The Fatal Choice

When the kidnappers forced Silas Sterling to choose, he didn't even blink before picking his first love.

Quinn, stop this pathetic acting. I know you're behind this, he sneered.

He walked away without a second glance.

The thugs broke me, leaving my body to rot in a ditch.

Then, I woke up.

I was back at our college graduation, right when Silas was down on one knee.

This time, I walked away first.

Later, the arrogant man crawled back, sobbing and hitting himself.

"Quinn, please... I'm begging you. Love me again."

...

When Silas arrived with the ransom, I wasn't relieved.

I already knew he wasn't there for me.

Riley Goodwin had been whipping me herself just moments ago.

As soon as Silas showed up, she threw herself onto the floor, making it look like the kidnappers were overpowering her.

Silas handed over the money and barely spared me a glance.

His eyes were full of nothing but terror for Riley.

"I gave you the money. Now let her go," he demanded.

The kidnapper grinned, playing his part in their twisted game.

"Mr. Sterling, this amount only covers one life. Who are you taking home?"

I was tied to a chair, pale and trembling, though my wounds were hidden beneath my clothes.

Riley, on the other hand, looked like a complete mess.

Watching her struggle on the floor made me want to laugh.

It was so unnecessary.

Even without the act, Silas would always choose her.

But a small, stupid part of me still hoped.

"Silas, please," I whispered. "Save me."

He didn't even look at me as he pointed toward Riley.

"Let her go."

There was no hesitation.

He scooped Riley into his arms and walked past me.

Seeing my hollow expression, he let out a cold snort.

"Quinn, is this another one of your desperate stunts?"

He didn't see the smug smirk Riley flashed me over his shoulder.

I closed my eyes as his silhouette faded into the distance.

I thought we were in love, but I was just a fool living in a lie.

Next to Riley Goodwin, I was nothing but a tragic clown.

"Boss, is she ours to play with now?" one of the thugs asked.

"Of course. Ms. Goodwin said no survivors."

Fear finally took hold. I began to shake uncontrollably.

"No, please. Don't..."

My weak pleas were useless against those monsters.

They were ruthless animals who knew exactly how to break a person.

They started with a taser.

The surge of electricity sent me into a world of pure agony before I blacked out.

They woke me up with a bucket of saltwater.

Every cut on my body screamed as I rolled on the floor in pain.

My screams only seemed to excite them more.

"Hey, didn't you say you loved the sound of pretty girls screaming? Is this enough for you?"

"She's got spirit. A girl this beautiful... I'm going to enjoy every second."

The nightmare finally ended when my heart stopped beating.

My consciousness drifted, my soul floating toward the ceiling.

I saw my own bodyDhalf-naked, limbs twisted at impossible angles, skin covered in burns and bites.

It hurt so much.

Even as a ghost, the pain was unbearable.

In the haze of death, I saw a glowing teenage boy.

He handed me a handkerchief, his brow furrowed with a gentle worry.

"Quinn, stay with me from now on. I'll protect you."

That was the Silas I fell in love with in high school.

2.

When I opened my eyes again, I saw Silas.

He was kneeling in a sea of blood-red roses, holding out a diamond ring.

His gaze was tender and deeply devoted as he looked up at me.

"Quinn, will you marry me?"

I was dazed. I looked around and saw all our friends watching with bated breath.

This was... the day of our graduation. This was the moment Silas proposed to me.

I remembered how shocked I had been back then. I had almost thought it was a prank.

After all, I had spent four years chasing Silas.

Even after we started dating, I always felt like I was walking on eggshells.

He had introduced me to his friends and even his parents knew about me.

But he never shared his inner life with me. He remembered major holidays, but never our actual anniversary.

He would ask if I was cold or hungry, but the food he brought was never what I actually liked.

His friends had a strange, unspoken understanding whenever I was around, but I never knew what it was.

This proposal had come out of nowhere.

Before this, I didn't think he loved me enough to actually want a lifetime commitment.

I had actually expected us to break up after graduation.

So, when he asked the question, my first reaction wasn't joy. It was pure confusion.

But Silas had made the venue so beautiful. He had invited everyone we knew.

In front of all those witnesses, he was asking me to be his wife.

In that moment in my past life, I decided nothing else mattered. I said yes.

After we got married, I replayed this day in my head a thousand times.

If I had said no then, would everything have been different?

I looked up at the sky and felt the soft breeze against my skin.

I had been reborn.

Silas was still kneeling, his arm beginning to shake as he held the ring out further.

"Quinn? Say yes!" he urged, his voice filled with a confident impatience.

He sounded so certain. He couldn't even imagine a world where I would reject him.

I reached out my hand. His eyes lit up, and he moved to slide the ring onto my finger.

Click.

I reached out and snapped the ring box shut.

Silas's smile froze. Confusion and disbelief washed over his face.

The crowd went dead silent.

Everyone knew how much I loved Silas.

I had followed him like a lost puppy since high school. I even chose a college in Chicago, far from home, just to be near him.

In our sophomore year, I finally found the courage to confess my feelings while he was drunk.

To my shock, he had said yes.

I remembered the look in his eyes back thenDlove mixed with something I couldn't identify.

I was too happy to care. I thought a single "yes" was enough to bridge any gap.

Now I realize that look was guilt.

He was feeling guilty about Riley Goodwin.

It wasn't until Riley came back from abroad that I realized they had a history that couldn't be erased.

He only accepted my confession because he heard Riley had found a boyfriend overseas.

She was the pure, untouchable first love in his heart. I was just the budget replacement.

He had been moved by my persistence and decided to settle for a new start.

I just happened to confess at the right moment.

It was all so convenient.

We even got married. Life was quiet, but I thought it was stable.

Right up until Riley showed up again.

3.

She was Silas's high school classmate and the girl he had secretly loved for years.

Because she was sickly as a child, she had been sent abroad for treatment before finishing high school.

The year Riley left was the same year I transferred into Silas's elite private school.

My dad had just made a fortune in real estate after a massive government buyout.

He immediately sent me to that prestigious school, hoping for a better future for me.

The teachers were top-tier, far better than at my old public school.

The students were all heirs to powerful families, polished and wealthy.

Then there was meDwith my blunt bangs and my awkward, shy demeanor.

I didn't fit into their world. My grades were constantly at the bottom of the class.

For some reason, a girl in my class took an instant dislike to me.

Back then, my family's wealth was nothing compared to theirs. They looked down on "new money" like me.

The bullying started almost immediately.

First, I was isolated. Everywhere I walked, a vacuum formed around me. No one would speak to me.

Then came the petty tricks.

My homework would go missing. Glue was smeared on my chair. People pulled my hair or drew on my clothes.

But that was only the beginning.

Eventually, they turned physical.

They would kick and punch me before locking me in the school bathroom overnight.

They forced me to skip class with them, taking me to high-end clubs where they used me as a prop in their sick games.

Whoever won the game got to humiliate me.

It happened countless times until one night, Silas happened to walk past the VIP lounge where they were tormenting me.

We were in the same class, and I knew his family was powerfulDmore powerful than anyone else's.

In class, he always seemed to be daydreaming with a scowl, yet his grades were perfect.

When everyone else isolated me, he was the only one who didn't go out of his way to avoid me. He lived in his own world.

That night, he appeared like an angel of vengeance and warned the ringleader to stop.

They were too terrified of Silas to argue. They scattered instantly.

I was left in the booth, soaked in expensive champagne, shivering.

I didn't know what to say. I just looked at him, trying to find the words to thank him.

But he moved first. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to me.

"Quinn, stay with me from now on. I'll protect you."

From that day on, no one touched me.

And from that day on, Silas's name filled every page of my diary.

I only dared to write his name. Any other words felt too bold for a girl like me.

He was my light.

When I found out he was going to the University of Chicago, I studied until my eyes bled.

He started helping me, lending me his notes and encouraging me to reach my goals.

By then, my dad's business had exploded. The students who once bullied me were now begging for my father's contact info.

Everything was looking up. I began to pursue Silas in my own quiet way.

He knew how I felt, but he never gave me a straight answer.

I didn't care. I followed him all the way to Chicago.

Then came the confession, the proposal, and the marriage.

And finally, the moment he walked away with Riley in his arms, leaving me to be slaughtered.

4.

As the memory of my death faded, I looked at the shocked faces around me.

A strange sense of calm washed over me.

I leaned down and looked Silas straight in the eye.

"Silas, I won't marry you."

The atmosphere turned freezing in a second.

I heard a sharp intake of breath from the crowd. Silas looked like I had slapped him.

He stood up and tried to grab my hand, but I stepped back.

The rejection in front of everyone made his pride sting. His voice turned sharp with annoyance.

"Quinn, everyone is watching. Stop joking around."

His arrogance was actually pathetic.

"Silas, I'm not joking."

"I won't marry you because you've never actually loved me."

Silas's pupils contracted. A flash of guilt crossed his face.

The students around us began to whisper. Our friends were still frozen in shock.

I turned to leave, but he grabbed my arm.

"Quinn! What are you talking about? We've been happy together!"

I shoved his hand off, sick of his pretty lies.

"Do you want me to tell everyone why you really accepted my confession? Or why you chose today of all days to propose?"

"Or should I mention these red roses? We both know who actually loves them. Should I say her name?"

Silas froze. His best friends, who knew the truth, looked just as stunned.

None of them expected me to know. They had all made a silent pact to keep Riley's existence a secret from me.

They thought I was blissfully ignorant.

I remembered one birthday when Silas gave me a rose-themed designer dress.

When I wore it to a party, Silas's friends all smirked.

They showered me with compliments, saying Silas and I were a match made in heaven.

The words felt weird at the time, but I just said thank you.

When I mentioned it to Silas later, he actually got angry.

"Quinn, they're my friends. Why are you overanalyzing everything? Stop being so paranoid."

I felt small and apologized to him then.

It wasn't until three years into our marriage that I found Silas's secret social media account.

It was a shrine to Riley Goodwin.

There was a photo of Riley wearing the exact same rose dress.

The caption read: My one and only Rose.

That day, I went into a frenzy. I found that dress and shredded it into rags.

That was also the day I realized he only said "yes" to me because Riley had posted about her new boyfriend.

And the day he proposed? That was the day Riley got engaged.

My entire relationship was lived in someone else's shadow.

I looked at Silas, who couldn't find a single word to say.

"Silas, we're done."