At the End of the Road, We’re Strangers

Adrian Grant stared at me intently, his eyes flickering between the suitcases and my face.

“No, take a look. It’s too much luggage. Just buy whatever you want when you get there, and I’ll transfer the money to you.”

Adrian was determined to keep my suitcase, as if doing so would guarantee my return.

Just as we were at a stalemate, his phone rang rapidly. Adrian stepped aside to answer the call, and Rebecca Banks’s sweet voice came through.

His expression grew increasingly serious, and he finally had to leave in a hurry.

Before leaving, he clutched my hand tightly: “Zara, remember, don’t stay out too long. Remember to send me your return ticket, and I’ll pick you up personally.”

I didn’t respond, because there would be no return trip between us.

Four hours before departure, I changed the apartment’s password from my birthday to Rebecca Banks’s.

Then I posted a small note on the door:

[Since a new woman will be living here, the password should naturally be set to her birthday.]

Two hours before departure, I gathered all the photos of Adrian and me in the apartment and burned them all. He held me in his arms as we watched the night view from the Ferris wheel, promising to give me the world.

He put an engagement ring on my finger on the beach, promising to never leave me.

He turned down important business meetings for me.

His phone screensaver was always my photo, and his social media was filled with updates about me…

We were once so in love, we thought we could grow old together.

Now all those beautiful memories have turned to smoke, and our story has ended.

An hour before takeoff, I received a video from Rebecca Banks.

In the video, Adrian and Rebecca were surrounded by a group of people in the center of the box, all cheering.

“Give me a kiss! Give me a kiss!”

“Mr. Grant, why are you so shy when you’re about to get engaged? Do you want Miss Banks to take the initiative?”

Amidst the crowd’s urging, Rebecca shyly closed her eyes and slowly leaned closer to Adrian.

Their faces grew closer, and the cheers grew louder.

Adrian stared at the woman before him, his throat rolling. The next second, he reached out, gripping the back of her head and kissing her hard.

The camera zoomed in so closely that I could clearly see their lips and tongues entwined, and Adrian’s expression was transfixed by the moment.

I rewatched the video several times, until every detail was etched in my mind.

Soon, Rebecca’s message arrived.

[Zara, did you see that? I’m the future Young Mistress, recognized by the Grant family. You’re a poor student, what right do you have to compete with me for a man?]

[Even if Adrian loves you, what good does it do? Isn’t he still completely captivated by me? From holding hands to kissing, the next step is sex, right?]

I didn’t reply. Instead, I printed out all the provocative screenshots she’d sent me recently and placed them neatly on the coffee table.

Half an hour before departure, I scribbled a few words on the last page of the pile of printed paper.

“Adrian, I wish you a happy wedding.”

Then, dragging my suitcase, I walked out of the apartment without looking back, hailing a taxi and heading straight to the airport. From now on, I will return to being the “Red Rose” who made the entire underworld tremble.

When I exited Crestfall airport, a black Rolls-Royce had been waiting outside.

The car door opened, and a man in a black suit immediately stepped forward and respectfully opened it for me.