Love Fades Away
Chapter 1
The night my boyfriend confessed, he cried
his eyes out.
He talked about seeing the future, about
making a pact with me.
I asked why. He just said,
“I don’t remember, only that my future self
will regret it, deeply regret it, Izzie. No matter
what happens, you have to give me three
chances, okay?”
Deeply in love with Lucas, I readily agreed.
But later, he seemed to have forgotten all
about it, canoodling with his assistant.
That’s when I understood.
Because the moment I signed the divorce
papers, I heard a familiar voice.
It was nineteen–year–old Lucas.
He was crying.
“Izzie. you promised, right? You promised to
L
1
“Izzie, I think someone as magnanimous as
you will let me and Lucas be together, right?”
It was a text from Lucas’s assistant, Mia.
The message was accompanied by videos
and photos.
Passionate embraces under the Eiffel Tower.
Sweet nothings whispered in front of Louvre
paintings.
Nude photos on a Maldivian beach.
Even pictures of them getting intimate in
front of a floor–to–ceiling window.
That’s when it finally hit me: Lucas wasn’t the
Lucas I loved anymore.
We’d started from nothing. I worked my tail
off for his acting career, pouring all my
earnings into his performances, running
around for him.
For seven years, I fell asleep on the subway
home, suffered stomach bleeds from too
much business drinking.
I’d slowly built a company.
And Lucas finally became a nationally
acclaimed actor, a sought–after star.
He chose to achieve all those things we’d
dreamed of together with his assistant.
Without hesitation, I drafted the divorce
papers.
Just as I was about to sign, a jarring voice
pierced the silence.
“Izzie, no, you promised to give me three
chances.”
The familiar voice shocked me, my whole
body trembling.
I turned, and there stood nineteen–year–old
Lucas, his form ethereal, wearing a $30 suit
I’d bought while working a part–time job.
He looked the most handsome in that suit,
just like my memory.
I stared at nineteen–year–old Lucas, then
く
suddenly laughed.
“Okay, three chances.”
Just then, my phone rang again.
“Izzie! I’ve told you countless times, stop
bullying Mia! She’s just my assistant, she’s
already exhausted from traveling with me
everywhere!”
“If you keep this up, our beach trip is off!”
I answered, putting it on speakerphone.
Lucas’s furious voice echoed in the room.
I glanced at nineteen–year–old Lucas,
offering a gentle smile, which caused anger to
flash across his face.
“How could he talk to you like that! How
could he?!”
Nineteen–year–old Lucas was trembling with
rage, while twenty–seven–year–old Lucas
remained cold.
“Izzie, you’ve gotten bold. You even have a
dog now, huh? Get to Wind Entertainment in
half an hour, or else…”
Nineteen–year–old Lucas hung up, and I
calmly said,
“That’s your first chance, Lucas.”
I couldn’t tell if I was saying it to nineteen-
year–old Lucas or myself.
I drove to Wind Entertainment, arriving forty
minutes late.
The area around the building was packed,
traffic a nightmare.
When I finally reached Lucas’s office on the
top floor, I pushed open the door and heard
him yell,
“Izzie, I warned you, be here in thirty minutes.
And now…”
“Mm–hmm.”
I coolly interrupted, sitting on the sofa.
Mia was also in the office, her head down,
eyes red, clutching her wrist.
My indifferent attitude seemed to enrage
Lucas. He slammed his fist on the desk.
“Izzie, what’s your attitude! Are you still
refusing to admit you’re wrong?”
Before I could speak, Mia said,
“Lucas, it’s okay, it’s just a watch, it’s not
Izzie’s fault.”
Mia’s words only fueled Lucas’s anger. He suppressed his rage, speaking softly to Mia. “What do you mean it’s not her fault? She’s so petty she even stole the birthday present I gave you. Don’t worry, I won’t take her side.” Turning to me, his tone sharpened.
“Izzie, I’m giving you one last chance. Return
the watch to Mia.”
This had happened countless times: Mia had
framed me so many times, and no matter how
much I explained, it was no use.
Lucas, who once trusted me unconditionally,
now unconditionally doubted me.
I didn’t bother arguing. I stood, took off the
worn watch from my wrist, and tossed it
lightly at Mia’s feet.
This action caused both nineteen–year–old
and twenty–seven–year–old Lucas to erupt.
Nineteen–year–old Lucas cried, “Izzie, please,
don’t…don’t do this.”
Twenty–seven–year–old Lucas’s eyes were
bloodshot, his anger uncontainable:
“Izzie! Do you think I’m a pushover?!”
