And the next day, without fail, Aldric would pull some grand romantic gesture—an extravagant dinner, a surprise gift—and I would forgive him. We would fall back into the rhythm of our relationship, pretending everything was fine.
But the cycle never broke. And the more we repeated it, the more I realized that our bond was weakening, that Aldric was slipping away from me.
He thought I couldn’t see it, but I wasn’t blind. I wasn’t stupid.
The truth was, I had allowed myself to be swept along, to keep forgiving him because I loved him. But now, I finally understood why I needed to stop.
And that’s why this time, I wasn’t going to fall for him again.
—
### Chapter 3
The night air was cool as I left my apartment, heading toward the lounge where Eamon’s celebration was being held. I had made up my mind—if Aldric wanted to play his games, so be it, but I wasn’t going to let him control my every move anymore. He had sent me a message about the event, but I didn’t bother responding. If he expected me to grovel for his attention, he was mistaken.