Chapter 1

I was ten minutes late to the movie theater, stuck in the pouring rain and unable to get a ride.

I quickly apologized to my boyfriend, Liam Walker.

He impatiently said, "What's the point of apologizing?"

I froze. Every time I apologized, he never forgave me.

I'd pulled three all-nighters working non-stop and forgot to snag concert tickets for him.

He coldly pulled his hand away from mine.

"What's the point of apologizing? You can't even handle a simple task."

I accidentally stained his favorite white shirt, and he flew into a rage.

"What's the point of apologizing? This is my favorite shirt!"

But when his intern, Chloe Davis, spilled coffee and ruined his proposal, he didn't get angry.

Instead, he wiped her tears. "You don't need to apologize. It hurts me to see you cry."

Watching him get angry now, I finally let go of our seven-year relationship.

I was tired.

From now on, I wouldn't apologize anymore.

I was drenched, rain trickling from my hair onto the carpet.

Liam didn't even glance at me.

He walked straight to the VIP lounge.

His intern, Chloe Davis, was sitting there.

She held two steaming cups of coffee in her hands.

Seeing Liam, she immediately broke into a sweet smile, then nervously peered past him. "Liam, isn't Alice here yet? Should I not have come to drop off these files? Am I interrupting something...?"

Her voice, not far away, reached my ears perfectly.

Liam naturally took the coffee.

"She's late. Someone with no sense of time doesn't deserve to be on a date."

"But the movie's about to start..."

"Since you're here, take this ticket and watch it with me."

Liam's tone was flat, as if he were talking about the most ordinary thing.

I froze.

That wasn't just any movie ticket.

To qualify for this exclusive limited-time premiere, I'd pulled three all-nighters, doing the entire marketing and publicity campaign for the organizers for free.

All because Liam had casually mentioned, "I really wish I could see it on the big screen just once."

I used to think this movie would be a milestone in our seven-year relationship.

But now, he had casually handed my hard work over to an intern he'd only had for three months.

I took a deep breath, choking back the bitterness in my throat.

Squelching in my rain-soaked heels, I walked step by step towards them.

Hearing my footsteps, Liam turned sharply.

When he saw it was me, his brows furrowed instantly.

He instinctively shielded Chloe behind him.

His eyes were filled with undisguised defensiveness and disgust.

"Alice Linwood, if you dare make a scene here, we're over."

"Alice, please don't misunderstand, I just came to drop off some urgent files..."

Chloe cowered behind him, her eyes instantly welling up with tears.

I didn't cry, nor did I question him.

I simply took the two tickets from my bag and handed them over.

Liam was stunned.

He looked at my expressionless eyes, his frown deepening. "What game are you playing now?"

"Nothing."

I slipped the tickets into his coat pocket, my voice as soft as the wind.

"Liam Walker, enjoy the movie."

With that, I didn't hesitate for a second. I turned and walked out of the cinema.

Until the glass doors closed behind me.

I could still feel his incredulous gaze.

He probably couldn't fathom it.

The Alice Linwood who loved him so much she lost herself.

Why today, there wasn't even an apology after the fact.