Love Faded in the Wind

Seeing how nervous the maid was, Stacy peered through the window and saw the two black-clad bodyguards steady outside.

She knew right then that Martin was keeping her grounded at home so that she wouldn't find out.

But there was no secret that could be hidden forever—even if she wasn't aware now, she would still notice eventually.

Laughing coolly, she didn't press the issue and said, "Alright. I'll go upstairs for a nap. Don't wake me unless it's important."

When she returned to her room, she packed up whatever she had left into her suitcase, and pulled out the gift box she bought, putting inside the ring and the bracelet along with a note: Congratulations on your wedding.

Then, tearing the bed sheets into slits and tying each together into a rope, she climbed down the second floor.

Martin couldn't keep her locked up, because she had never been a caged bird.

Once out of the villa, she threw away her old SIM card and inserted the new one.

Going to the company that helped her burn her accounts, she bought a plane ticket using her new identity.

Just as she was about to take a taxi to the airport, she heard someone exclaim, "Look! That's so romantic!"

She turned to see that the big screen in the middle of a square was broadcasting live from Martin's wedding.

It was so grand it really deserved to be called the wedding of the century, with Martin and Rachel looking like they were a match made in heaven as they stood together.

The people nearby were all impressed.

"It's so divine. The groom and the bride really deserve each other!"

"Yeah, and I heard the groom paid a king's ransom for the bride's wedding gift. It's as if she's a real-life princess… I'm so jealous!"

Meanwhile, the ceremony moved on to the exchanging of rings—Martin had taken off his usual ring, and hid any traces with some makeup powder.

As it was time to kiss the bride, Stacy lowered her head as her neck was sore from craning it, while lowering her baseball cap to hide her face.

Hearing the roar of approval, Martin's wedding was over, but the bride wasn't her.

Smiling self-deprecatingly, Stacy wiped away the single tear she had shed unknowingly and took a cab to the airport.

She was at the airport lobby checking the time when her phone jingled with a notification of an exclusive headline.

She tapped on it for some reason, and found her own name mentioned between Martin and Rachel, with herself being accused of being the woman who had seduced Martin and sabotaged their relationship.

So in the end, it happened—she was the other woman, subjected to public condemnation.

"How could she be so shameless?!"

"My gosh, some village bumpkin seducing the son of the Spencer family? Look in the mirror first, for goodness' sake!"

The audible harshness around her left Stacy feeling like her soul had left her, even if she knew they wouldn't recognize her.

She wasn't going to argue either, as Stacy Lynd would cease to exist after today, and she would be freed from the past.

Still, as she headed to the terminal thirty minutes before her flight, she overheard someone gasping, "Wait, the groom ran away?"

"Why? Why would he leave his bride at the altar?"

However, Stacy never stopped, determined as she kept going towards the terminal.

And when her flight finally lifted off, she had truly left everything behind to start a new life.