded away everything, including my dreams and my dignity. Six years of waiting and 27 days of pleading meant nothing compared to the day Ruby had moved in. I used to believe that if I gave enough-if I loved him enough-I'd be rewarded with a happy ending. Instead, all I got in return were lies, pain, and heartbreak every single time. In Kyle's eyes, the love I guarded like a treasure was nothing but a pastime. I'd never had a place in his heart. 1/2 Chapter 4 My thoughts drifted to the memory of Mom's frail hand gripping my sleeve, her clouded eyes begging me. "Holly... let me... rest easy..." Drop by drop, my tears blurred the screen until Kyle's last message was nothing but a blur. My phone buzzed. He was calling again. I rejected the call, then deleted his contact and blocked every way he could reach me. With my own hands, I severed the six-year obsession I'd kept alive with lies. I had chosen to leave, and I wasn't going to waver again. Kyle stood just inside the doors of the city hall, the divorce decree clenched in his hand. He stared at his last text, which only had a single gray tick next to it. The message hadn't been delivered. She'd blocked him. A coppery taste rose in his throat. "Kyle!" Ruby came running in four-inch heels, her smile crooked under the flawless makeup. "That witch is gone. You still think she'll return and beg you to take her back?" The glass door reflected Kyle's own bloodshot eyes back at him. When Ruby's manicured fingers brushed against his sleeve, he threw her hand away. As he turned, the movement flicked her Chanel silk scarf askew. She stumbled and caught herself on a marble pillar. When he spoke, his voice shook with rage. "Have you had enough of your act yet, you witch?" Ruby's eyes widened. "What did you say?"