The deeper the love, the deeper the
hatred
Chapter 1
Eight years together, and then Mom got sick.
That’s when I begged Jake for a wedding.
He acted all in.
But on the wedding day, he projected a video
of himself in bed with another woman on the
big screen.
The guests‘ laughter and jeers… Mom
couldn’t take it. She just… died right there.
Everyone treated me like I was Jake’s free
entertainment for eight years.
<
The wedding imploded, and Jake dragged me
to the roof. We jumped.
Before we hit the ground, he looked at me
with these crazy, red eyes, blaming me for
ruining his chance to be with Ashley.
That’s when it hit me: today was also the day
Ashley was leaving the country.
Then, I woke up, back to the day he first
asked me out.
This time, I said no.
Eight years later, Jake’s living the dream with
Ashley, a big–shot CEO.
At their engagement party, he saw me with
<
Suddenly, he’s all over me, grabbing my arm,
demanding:
“Lily, why did you change your mind?”
- 1.
After making dinner for my daughter, I threw
on some sweats and headed to the hotel
lobby.
My face was pale without makeup.
Before I even walked in, I saw the screen with
their engagement photos, blown up huge.
Jake was standing near the entrance, lighting
a cigarette, surrounded by a bunch of our old
classmates, all gossiping.
<
“Dude, Jake, or should I say Mr. Thompson?
How did we miss you and Ashley hooking up
back in college? You kept that quiet! You
were totally carrying a torch for her, weren’t
you? Mr. CEO is such a romantic!”
“Totally! I remember back in the day, Jake
never did his homework, he was always
knitting something in his dorm room! His
backpack was stuffed with love letters,
probably all for Ashley!”
“What are you talking about? Ashley wasn’t
even around then, that was all for Lily…”
Jake’s face darkened when he heard my
name.
The mood turned awkward.
<
One of the guys quickly patted the talkative
dude.
“Dude, bad timing! Shut up! We’re here to
celebrate Jake and Ashley getting engaged.”
“Lily’s been MIA for years now, probably
didn’t amount to much. She must be
regretting her choices, though. She had the
nerve to turn down Jake back then. Now
she’s probably kicking herself, right?”
Jake forced a smile.
“That’s all in the past. No big deal. Lily wasn’t
really into socializing anyway. It’s fine that
she wasn’t in the group chat. I’m actually
grateful she turned me down. Otherwise, I
wouldn’t have found Ashley.”
<
“I’m really happy now.”
Ashley linked her arm with his, flashing the
Cartier bracelet on her wrist like she was
showing off.
“Yeah, actually, Lily did us a favor! I’ll have to
buy her a drink.”
“Without her planting the seed, Jake might
not have known how to love someone, which
is why I’m so lucky.”
Yeah, right.
Jake spent a lot of time learning about
romance when he was trying to get with me.
The 99 love letters, the knitted scarves and
bracelets
<
He even declared his love for me during a
school assembly.
It was all over the school’s social media for a
month.
Young love is always so loud and dramatic.
Too bad it didn’t last.
Eight years have gone by, and the hate has
faded.
Now, I just feel indifference.
While they were chatting, I walked into the
lobby.
The laughter died down, and everyone looked
at me with a mix of mockery and surprise.
“Well, look who it is! Lily, who turned down
our Jake. What are you doing here?”
“Seeing Jake and Ashley together must be
killing you, right?”
“Hey, maybe she was aiming higher. It
doesn’t seem to have worked out. So, Lily,
what are you doing these days?”
Everyone burst out laughing after that last
question.
Ashley acted all sweet and innocent, grabbing
my arm.
“Hey, guys, don’t be mean. Lily couldn’t have
known what would happen. It’s not wrong to
not like someone.”
“Lily, are you seeing anyone? I could set you
up with someone. Most of the drivers that
work at Jake’s company have a college
degree. I’ll send you their pics after the
party.”
With her saying that, everyone understood.
They rushed to my side.
“My uncle’s still single. He’s not bad looking,
he’s got all his features. He doesn’t make as
much as Jake’s drivers, but at least he owns
some land. You won’t starve. You should think
about it, Lily.”
“Keep your trash to yourself.”
Jake finally couldn’t take it anymore.
Г
He frowned, his eyes full of emotions I
couldn’t read.
“Lily, after all these years, you still have such
high standards.”
“If she’s not interested, don’t push it.”
Ashley rolled her eyes, but said gently:
“It’s my fault. Lily wouldn’t even go for Jake,
she’s not going to go for a driver.”
I ignored them, sat down, and poured myself
two glasses of juice.
I was about to drink it when I got a text.
Jake walked over, sighing softly.
“I know. I was out of line back then. Don’t
punish yourself for my mistakes.”
“If you haven’t met anyone in the past few
years, I can take care of you…”
I froze, staring at him, shocked.
“Take care of me? No thanks.”
“Lily, I know you’re stubborn, but it must be
hard living alone. Even though I’m engaged
now, if you want, I can give you two grand a
month.”
“We can still have what we had, as long as
you… aren’t crazy, and Ashley doesn’t find
out.”
H
10 That decen’t c
Two grand? That doesn’t even cover my
daughter’s allowance for a week.
I laughed, looking at him like he was crazy.
“Jake, are you out of your mind?”
“What makes you so confident? That after
eight years, I’d still be into you? Enough to be
your mistress and throw my pride away?”
“I learned my lesson the first time. My mom’s
death, my death… I don’t hate you, which is
more than you deserve. Coming over here and
saying this is ridiculous.”
