My Secret Lover of 10 Years Had a Heart Rate of 70 for Me—But It Hit 175 for His Ex Chapter 01

My Secret Lover of 10 Years Had a Heart Rate of 70 for Me—But It Hit 175 for His Ex Chapter 01

At the class reunion, someone suggested a game for the single people there.

If two participants’ heart rates went over 130, everyone would call them a perfect match.

“Want to try it?” I whispered to Gabriel Donovan.

We’d been together for ten years in secret.

I wanted to use this chance to finally go public and receive everyone’s blessing.

Gabriel didn’t seem too into it. But when he saw the eager look in my eyes, he agreed anyway.

The results appeared on the screen.

My heart rate was 140. His was only 70.

An awkward silence spread through the room.

“Switch partners!”

“Lila! Lila!”

A woman I had never seen before was pushed toward the front amid the cheering.

“Well… I guess I can give it a try.”

The new results came up. Lila Vance’s heart rate was 129.

I stared blankly at the screen. A chill ran through me.

Gabriel’s heart rate… was 175.

—

“Oh, come on, it’s just one point off!” Mike Dalton laughed as he nudged Lila forward.

She lost her balance and stumbled straight into Gabriel’s arms. Her ears went bright red in an instant.

She buried her face in his chest, too embarrassed to look up.

Gabriel slid an arm around her waist and didn’t let go.

“Congrats to the happy couple!”

The room exploded with excitement.

Whistles rang out nonstop. Someone even tossed over a room key card just to stir things up further.

“Guess you two should just get a room already!”

I stood on the edge of the laughter and chaos, like an outsider.

Alone in the corner, I silently ripped the pulse monitor off my wrist.

The numbers on the screen burned into my eyes.

“Who is she?” I asked hoarsely.

Mike suddenly realized something.

“Right, you transferred in after Lila had already moved away.”

He lowered his voice. “Gabriel used to have a crush on her.”

“Now that she’s finally back from overseas, of course he’s gonna shoot his shot.”

I looked at Lila’s face, the face that looked so much like mine—more than I wanted to admit.

The words choked in my throat. I couldn’t force out a single sound.

Mike noticed my face fall.

“Hey! Audrey’s such a catch. Any interested guys should hurry up and volunteer!”

Out of spite, I sat down in the very front and slapped the pulse monitor back onto myself.

Gabriel finally looked at me. His brows tightened slightly as he gave me a tiny shake of his head.

I pretended not to notice.

My eyes stayed locked on him and Lila standing pressed together.

My heart rate stayed stuck at 140. Out of anger. Out of humiliation. Because I wanted to cry but held it all in.

The suffocating pressure made my heartbeat climb faster and faster.

“Guess the machine’s acting up,” Mike quickly joked to smooth things over.

“I mean, there’s no way Audrey still likes Gabriel.”

Everyone laughed, barely pulling me out of total humiliation.

After all, everyone there knew I had liked Gabriel for years.

Back then, I had even changed my college applications for him.

In their eyes, I had always been the one chasing after him alone, throwing myself at someone who couldn’t care less.

But the truth was, I had gotten together with Gabriel ten years ago.

At the time, I’d smugly believed I’d finally won over the untouchable guy everyone admired from afar.

It finally hit me.

Did he ever love me… or was it just this face—the one that looked so much like hers?

“Gabriel, I think I drank too much.” Lila clutched his shirt weakly, her voice soft and delicate. “Can you take me home?”

Mike immediately grabbed the room key card off the table and stuffed it into Gabriel’s pocket.

“Go ahead!”

I stared at Gabriel without blinking.

I bit down so hard on my lower lip that pain shot through me, the faint taste of blood spreading inside my mouth.

He kept his eyes down and gave nothing away. Supporting Lila quietly, he walked her toward the door.

“I’ll take her home,” he said quietly.

“I’ll come back later. Wait for me.”

The door closed behind them.

Inside the private room, everyone got even rowdier after they left. But my world had fallen completely silent.

I slumped back into my chair and drank glass after glass.

It wasn’t until my stomach was churning and the alcohol had numbed me that the crushing pain in my chest eased—even just a little.

“Damn, I really screwed up tonight.” Mike staggered over, slurring.

“I forgot you said you already had a boyfriend. Aren’t you getting married soon?”

A little tipsy, I held up my fingers and tried to count. “Yeah… sometime next week…”

My wedding to Gabriel was only days away.

But now… I suddenly didn’t want to marry him anymore.