“No matter what happens down the road, you'll have this. A way out, if you ever need one.”
Those words moved me for five years.
So even after I'd lost everything else, I held on to that key—my last keepsake.
Lois noticed how anxious I was and got a sudden gleam in her eye. “A safe? I had no idea there was a safe.”
“If you don't take me to see it, I'm not saying yes to your proposal……”
She pouted, pretending to sulk, and Rick laughed indulgently and pulled her in by the waist.
“It's nothing valuable. Not worth the trip.”
I felt a flash of gratitude, thinking he still wanted to spare me that much.
But Lois wouldn't let it go.
Rick finally sighed and ruffled her hair.
“Fine, princess. If you insist, we'll go look.”
“I just don't want it dirtying your eyes.”
He drove Lois to the wedding apartment without another word.
I was shoved into the car too, and the handful of friends who'd been watching tagged along for the show.
When the safe opened, I couldn't move.
The laughter around me was loud enough to bring down the ceiling.
“What the hell? We thought it'd be something worth keeping, and it's a few packs of ratty sanitary pads!”
“Rick, you're unreal. Sanitary pads for a wedding fund?”
“And she ate it up! Five years on her knees for this—ultimate simp of the century!”
I turned to Rick, disbelief cracking through every part of me.
He smirked, cold and amused. “Not my fault. Some people can't wait to throw themselves at you for free. I said one thing and she swallowed it whole.”
“Wore the key around her neck for five years like it was precious.”
The blow of it sent me staggering backward until I hit a sharp edge, shattering the glass behind me.
Shards drove into my palm.
Gasps broke out around the room.
“Jesus, that went deep!”
“She's bleeding everywhere. How many stitches is that gonna take?”
“Should we call an ambulance?”
Rick's expression shifted. “Agatha, you……”
I stared at the blood covering my hand, and all I could manage was a broken, bitter laugh.
“Don't come near me!”
“You just destroyed the last memory I thought was real, Rick. We're done. For good.”
For a reason he couldn't name, Rick felt a flash of panic and unease.
It passed. The sneer came back.
“Let me guess, Agatha. You're breaking up with me again?”
“How many times have you said that in five years? And how many times did you actually leave?”
Even Lois froze. Watching the blood run, something like guilt flickered across her face.
“Agatha, you understand now, right?”
“The person Rick loves is me. I didn't steal him from you—you just couldn't keep him. So please, stop blaming me.”
“If you could just put all of that behind you, we'd still be the closest of friends……”
“Let me take you to the hospital.”
She reached for me, but I backed away, step after step, until I was out of her reach.
“Get away from me. Both of you. I never want to see either of your faces again.”
I turned and ran downstairs. The second I stepped outside, two bodyguards were already there, standing at attention.
“Miss Henson. Chairman Henson sent us with the helicopter.”
The moment they saw my hand, their expressions hardened. “Get the private doctor. Now. Dress Miss Henson's wound.”
“Miss Henson, we'll land directly at the best hospital in Southhaven.”
……
After I left, the restlessness gnawing at Rick only got worse. He threw every last one of the onlookers out.
But Lois was still shaken. She tugged at his arm, voice careful.
“Rick, don't you think we went too far just now?”
“She only just found out about us. And today was supposed to be your wedding—you're the one who stood her up.”
“I was angry, that's all. I said those awful things on purpose to get under her skin……”
Lois glanced down at the blood covering the floor and bit her lip.
“She was hurt that badly, and she just ran out like that. What if something happens to her?”
Rick said nothing. His expression wasn't good.
Lois pressed on. “Maybe you should check the hospital? I just don't know which one she'd go to.”
Rick let out a cold scoff.
“Northbridge First Hospital. Obviously.”
He could find her with his eyes closed.
But when he arrived at Northbridge First Hospital, the staff told him otherwise.
“Agatha Henson? She hasn't been here today……”
