In the fifth year of my relationship with my savior, I discovered he was getting married.
Over the past five years, he never acknowledged me openly, but I stayed by his side every single day.
On our anniversary, I planned to surprise him, but I accidentally overheard Brad Fowler talking with his brother.
"That kind of woman is just for fun. You can’t marry her. She’s worthless."
"Jennifer Lutz is back. She donated bone marrow and saved my life. She’s the one I truly love."
What he didn’t know, however, was that I was the one who had donated the bone marrow.
The revelation felt like a knife to my heart. As I turned to leave, I learned there was someone else who had saved me back then.
Later, when I made my relationship public, Brad abandoned his wedding and, with tears streaming down his face, begged me.
"Faith, please, don’t leave me."
...
Today marks the fifth anniversary of my relationship with Brad, and I dressed up joyfully. Wearing a flowing white dress, I planned to surprise him at his office.
Just as I was about to open the door, I froze, hearing his voice speaking to someone else.
"A worthless woman like Faith Monroe is only good for a bit of fun, but she’s not worth anything serious. How could she ever enter the Fowler family’s doors?"
"Jennifer is back from studying in France. I plan to propose to her next month. She’s the one I’ve always loved."
My hand, poised to knock on the door, froze mid-air. It felt like I had fallen into an ice cellar; my entire body was numb with cold.
Jennifer was his first love. After their breakup, she left to study abroad. I’d heard whispers about her before.
But I never imagined they had stayed in contact.
So what had my five years of devotion meant?
Then I heard his close friend, Edgar, speak from inside the room.
"Maybe Faith’s been with you for five years, and breaking up just like that would be too cruel?"
"We’ve all seen how much she’s done for you. Honestly, this is pretty heartless of you."
Through the frosted glass, I clearly saw the corners of Brad’s mouth curve into a playful smirk.
"Why don’t you take over? We’re all buddies here—I wouldn’t mind."
Enough!
Edgar slammed the table and stood up. But before he could speak, I pushed the door open and stepped inside.
A flicker of embarrassment crossed Brad’s face, and his brows furrowed slightly.
"I told you not to come to the company looking for me."
I used to think he was trying to protect me from gossip, but now I realized the truth—he just didn’t want his first love to misunderstand.
Seeing that I stayed silent, he continued as if talking to himself. "Well, since you’ve already heard everything, I won’t bother hiding it. I’m proposing to Jennifer next month. Let’s end whatever this is."
Then, as if it were some sort of joke, he chuckled.
"Actually, I almost forgot—we were never in a real relationship, so there’s nothing to end, is there?"
Edgar, visibly flustered, tried to stop him, repeatedly telling him to shut up. He grabbed a packet of tissues and handed it to me.
It was true. We were never in love. I was the one who had always chased after him.
His friends knew about me and often advised him to treat me better, but for five years, I held no place in his heart. Still, I foolishly believed I could win him over and become his real girlfriend.
Turns out, I was just deceiving myself.
My heart felt as though it were being crushed in a vice. The pain was unbearable, and tears streamed down my face, pooling on the floor beneath me.
I looked up and saw my pale reflection in the glass.
"This is my fault," I whispered, my voice trembling. "I’m sorry."
Brad’s narrowed phoenix-like eyes flickered with something unreadable, but he quickly masked it. He pulled out his phone, tapped a few times, and turned the screen toward me.
A payment notification appeared.
"Take this as compensation for warming my bed these past five years. Don’t contact me again."
