Part 2The Delivery Guy At Her Hotel

I never imagined Chloe would cheat.

She was always the one preaching about cherishing someone who truly loved her.

And I had practically ripped my heart out of my chest and handed it to her.

We met in college.

The first time I saw her, she was sitting alone on a campus bench, sobbing uncontrollably.

Everyone walked past, giving her weird looks.

I handed her a pack of tissues and sat with her on that bench for the entire afternoon.

As the sun began to set, she suddenly opened up about her family.

She said her parents not only forced her to cover her own tuition, but also demanded she pay her younger brother’s living expenses.

The pressure had finally broken her.

That evening, with her eyes red and swollen, she looked at me, a complete stranger, and said, "You know what? Nobody in that house loves me. I'm just an extra mouth they never wanted..."

I felt deep sympathy for her because I only had my mom growing up.

After that day, we saw each other often. I was always there to comfort her, and we naturally grew closer.

Back then, in my eyes, she was the most resilient girl I had ever known.

The day I confessed my feelings, she buried her face in my chest and cried happy tears.

"You have to promise to love me forever and ever," she had pleaded.

To make up for the love she never got at home, I spoiled her rotten.

Whenever she envied other girls' luxuries, I worked extra shifts for a week straight just to buy her a designer bag.

After we moved in together, I was the one who woke up early every single morning to cook her breakfast. I pampered her palate until she refused to eat takeout.

Even after she stopped working, I was the one footing the bill for her brother Austin's college tuition.

Through it all, no matter how bratty or moody she got, I never once lost my temper with her.

Three years had passed since graduation.

She said she longed for a real family, so I decided to propose.

Her parents, however, demanded thirty thousand dollars before they’d ever let her marry me.

For years, I scrimped and saved every dime.

And just when I finally reached thirty grand, I uncovered this sick betrayal.

It chilled me to the bone.

At least I hadn't married her yet.

I lay awake in bed, tossing and turning until the early hours of the morning when I heard the front door click open.

In the dark, Chloe crawled onto the mattress.

Assuming I was fast asleep, she gently lifted my arm.

Sleeping with her head rested on my arm was a habit she’d had for years.

As she leaned in, a faint whiff of tobacco smoke hit my nose.

I didn't smoke. In fact, she had always claimed to despise the smell of cigarettes.

I pulled my arm back. In the darkness, her voice sounded pleasantly surprised.

"Can't sleep without me beside you, huh?"

I caught her hand before she could flick on the lamp, my tone flat. "You're back late."

She brushed it off lightly. "I told you, I had an extra-hard training session tonight. I'm completely wiped out."

"I know you waited a long time. How about some kisses to make it up to you?"