Sherina had long since blocked me.
Snapping out of my thoughts, I grabbed a trash bag and walked into the study, ready to throw away everything that no longer mattered.
I tore up the hundreds of love letters I’d once written to Sherina, and smashed the starry-sky telescope I gave her when we were kids.
And when I finally picked up the childhood photo of the two of us that had sat on the shelf for a decade, my hand accidentally nudged the mouse.
The computer screen lit up.
Just as Kervin’s smiling face appeared, Sherina stormed back into the room and shoved me hard!
Bang!
My head slammed against the glass of the bookshelf, and all the color drained from my face.
After confirming that the porcelain pig Kervin had given her was still in its place, Sherina gave me a sideways glance and snapped, “Preston, from now on, you are not allowed in this study.”
The pain was so intense I couldn’t speak.
I simply watched in silence as she opened the safe, took out the heirloom diamond ring, and left—beaming.
Not long after, I received a video from one of her best friends.
On the top floor of the Starlight Restaurant, in front of all her close girlfriends, Sherina knelt down on both knees, holding a bouquet and that diamond ring.
“Kervin, before I met you, I never believed in true love. But the moment you appeared, my dull, lifeless world of thirty years suddenly brightened up."
"Here and now, I’m humbly begging you... Please give me the chance to spend the rest of my life by your side.”
Beneath the sky of dazzling fireworks, Kervin tearfully accepted the ring and pulled her into his arms, smiling like a man in love.
The video had barely ended when I received a location ping from a private club.
That’s when I realized—they were playing their game again.
Sherina and her besties were betting on me. Betting how fast I’d show up to “catch them in the act.”
Betting whether I’d make a scene—break down like some pathetic lapdog, crying, screaming, begging.
For the past ten years, every time she bet I’d cry, she won.
But this time, I simply replied.
[Tell Sherina: Congratulations. She finally got what she wanted.]
After that, I muted my phone and went to bed.
The next morning, when I woke up, I saw two missed calls from her number.
I didn’t call back.
I was too busy throwing up in the bathroom.
The pain in the back of my head had only gotten worse, so I drove myself to the hospital.
While waiting in the hallway, I saw them—Sherina and Kervin—walking side by side, supporting a middle-aged woman between them.
They were laughing and chatting like a picture-perfect family.
“Mom, see how thoughtful Sherina is? Even with her busy schedule, she comes with me every day to visit you.”
“Kervin, don’t say that. If it weren’t for you and Auntie Carmen taking care of my mom so attentively, she wouldn’t have made it until I came back from abroad. I’m the one who should be grateful.”
Carmen smiled, and was about to say something—until she met my gaze.
Immediately, she darted away her gaze, and pretended to cough, obviously feeling guilty.
Seeing Carmen again—the head nurse from all those years ago—I finally understood why Sherina had fallen for Kervin.
A bitter laugh scratched my throat.
Noticing the sound, Sherina turned and spotted me. Her expression darkened as she walked over, frowning.
“Preston, where the hell were you messing around last night?”
I pressed my lips into a tight line and answered calmly, “I was home the whole time.”
She gave me a mocking smirk, as if she was angry but amused.
“You were home, but didn’t answer my calls?”
Ever since we got together, I had never once missed her call.
The thought must’ve crossed her mind too, because her hand suddenly gripped my jaw.
“Do you take me for a fool?”
She paused, startled by the cold sweat on my skin.
“Preston... Why are you sweating so much? Are you feeling unwell—”
Before she could finish, a teary voice cried out behind her.
“Sherina!”
It was Kervin.
