Chapter 3

Even so, he still wouldn't say the word "marriage."

The overwhelming exhaustion finally made me want to pull the plug.

I had made excuses for him dozens of times, but this time, I couldn't even convince myself.

I loved him, and maybe he loved me too, but we just weren't meant to be.

I couldn't bear to look at him anymore, so I turned my back to him and closed my eyes.

And Lucas—a man who had never once cried in front of me—broke down completely right by my pillow, sobbing uncontrollably as he realized I was slipping away.

Tears betrayed me, slipping silently down my cheeks.

"Lucas... if I could do it over, I wish I'd never met you."

Saying it felt like suffocating.

A relationship with no future was pure torture.

It was like knowing a bridge was collapsing, yet choosing to walk onto it anyway, only to plunge into the abyss.

"Just wait for me, Elena. Please, just wait for me... I really do love you!"

He loved me, but he wouldn't marry me. How much was that love actually worth?

When I woke up the next morning, he was asleep, his swollen eyes resting against the edge of my mattress.

Seeing him like that softened my resolve just a little more.

The sound of me shifting woke him up, and the first thing he did was look at me.

Realizing how puffy his eyes were, his pride kicked in, and he mumbled that he was going to wash up.

He acted like normal, but there was a fragile caution in everything he did around me.

Even though I told him not to, he insisted on driving me to work. When I walked out of the office that evening, he was waiting outside holding a bouquet of yellow roses.

My coworkers giggled, nudging me toward him.

Not wanting to cause a scene, I took the flowers and got into his car without a word.

My coldness clearly cut him deep; I could see the pain flickering in his eyes.

To make it up to me, he planned a weekend white-water rafting trip.

The sun was blazing, and the river was packed with people splashing and laughing.

The chaotic noise helped distract me from my misery, and a small smile finally returned to my face.

Still, the fact that he hadn't budged on marriage hung over my head, deepening the quiet despair inside me.

I figured this would probably be our last trip together.

Neither of us expected the rapids to be so violent that day. Waves slammed into us one after another.

Everyone was soaked, but things took a terrifying turn when a massive swell flipped our raft entirely, throwing all of us into the churning water.

The guides scrambled to haul people out one by one.

Knowing I couldn't swim, Lucas immediately screamed my name.

"Elena! Elena, where are you?!"

I had a life vest on, so it wasn't truly life-threatening, but the panic and raw terror in his voice touched something deep inside me.

A guide tried to pull him onto a safety raft first, but Lucas shoved him away, fighting against the current until he reached me and pushed me up onto the boat first.

Looking at him shivering in the water, a quiet voice whispered in my head: "Just try a little longer. He really does love you."

I didn't officially forgive him, but he could tell I had softened.

After that, he became even more attentive, anticipating my every need.

On mornings when I didn't want to get out of bed, he'd bring a warm washcloth to gently wipe my face, then coax me up to brush my teeth.

Things that usually only happened in romance novels were playing out in our daily life.

The tenderness and happiness were real, and my desire to forgive him was real, too.

I never could have imagined what was coming next—a revelation that would shatter every illusion I had left and deliver a final, crushing blow.

It stripped away my last reason to hold on, teaching me that while a man's love can be real, his lack of commitment is just as real.

That afternoon, I decided to leave work early to cook him a nice dinner.

I wanted us to have an honest talk tonight. Deep down, I truly wanted a future with him.

I never expected reality to blindside me the way it did.