Chapter 1

Rain soaked Evan Cole’s jacket as he hurried toward his apartment. He was late, and Lila hated lateness.

The thought alone made him more worried, he was so eager to meet her on time, he couldn’t wait to show her what he had got for her.

“I hope she doesn’t start yelling,” he said to himself, as he walked towards the entrance.

He looked at the small box in his hand—a silver bracelet she’d admired some weeks ago.

Remembering her smile made his heart melt.

His fingers brushed the second box in his pocket. He felt nervous because tonight he was supposed to propose to his girlfriend Lila.

Evan unlocked the door and slipped inside.

The apartment was dark. So dark that you could barely see through.

“That’s strange,” he murmured, frowning. “She never turns the lights off at night.”

Still smiling faintly, he stepped further inside, imagining Lila sitting on the couch, distracted by her phone or the television.

He planned to sneak up on her, wrap his arms around her waist, and make her laugh so hard because he loves seeing her happy. But as he walked into the room ,the silence felt heavy and very uncomfortable.

“Lila?” he called out softly.

There was no answer.

He became uneasy worried about where she may be and what may have happened for the room to be this dark . He raised his phone, using its dim light to locate the wall switch, and flicked it on.

The room flooded with light, and Evan couldn’t believe what he had just seen, he was shocked at what he just saw.

Lila was naked on the sofa, her body pressed against another man’s. They were tangled together under a half-fallen blanket.
They froze…

For a moment, no one spoke. The sight before him felt unreal, like something from a nightmare he couldn’t wake up from.

Evan’s fingers loosened, and the gift box slipped from his hand, hitting the floor with a dull sound. The engagement ring followed, rolling slightly before stopping near his feet.

His heart stopped beating for a moment then he was trying to breathe.

Lila looked up at him. Her eyes widened slightly, not because she was scared or felt guilty being with another man, but because she was annoyed at the fact that Evan walked in to cut short her moment with the man she was with.

“Oh,” she said flatly. “You’re home.”

Evan stared at her, his voice shaking as he asked, “What… what is this?”

The man beside her quickly reached for his clothes, but Lila made no effort to cover herself properly. She simply adjusted the blanket and sighed, clearly irritated by the interruption.

“Don’t start yelling,” she said. “You’re making this awkward.”

Evan laughed, though there was no humor in it. His voice came out broken and hollow.

“Awkward?” he repeated. “I came home to propose to you, Lila. I ran through the rain to get here.”

He bent down and picked up the ring box, holding it out with his hands shaking. “This was supposed to be our special night.”

Lila glanced at the ring briefly. Then she laughed out loud, short, sharp, and cold, making him look stupid for even opening his lips to say such.

“You seriously thought I’d say yes to such a loser and low life as you?” she asked, shaking her head. “Evan, you really don’t know your place, you this wretched boy.”

The words hit him harder than the betrayal itself. His voice cracked as he asked.

“Wretched??” He asked. “After everything I’ve done for you… how can you call me wretched? I am a millionaire for God’s sake.”

“Not anymore,” Lila said.

Her response threw Evan into a deep confusion, but before he could even ask what she meant by that, she spoke again without hesitation.

“Marcus Hale is my husband.”

Evans’ eyes blurred out in shock. His heart pounded violently in his chest as he whispered, “You’re lying.”

“No,” she said casually. “We’ve been married for two years.”

Marcus smirked, clearly enjoying how shocked and confused Evan looked, trying to understand what was really happening.

“You were just a temporary solution lila said without emotions”

Evan’s knees weakened.

“So all those nights… all those words…all the love, time and attention they meant nothing?”

His voice cracked as he was trying to bring out the words from his lips amidst his confusion and pain he felt .

“They meant money,” Lila said laughing, “you were only useful for what I benefitted from you. That’s all.”

She went on to explain how she and Marcus had planned everything from the start—how she encouraged Evan to invest, how she pushed him into risky deals, and how she made him sign away his assets while he was drunk.

With every word, Evan felt another piece of his heart break.

When he checked his account balance and saw zero, reality finally crushed him completely.

“You took everything from me,” he whispered.

“Yes,” Lila replied without emotion. “And I’d do it again.”

Something snapped inside him. He rushed forward to attack Lila for using him, but Marcus struck first, hitting him and punching him to a pulp, knocking him to the floor.

Lila only scoffed and looked at Marcus. “We can not let him escape. He would probably call the cops on us.”

Marcus pulled out the gun, and Lila turned away, already tired of staring at Evans’ battered face.

“Just finish it,” she said with a wicked smirk on her face.

Marcus shot at Evans with no remorse or empathy.

The sound echoed through the apartment.

Evan’s body fell still. A scream died in his throat.

Lila glanced back once. “Good. Let’s go.”

They left without looking back, stepping over Evans as though he were nothing but a worthless piece of trash.

Evans lay on the floor with a bullet stuck in his forehead, his life force dwindling.