Chapter 3

Jude showed up a month ago.

The night he came back, Rachel got wasted.

She stumbled home with a bottle in her hand and broke down the second she walked through the door.

I'd never seen Rachel cry like that.

She hadn't cried when we were in danger.

She hadn't cried after we were rescued.

The only time I'd seen her cry was when I woke up in the hospital.

So seeing her sob like that scared the hell out of me. I thought someone had hurt her, and I completely panicked.

I gently comforted her and took the bottle from her.

Instead, she wrapped her arms around me and kissed me.

In the three years we'd been together, I'd barely touched her.

Rachel always said she wasn't interested in sex or physical intimacy.

So no matter how much I wanted her, I held back. I never wanted to make her uncomfortable.

She'd never been like this with me before.

I was completely caught off guard.

But just as I started to lose myself in the moment, Rachel clung to me and whispered,

"Jude... I love you so much. Please don't leave me."

She said his name so clearly.

The love in her voice was impossible to ignore.

I couldn't lie to myself anymore.

Still, I helped Rachel into bed before stepping onto the balcony for a cigarette.

The next day, everything changed.

Her attitude toward me went ice-cold overnight.

Every day, she looked at me with nothing but impatience and disgust.

The meals I made for her went straight into the trash without a glance.

Even after all that, I still couldn't let her go.

I kept thinking if I treated her a little better...

Maybe she'd come back to me.

Maybe she'd really stay.

But I was only fooling myself.

The night before our engagement, I'd taken my medication and fallen asleep.

But I suddenly woke in the middle of the night to find Rachel gone.

The living room light was still on.

I heard movement outside.

Worried, I quietly stepped out of the bedroom.

Then I saw Rachel and Jude locked in each other's arms, kissing like they never wanted it to end.

In that instant, it felt like someone was stabbing me over and over.

My mind went blank.

They kissed for a long time before finally pulling apart.

Rachel's eyes glistened with tears.

"Jude... you can't bear to leave me either, can you?"

Jude held her close and told her how much he'd missed her over the past three years.

Watching them look at each other with so much love felt like my heart was being ripped apart.

I could barely breathe.

As he spoke, his hands drifted over Rachel.

She melted into his embrace, her eyes clouding with longing.

I stood there, frozen.

I couldn't even bring myself to rush out and expose them.

Rachel wrapped her arms around him.

"Jude... take me away."

The second I heard those words, my heart lurched.

Despite the betrayal, all I felt was fear.

Fear of losing Rachel.

Jude shook his head.

"As long as I know you're happy, that's enough."

Rachel cried too hard to speak.

Then they held each other again.

I stood there in silence as they slept together right in front of me.

I saw the color in Rachel's cheeks, the longing in her eyes, the side of her she'd never shown me.

I felt sick.

After we got together, Rachel had always been so reserved that I felt guilty for wanting more.

Yet the woman I'd always dreamed of was now giving herself to another man to please him.

I couldn't watch anymore.

I went back to the bedroom.

I don't know how much time passed before Rachel quietly slipped into bed beside me.

She was asleep within minutes.

I sat up.

The smell on her turned my stomach.

I looked at her slender neck.

So pale.

So fragile.

Slowly, I reached out and wrapped my hand around it.

With just a little pressure, I could break her neck.

But then...

Every moment we'd shared over the past three years flashed through my mind.

I remembered Rachel's bright smile.

'Micah... you love Rachel so much. Give her one more chance.'