My Secret Lover of 10 Years Had a Heart Rate of 70 for Me—But It Hit 175 for His Ex Chapter 03

My Secret Lover of 10 Years Had a Heart Rate of 70 for Me—But It Hit 175 for His Ex Chapter 03

“Fine.” I threw down the perfume charm and shoved open the car door.

The moment my feet touched the ground, my legs gave out beneath me.

I fell straight into the flower bed, icy slush soaking through my clothes instantly.

Gabriel had never been one to put up with my moods.

He leaned over, slammed the passenger door shut, then sped off without a second glance.

By the time I got home, I felt exhausted and miserable.

Gabriel was already standing outside the garage. Several cigarette butts were scattered near his feet.

The moment he saw me, he let out a cold snort and headed upstairs.

I followed behind him.

The second I entered the bedroom, I locked the door.

Our wedding photos sat on the desk facing the bed.

After ten years together, we barely had any photos as a couple.

Most of them only existed because I kept asking until he finally agreed to take one with me.

And after every shoot, he always added the same warning.

“Don’t post them online.”

Gabriel had never been romantic to begin with.

Whenever he gave me a gift, he just threw money at it.

He’d stuff three hundred grand in cash into some random box and call it an anniversary gift.

With me, he never seemed to have much patience—or any desire to put in real effort.

His laptop on the desk was still on. A message thread was open on the screen.

Lila: [Gabriel, it’s my birthday the day after tomorrow. Can you come watch a play with me?]

He’d replied almost instantly: [Sure.]

Almost without thinking, I clicked into his profile.

It required a password.

My trembling fingers entered Lila’s birthday. It opened.

That was when I realized—this was a private account he’d made just for her.

In his following list, there was only one person. Lila.

Their interactions stretched back nearly two years.

[Lila, look what I made for you.]

Attached was a photo. A hand-carved wooden figure.

It wasn’t especially delicate, but every detail showed care and devotion.

[Been working on this for weeks. Almost done.]

So that was why he had been avoiding me lately. He had been busy preparing Lila’s birthday present.

The words blurred before my eyes.

I had to grip the edge of the desk just to stay standing.

Still not ready to let go, I dug through every locked album and hidden account he had.

Thousands of photos. All of the same person. Lila.

Most were side profiles or blurry shots from behind.

Sometimes the hand holding the phone or half of Gabriel’s smiling face would appear in frame.

Every photo carried the secret feelings of a boy hopelessly in love.

Until the day Lila transferred away.

In his notes app, Gabriel had written a long message to her and saved screenshots of it in his gallery.

I read it word by word.

My tears hit the screen and split into scattered drops.

[I wish I could tell you in person that you’re the person I’ve loved most in my life.]

[Out of everyone in this world, you’re the only one I’d ever want beside me in every photo.]

[I really want to see you wearing a wedding dress someday.]

[Lila, I love you.]

Even after she moved overseas, he still saved every single photo she posted online. Not one was missing.

Then I saw the most recent picture. It wasn’t Lila. It was me.

There I was, standing in the sunlight in a wedding dress, smiling sweetly at Gabriel.

The caption read: [Lila, I think I finally saw what you’d look like in a wedding dress.]

I stared at those words, frozen.

It hurt so badly that I could barely breathe. The pain spread through my whole body and left me shaking.

What had I done to deserve this?

Was loving him my mistake? Or was staying beside him while he built his life from nothing the mistake?

I gave him the best years of my life. And what did I get in return?

Not a shred of genuine love. Instead, my whole life had turned into a joke.

I burst out of the bedroom and threw open the study door—the room he’d never let me enter.

I swept the books off the shelves violently, sending them crashing onto the floor.

Hidden behind the bookshelf were all the birthday gifts Gabriel had prepared for Lila—gifts he’d never had the chance to give her.

From age zero to twenty-eight. One gift for every single year.

Each was wrapped in an elegant gift box with a carefully tied ribbon.

Every box included a handwritten letter. How romantic.

I laughed and cried at the same time, stomping on the gifts like a madwoman.

And somewhere deep down, absurdly enough, I even felt jealous.

Gabriel had always seemed calm and distant. But there had once been someone who could completely shake him.

The study door swung open.

Gabriel walked in, panic flashing across his face for the first time.

He grabbed me tightly and pulled me away from the shattered glass scattered across the floor.

At that moment, I felt like the little mermaid who abandoned the sea for her prince.

Every step toward him had felt like walking on knives—bleeding, aching, enduring the unbearable.

“Gabriel… I can’t do this anymore… Let’s break up…”

Gabriel crouched down in silence, using tweezers to carefully remove the glass shards from my feet.

“Break up,” I repeated.

Still silent, he reached for the antiseptic and bandages.

I slapped him hard across the face.

The first aid kit crashed to the floor, the sharp sound shattering the silence between us.

Gabriel stayed quiet for a moment before finally speaking, “Do we really have to do this?”

“Break up.” My tone stayed firm.

“Audrey, can you stop acting childish?” He sounded like he was scolding an unreasonable child.

“We’ve been together ten years. The wedding’s all set.”

“And now, at the last minute, you want to call it off?”

“Come on, think about this seriously. You’re almost thirty. Do you really think starting over will be easy?”

I clenched the fabric of my clothes tightly.

“I can’t live with betrayal.”

Gabriel suddenly laughed. “Did I cheat on you?”

“Did you see me kiss her? Did you catch us sleeping together?”

“Emotional cheating is still cheating!” I grabbed his collar, my voice hoarse.

“Don’t stand there acting like you’ve done nothing wrong!”

“I’ll notify both families and cancel the wedding.”

The faint smirk at the corner of his lips slowly faded. Then it was gone.

Gabriel pulled out his phone and tossed it at me.

“Call them. All the numbers are in there. Your parents, my parents. Call whoever you want.”

“Let’s see what they say. Let’s see who, after ten years, really can’t afford to walk away—and who needs this wedding more.”

“Does love really matter that much?”

I called them one by one. Four phone calls later, every answer was exactly the same.

“Just compromise a little.”

“Audrey, you’re not getting any younger. It’s time to settle down.”

Gabriel leaned back against the sofa, unable to hide the smug look on his face.

“Either way, you’re still gonna be my wife.”

“Audrey, what more do you want?”

I bit the inside of my mouth until I tasted blood.

My gaze swept across the room filled with wedding decorations and celebration. It all looked painfully ironic.

This wasn’t happiness. It was a cage.

I picked up the bandages and treated my injured feet first.

Then I put my shoes back on, stood up, and went to the bedroom to pack my things.

Gabriel, meanwhile, remained completely unbothered.

“Running away from home, huh? Fine. Just make sure you’re back in time for the wedding.”

I stuffed my documents into my bag and didn’t waste another word on him.

I was leaving.

And this time, I was never coming back. No one was going to stop me.