Chapter 1

The landslide hit, and Aubrey Reed pulled me along as she went down.

My boyfriend, Julian Vance, immediately hoisted Aubrey onto his back and ran.

He left me there.

Everyone rushed to get Aubrey to the hospital.

No one paid attention to me.

Julian never came to see me once while I was recovering in the hospital.

But later, when I finally stopped loving him, he cried his eyes out and said he loved me.

When the landslide happened, I was standing safely.

Aubrey Reed grabbed me, and I was pulled down with her.

Julian Vance looked panicked as he threw Aubrey onto his back and ran.

He didn't even spare me a glance.

Actually, compared to Aubrey, I was hurt much worse.

Aubrey and I were stopped by a tree.

But I was unlucky.

I hit the tree first.

Branches had pierced my leg.

She was cushioned by me, so she only got a few scratches.

The moment Julian came down, my tears started.

Before I could even speak, he had Aubrey on his back and was gone.

He never looked at me once.

It wasn't until my friend Chloe and a group of park rangers rescued me that I finally lost consciousness.

I was in the hospital for a month.

Chloe visited me constantly, crying every time she saw me.

"I'm so sorry, Olivia," she'd sob. "It's my fault."

"I thought Julian would save you, so I stupidly followed them."

"When I finally found someone to help, I just saw Julian putting a girl in the ambulance. I thought it was you and didn't think twice."

"I'm really sorry, Olivia. I wish I had paid more attention."

I patted Chloe's head gently. It really wasn't her fault.

After all, I thought Julian would definitely save me too.

Even after he ran off with Aubrey, I still hoped he would send someone back for me.

My leg was pierced by branches, but thankfully, no bones were broken.

I would heal with time.

Julian came to pick me up the day I was discharged.

He looked exhausted, like he hadn't slept.

He was incredibly careful lifting me into the car, as if I were some rare treasure.

But when I got to his place and saw Aubrey Reed there, my fingers curled slightly.

I always liked being close to Julian. Even after we moved out, I bought an apartment across from his, so we were neighbors.

Julian's place was full of people.

All his friends were there.

"Olivia," Julian said, "Everyone came to celebrate you being discharged."

He hadn't even finished speaking when a sweet voice cut in.

"Julian, where do you keep the spices?"

"I'll find them," Julian said quickly. "You won't be able to."

He immediately stood up and headed to the kitchen.

"How do you know I won't find them?" Aubrey's voice was slightly annoyed.

Julian's tone wasn't exactly nice, but there was a familiarity, an intimacy that shut everyone else out.

"Go ahead and look," he challenged softly. "I doubt you can find them."

"I will! I'll show you!"

"Geez, you two always bicker when you're together," one of Julian's friends laughed. "Need any help? We can lend a hand."

More of Julian's friends headed into the kitchen. Happy laughter drifted out.

I looked around at the few people left in the living room, playing games.

There were many people in the house.

But I didn't have a single person to talk to.

I felt something warm brush against my leg.

A beautiful white ragdoll cat was rubbing against my feet affectionately.

This cat was a gift from Chloe, but Julian had always been the one taking care of her.

"A little princess who can barely take care of herself wants a cat?" Julian had teased, stroking my hair when I excitedly said I wanted to raise her myself.

"It's okay," I had said, "Julian will take care of her if I can't. My Julian will."

I held the cat, lost in thought, until Aubrey came out.

She saw me holding the cat and quickly walked over.

"Ms. Hayes," she said cheerfully. "Time to wash up. Dinner's ready."