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Maddie gave a resigned laugh, the weight of her emotions pulling at her as she met Rico’s gaze. “Rico, true love should feel like freedom. It’s when you‘ re with someone and yet, you don’t lose yourself. But with you, it’s the opposite. You want to lock me in a cage, to keep me all to yourself. Every time someone finds out about us, the first thing they think is that I’m not good enough for you. But… am I really that bad? If I were, would you have fallen for me in the first place?”
Rico stood still, unable to find the right words. His eyes were filled with the raw pain of self–awareness, but his mouth hung open in silence. He wanted to say
something–anything–to convince her, to make her stay. But how could he? He had spent so long clinging to her, suffocating her with his insecurities, that now, when it was too late, he saw the consequences of his selfishness.
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He had always convinced himself that Maddie needed him, that she loved him so deeply that she would never leave. But the truth was, it wasn‘ t Maddie who was
clinging to him–it was him who couldn‘ t bear the thought of losing her. He had built walls around their relationship, trying to keep her close, without ever considering her needs, her dreams, or her freedom.
“Do you love me, or do you just want to possess me?” Maddie asked softly, almost to herself. She shook her head, a quiet resolve settling over her. “Rico… go away. Don’t force me to completely tear my face off with you.”
Her words were final and there was nothing more to say. She turned and
walked away, leaving him standing in the silence of his own guilt.
***
As for Jane, her fall from grace was swift and devastating. The once–promising starlet, whose career had been carefully
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cultivated by her agency, was now under fire. The revelation of her involvement in the scandal–spreading online hatred toward Maddie and bullying her for years- was only the beginning. The fallout from her actions was catastrophic for both her and the company.
Not only had her reputation been shattered, but her association with numerous endorsed products meant the company faced severe financial losses. Jane found herself facing a staggering sum of compensation claims. But it didn’t end there–her financial troubles were compounded by the company’s decision to terminate her contract.
Furious and desperate, she turned to the one person she thought could help her: Rico. However, he was no longer interested in supporting her. He had severed all ties. with her, realizing too late how toxic their relationship had been.
Jane, humiliated and frantic, made her way
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to his house. There, she tried to plead with him for financial help, but Rico only mocked her. He no longer had any pity for her–his heart had long since hardened.
That was the breaking point for Jane. In a fit of rage, she drove her car to his neighborhood, waiting for hours until she saw him leaving his building. Without thinking, she slammed her foot on the accelerator, running him down and shattering his leg in the process.
The news of the attack spread like wildfire and both Jane and Rico hit the trending charts for all the wrong reasons. However, this time, there was no sympathy for either of them. Jane was now facing criminal charges and the possibility of years in prison for her reckless actions. As for Rico, the physical damage to his leg meant that he would forever rely on a wheelchair or
crutches for the rest of his life.
Amid all of this chaos, another piece of news emerged–Maddie and Andrew
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engagement. Once an overlooked orphan, Maddie had blossomed into a confident
and graceful woman. She was now an unattainable ideal, a far cry from the insecure girl Rico once knew.
It wasn’t until the day of the engagement party, after the whirlwind of celebrations. had settled down, that Maddiesaw the news about Rico’s injury. Despite everything that had happened, her heart couldn’t ignore the years he had spent raising her, taking care of her when she had nothing. It was that history, that bond, that stopped. her from turning a blind eye to his
suffering.
She hired a caregiver to take care of him, ensuring that Rico had the help he needed. during his recovery. She even paid for the caregiver’s salary herself. But that was where her involvement ended–she had
moved on with her life and Rico had to
learn to move on with his own.
火
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Months passed and Rico, now fully
recovered, returned to his home after hist rehabilitation. The once vibrant space now felt hollow, empty. He had thought the house was his home when Maddie lived.
there, but he had been wrong. A house was just walls and furniture–it wasn’t home without the person who made it warm.
As Rico surveyed the sterile, quiet place, memories flooded him. The laughter, the shared meals, the moments of tenderness -they were all gone. The house, no matter how grand, was just a place to sleep without Maddie.
With a heavy heart, he took out the photos Maddie had once taken for him, pictures of their life together. He began to restore the house, painstakingly replicating every detail–the bed covers, the dolls, the green carpet, the little yellow duck cushion that had always sat on the couch. He spent months trying to recreate the space as it had been when she was there, but no
matter how hard he tried, it never felt
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right.
The warmth was missing. It was like trying to bring the sun back by only gathering the rays that had once shone. The house remained cold and no amount of effort
could change that.
He missed her. More than he had ever missed anything in his life. The feeling gnawed at him, a deep ache that no material possession could fill. He had always thought that love was about possession, about holding on tight, about controlling the relationship. But now, after everything that had happened, he understood the painful truth.
Love wasn’t about keeping someone trapped–it was about letting them be free. And he had failed her in the worst way.
In a desperate attempt to fill the void, Rico. printed out every photo of Maddiehe could find online, covering his bedroom walls. with them. Yet, no matter how many images of her surrounded him, the
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emptiness never disappeared.
She was gone. And the house, no matter how much he tried to fill it with her image, could never bring back what he had lost.
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