My boyfriend said he was going to marry another girl after we had sex.

I thought he was kidding, but then he said, "Rhoda is so pure and innocent. I won't touch her before the marriage, so I use you to satisfy my urges.

"Now that we're engaged, she'll soon be my rightful wife, and you're no longer needed."

***

The heater was on full blast in the room, but I shivered.

Charles Gibson was so sweet and loving with me just a moment ago, and now he's throwing such cold words at me, leaving me stunned.

I was stunned for a moment, then forced a smile and asked, "Charlie, you're joking with me, right?"

He looked at me for a while, then sneered, "Victoria, we're both grown-ups here. It's just a fling. Don't tell me you take it seriously."

I didn't say anything but lowered my eyes to hide my feelings.

He saw these past three years as some kind of game, but I didn't. I had been in love with him for ten years.

Growing up in the same neighborhood, we were like childhood besties.

Charles was always the best among our peers. He wasn't much of a talker and had a cool, aloof vibe.

But it was this same guy who got shy and blushing when he bought me my first pack of pads during my period.

When people called me a fatherless brat, he was the first to step up and protect me.

After the college entrance exam, when I was choosing my university, he specifically came back home from university and, with a burning gaze, told me, "Vicki, apply to the University of Washington. I'll be waiting for you there."

So, I made the University of Washington my top-and only-choice on all my applications and went for it, heading to the city where he was.

I thought Charles liked me too.

Three years ago, his drink got spiked. In his delirium, he grabbed my hand, and the intensity of his gaze drew me in completely.

But after that crazy night, he snapped out of it. The second he saw me, he jumped up, totally furious.

His eyes were cold and hard, piercing straight through me.

"Victoria, what are you doing here?"

I was about to say something, but he didn't let me. He started chewing me out, "Do you have any idea how low that was?"

I felt like someone dumped a bucket of ice water on me, and I froze.

I wanted to explain, but the words got stuck in my throat.

So in Charles' eyes, I was some terrible person.

He stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

After that, I sent Charles tons of messages to explain what happened that night, but he didn't reply to any of them.

Three days later, he sent me a location.

I went there as he asked. As soon as I walked in the door, he pushed me against it and started kissing me like crazy. His eyes were filled with lust.

After that, Charles laid there smoking. Through the smoke, he said coldly, "Victoria, since you seem to like me so much, I'll do you a favor and play along with you."

There were no flowers or sweet words, just hickeys all over my body and that word "play."

From then on, I became Charles' secret girlfriend.

Whenever he sent me a message, I'd drop everything and run to him.

Over time, he spent more and more time with me and treated me better and better, almost making me forget all the messed-up stuff that happened before.

I got lost in this fake kindness and fell for him all over again, naively thinking he really loved me.

But today I found out that these past three years were just a game to him.

Three years of crazy dreams shattered in an instant.

Charles was still waiting for my answer. I looked up at him and replied, "Of course not. Since you're engaged, let's call it quits.

"Charles, I hope you're happy."

Charles got the answer he wanted, but he looked a little weirdly disappointed. He opened his mouth but didn't say anything.

I stopped engaging with him, got dressed, and was about to leave, but then I heard the door outside being unlocked.

My heart skipped a beat, and I got a bad feeling.

Before I could even think, the door clicked open.

And there she was-Rhoda Morgan, the fiancee Charles had been talking about.

"Charlie, who's she?"

Rhoda's voice was sweet and cloying, tinged with a hint of pout.

Charles' face softened up. He reached past me and casually put his arm around Rhoda's shoulders.

"My childhood friend I always talk about, Victoria Solis."

Childhood friend.

Hearing that word from Charles felt like a punch in the gut. My eyes got red and watery.

I bit my lip so hard that I tasted blood, just to keep myself from losing it.

But Rhoda didn't seem to notice the weird vibe. She kept giggling and shook Charles' arm.

"Oh, so you're Vicki. Stay for dinner. Charlie is cooking today."

My eyes widened in shock.

When I had a fever last week, I acted all cute and asked Charles to make me some oatmeal. But he said he couldn't cook, and I ended up making dinner for him even though I was sick.

So he could cook, but not for me.

Charles seemed to remember that day too. His face showed a bit of guilt, but then he looked normal again. "Since Rhoda asked you to stay, let's eat together."

I nodded, and my mind was somewhere else.

All those times I spent with Charles felt like the smell of food from the kitchen. They were always there in my heart, but I couldn't hold on to them anymore.

"Vicki, do you have a crush?"

Rhoda's words brought me back to reality.

I looked down where she was looking and saw all those hickeys on my neck.

I quickly did up the first button on my shirt.

Rhoda acted like a know-it-all, covering her mouth and laughing softly. "Oh, we're all adults here. What's there to be embarrassed about?

"But Charlie is different from you. He says only loose girls lose their virginity before marriage, so he won't go there with me."

My face felt like it was on fire, as if I had been slapped for no reason.

I wanted to say something back, but I couldn't think of anything.

Rhoda was right.

I had been with Charles for three years without any real commitment. Didn't that make me a loose girl?

Just then, Charles came out of the kitchen with a plate.

In less than half an hour, he had whipped up three dishes and a soup.

This was the man who had always told me he couldn't cook.

I didn't say anything more and grabbed a bite with my fork.

The food was great, but all I could taste was bitterness.

Rhoda glanced at me and Charles with a smile. "Charlie, guess what? Vicki has got a crush. I'm waiting to see when she'll bring him over to meet us."

I pursed my lips and instinctively looked at Charles. He looked unfazed as he said, "Rhoda is right. If you have a crush, bring him over. We're like your family here. We should check him out for you."

My heart sank. I nodded absent-mindedly in agreement.

But Rhoda wasn't letting it go. She kept talking about how she and Charles met and fell in love.

They hit it off right away in college and were the dream couple everyone envied.

Later, when Rhoda went abroad for school, they broke up but couldn't stop thinking about each other.

It wasn't until recently when Rhoda came back that Charles rushed over to her family to propose, and they got back together.

I did the math. When Charles came back to help me with my college applications, it was the same time Rhoda left the country.

So what did that make me? Rhoda's stand-in?

It turned out that from the very beginning, I was just a toy for Charles to kill time.

The meal tasted like I was chewing on nothing.

When it was finally over, I got up to leave, but Rhoda insisted on seeing me off.

I couldn't refuse, so I got into her car.

As soon as I got in, Rhoda's face turned serious. She sneered, "Victoria, I know your crush is Charlie."

Rhoda spoke in a declarative tone.

I was totally stunned and just stared at her.

She didn't care about what I thought and kept going, her words dripping with sarcasm. "I had barely left to study abroad, and you already got into the University of Washington. Are you seriously that desperate to snatch my man?"

I wanted to say it wasn't like that, that Charles was the one who told me to apply to the University of Washington, but the words got stuck in my throat and wouldn't come out.

"No matter how much you try to take him, you're still just some nobody mistress in the shadows. Who do you think you are to compare yourself to me?

"As soon as I got back, Charlie dumped you and rushed to my house to propose. I'm telling you, know when to back off. Don't be like some annoying thing that nobody likes."

Her words left me utterly embarrassed. Just as I was about to say something, she made a phone call.

While smirking defiantly at me, she screamed into the phone like she was scared out of her mind, "Charlie, save me! Vicki said she wanted to go down with me!"

Then she hung up.

Before I could even react, the car made a sharp turn and slammed straight into the low wall by the roadside.

The force of the impact slammed me forward, my forehead hitting the seat in front with a thud. Blood poured out, and everything went black before my eyes.

Rhoda wasn't much better off. Her hair was a mess, and blood was dripping down from her temple.

What a lunatic!

To set me up, she actually went this far.

Before long, Charles showed up with the EMTs and carefully pulled Rhoda out of the car.

"Rhoda, are you okay?"

Rhoda was bawling her eyes out, clinging to Charles and sniffling. "Vicki was mad at me for taking you away and tried to grab the steering wheel to teach me a lesson."

My head throbbed, but I still forced out, "I... I didn't..."

Charles looked at me with disgust, his voice cold. "A girl like you will stop at nothing to get what you want.

"How dare you hurt Rhoda? You're going to pay for this!"

Without waiting for me to say another word, Charles rushed off toward the ambulance with Rhoda in his arms, leaving me staring at his determined back.

When the medics were about to lift me into the ambulance, Charles stopped them. "The perpetrator can never be in the same ambulance as the victim. She needs to go to the police station first and face her punishment."

The doctor urged, "We haven't figured out what really happened yet. This lady here is way more hurt. If we don't treat her right away, she could end up with some serious, permanent damage."

Charles' face softened a bit, and he was about to let me into the ambulance when Rhoda weakly whispered, "Charlie, don't... Don't let her be with me. I'm scared she'll hurt me again."

As Charles heard this, his eyes turned cold again. He told the medics, "Take Rhoda to the hospital. Her safety comes first.

"You're the medics I paid for. Don't waste time on some random person."

The doctor had no choice but to put me back down, and the ambulance sped off.

I was lying there alone at the scene, surrounded by a crowd of people, but not a single one would lend me a hand.

My wounds were still bleeding, and I was starting to black out.

I kept muttering to myself, "Go home... I want to go home..."

After what felt like forever, another ambulance finally showed up and took me to the hospital.

I barely had the strength to ask the doctor for my phone and, with shaking hands, called my mom. "Mom, I miss you so much. Can you come get me? I'll do whatever you say and go on that blind date."

As soon as I said that, I couldn't hold on any longer and passed out.

The smell of disinfectant filled my nose.

I slowly opened my eyes and saw that I was in the hospital.

The doctor looked sad when he told me, "Ms. Solis, we missed the best time to save the baby. I'm sorry, but you lost it."

I reached up and touched my flat stomach.

Was there really a baby here?

Sadly, it was gone before I even knew it was there.

Tears started flowing down my cheeks.

I thought, "Charles, is this what I get for loving you?

"It hurts too much.

"I don't want to love you anymore."

Right after the doctor left, Charles walked in with a few cops, his face stern. "Victoria, you need to pay for what you did!"

I felt completely hopeless. I struggled to get up even though I was still sick. "It wasn't me..."

But Charles didn't let me explain at all. He nodded at the cops, and they came over to put handcuffs on me.

I was so anxious and angry that the pain from my injuries almost made me pass out again.

"You can't arrest me! I didn't do anything wrong!"

I screamed at the top of my lungs, feeling so wronged and furious but not knowing what to do. "There must be cameras on the road. You should check them!"

When Rhoda, who was watching from the back of the crowd, heard this, her face changed.

She walked up and leaned weakly against Charles' chest. "Charlie, don't be so tough on Vicki. If she apologizes to me, I'll let it go."

After hearing Rhoda's words, Charles seemed to relax a bit.

He looked at me and said, "You hear that? If you say sorry, we can put this behind us."

My heart suddenly hurt.

No matter what, whether it was the thing that happened three years ago or today, Charles wouldn't believe me.

My phone buzzed with a message from my mom.

"Vicki, I'm coming to Washington to get you. I won't let you get hurt anymore!"

My eyes welled up with tears right away. Once my mom got here, I could finally leave this place that made me so sad.

Charles scowled, sounding a bit annoyed. "Why are you crying like that? It's just an apology. You did something wrong. Is it that hard to say sorry?"

I looked up at him. We grew up together, but right now, he felt like a total stranger.

The close friendship we had as kids was gone, just like the baby.

I met Charles' eyes and smiled.

I said, "Fine."

I got out of bed, stood in front of Rhoda, and bowed deeply. "I'm sorry."

With a smug smile in her eyes, Rhoda stepped closer like she was going to help me up, but then she got right next to my ear and whispered, "Losing a baby really hurts, doesn't it?"

I had decided to let this go.

But her words stung like salt on a fresh wound, and my eyes welled up with tears again.

I couldn't take it anymore. I raised my hand and swung at her.

Smack!

But the slap didn't hit Rhoda. Charles grabbed her and pulled her behind him, taking the hit instead.

He pushed me to the ground and yelled, "Victoria, what are you doing?!"

"Do you know what she just said?"

Charles scolded, "No matter what Rhoda said, it's no reason for you to slap her! You're so mean, always hurting her. Say you're sorry!"

When I still wouldn't bow my head, he kicked me in the back of the knee.

I fell to the ground, my knee hitting the floor hard, and the pain shot through me.

Charles forced me to kneel and apologize to Rhoda, over and over, until my forehead was bleeding.

"A spoiled attitude like yours will get you into trouble in the real world. I'm doing this for your own good."

Just as he finished speaking, an angry female voice came from outside the room. "Who gave you the right to lecture my daughter?"