Chapter 3

After school, Chloe suddenly gasped. "Aurora, check the university's online forum!"

Before I could react, the content on her phone was right in front of my eyes.

In the video, Julian was holding a bouquet, kneeling on one knee. "How could I let a girl propose? Serena, will you be my girlfriend?"

He looked nervous and shy, drawing screams from the surrounding crowd, who praised him for being romantic and charming.

But just last night, he'd used dinner as an excuse to meet me, kissing me deeply against the hotel door.

He'd also promised to buy me flowers.

Now it was clear, all of that was just empty promises made after his physical desires were satisfied.

"Ugh, I honestly thought Julian liked you, you know?"

Chloe dragged her chair next to mine, a look of pity on her face. "He always called you whenever he went out, and he'd get you gifts for holidays and your birthday. Now you're telling me you two aren't a couple?"

I forced a smile, fighting back the tears that threatened to spill.

My fingernails dug hard into my palms.

Maybe if my body hurt, my heart wouldn't ache so much.

That evening, after dinner at a restaurant, I ran into Julian and Serena.

I instinctively lowered my head, wanting to get away from them quickly.

"Aurora, what's the rush?"Julian grabbed the collar of my shirt, pulling me back.

"Why didn't you reply to my SnapChat message this afternoon? I was just about to look for you."

He looked especially handsome today, every strand of hair perfectly in place.

Our eyes met, and he saw the humiliated tears in mine.

Julian froze.

Once, a guy from the next class asked me out, and I didn't know how to respond.

Julian had just returned from playing basketball. Seeing the scene, he casually draped his arm around my neck and pinched my cheek.

He said then, "What are you spacing out for, Aurora? Need me to reject him for you?"

The guy asked him what right he had to decide for me, and what business it was of his.

"What business?"He chuckled softly. "The business of living together."

"I've got plenty of photos of Aurora sleeping and drooling on my phone. Wanna see?"

That night, after he'd chased the guy away, Julian pinned me to the bed and kissed me all night.

He fiddled with the necklace around my neck, whispering a warning in my ear, "Aurora, you can only have me in your heart."