All Chapters of A Lie for Me, a Yacht for Him?: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

The call ended abruptly.I turned down the reckless driver's offer to give me a ride and slowly headed toward the rundown rental. Today marked my anniversary with Julia Rivers, and it was also her birthday. I was crossing the street with her gift in hand when a speeding sedan ran into me.I was rushed to the hospital and had to get 15 stitches. I didn't want to worry Julia or miss out on celebrating her birthday, so I turned down the doctor's suggestion to stay for observation.Before I even left the hospital, I got a photo from Tobias Atwood, Julia's childhood sweetheart. "Austin, thanks for the awesome gift from you and Lia. That yacht is impressive."I was frozen in place, feeling lightheaded and disoriented.Julia always played the part of the fragile, helpless maiden as if her family was weighing her down. How the heck did she manage to buy a yacht?I called her for answers and heard the sound of glasses clinking and people cheering from the other end.Julia was obviously

Chapter 2

Without a word, I pushed Julia away.She looked completely shocked. "You're actually shoving me now? Austin, have I been too nice to you or something?"Julia went ballistic, yanking at me and pounding my wound without holding back.I could feel the sharp pain stabbing through me again and again. My temples throbbed, and the dizziness from losing blood fogged my brain.Julia's yells slowly faded as I drifted out of consciousness. The last thing I heard from her was, "Austin, quit pretending!"When I finally woke up, it was already noon the next day. I was still lying on the cold ground, and Julia was gone.I got up, my head spinning, with blood-soaked clothes clinging to me. I gritted my teeth, ripped off the bloody clothes, and changed into something clean.My skin felt like it was on fire. I knew it was because my wound had reopened and gotten infected. I had to get to the hospital fast, but my head was dizzy, and even getting to my feet was a struggle.I managed to drag mysel

Chapter 3

The company Julia worked for was one of the top 500 in the city. She'd mentioned before that she landed an internship there and that things were only going to get better for us.Back then, I held her close and said, "Lia, I'm happy as long as I'm with you."I shook off those unwanted memories that suddenly popped up in my head and walked into the company. As expected, Julia's office was on the highest floor.I kept my face blank as I went along. The more extravagant the office looked, the more our past of relying on each other felt absurd.Julia wasn't in her office, but a photo of her with Tobias, her childhood sweetheart, was on her desk. They were hugging each other on the yacht I'd seen once and couldn't forget. Julia puckered her lips, ready to kiss Tobias on the cheek.My fingers froze up and started shaking on their own. Suddenly, it felt like all the noise just vanished, and all I could hear was my heart pounding. My blood was on fire, and it went straight to my head.I

Chapter 4

I stared at Julia, stunned. I never expected her to say something like that.She held onto me so hard, her nails sinking into my wound. I held my ground, eyes fixed on hers.Tobias played the helpless card again, acting all worried. "Lia, I've forgiven him. Please don't let this come between you two because of me!"Julia's anger flared up even more. "Austin, don't you feel any shame? You harmed Tobias so much, but he forgave and looked out for you! But you? You're just jealous of him and can't even bring yourself to apologize!"I suddenly felt drained the second I saw her face. "So what if I refuse to drink this? What are you going to do?"Julia's face went grim, and she replied coldly, "If you don't drink it, I'll find a way to make you!"She called Tobias over and kept me pinned in place. Then, she lifted the bottle and shoved it into my mouth. The wine kept flowing down my throat, some slipping into my nose.I choked and gasped for air, but Julia showed no sign of letting up.

Chapter 5

"No way! You're lying! There's no way Austin would've been in an accident! He was acting totally normal!" Julia shot back without thinking.Mark's frustration boiled over, and he slapped the diagnosis report against her shoulder. "Stop playing dumb! Can't you read this? He's clearly sick. Are you blind, or is Tobias the only person you see?""I have no idea. I honestly don't know. He never told me anything about this…" Julia's voice trailed off. She looked at me and added regretfully, "I was still mad at him. He didn't bother to make it right or talk things out. How was I supposed to know?"Mark gritted his teeth in frustration. He probably would've slapped her if they weren't in the hospital. "You're mad at him? Seriously? You bought into every lie Tobias fed you! Austin's just someone who works his ass off to get by—how could he have set Tobias up?"Tobias claimed someone reported his company, and you instantly jumped to the conclusion it was Austin. But Austin doesn't even know

Chapter 6

"Please don't end things with me!" Julia pleaded. "I've known Tobias for ages, but we've never been anything but friends. Otherwise, I wouldn't have started dating you!"I didn't budge and stared at her with an icy look. "Really? So, you feel nothing for him, yet you've done everything for him?"I was just questioning her, but her eyes suddenly lit up."You're jealous, aren't you? You still care about me. I know you do! Don't worry. I'll cut things off with him right away. Once you're out of the hospital, we'll be together, just the two of us!"It felt like I was talking to a wall. Julia just wouldn't listen. Instead of getting into it further, I pulled the blanket up and turned away, making it clear I was done talking.Mark got the hint and showed Julia the door again.Then, he turned to me, clearly fed up. "You see who she really is, so just leave her already! If you keep sticking with her, you won't even know what took you out in the end! Then again… I don't think she's the ty

Chapter 7

Julia saw me looking at her phone and quickly hung up.A heavy silence settled in the car.After what felt like forever, Julia tried to start a conversation. "Mark looks super tight with you! He wouldn't even let me through the door when I came by! I've been trying to make you some chicken noodle soup recently. I'm not sure if it's good. You can try it when we get back."Back when Julia and I were together, I was always the one trying to keep the conversation going. She'd respond like she couldn't care less, but I didn't mind. I used to be happy just talking to her.But now, watching her try so hard to find something to say feels like a cruel twist.I cut to the chase. "You didn't really have to hang up on him."Julia's lips twitched nervously. "Austin, that's not what I meant—"I cut her short. "We're already done. If you want to be with him, then go for it. I don't care."I kept my gaze on the scenery outside and didn't bother looking at her again. The rest of the ride was si

Chapter 8

Julia froze. Those were the words she'd thrown my way. Her face drained of color, and she stared at me, completely lost.I turned and headed into the bedroom, locking the door behind me. It had been a mess the last time I collapsed here. Julia cleaned it up, but it still felt dirty to me.The next morning, Julia headed out early for work. She'd made chicken noodle soup for me and left it in the kitchen. I reached for it and felt that the lid was still warm.I used to do the same for her, making sure she always had a hot meal whenever she came into the kitchen. But now, I couldn't help but find what she did ridiculous.I dumped the soup, quit my job, sold the apartment, and used the money to buy a plane ticket to another city.I had no connections here and stuck around only because of Julia. Now, everything about this city turned my stomach.I finally reached my destination by the afternoon. Waking up from a nap, I saw dozens of missed calls on my phone. I didn't bother returning

Chapter 9

I turned Julia away again, and she left looking defeated.Mark called me a week later. He was laughing so hard on the other end. "You have no idea how pathetic Tobias is! After Julia cut him off, he wouldn't leave her alone—he even went to her office building and hung up a banner that said, 'Lia, forgive me!'"I felt sick just imagining that scene. "Didn't they truly love each other? How could Julia stand by and watch him make a fool of himself like this?"Mark scoffed. "Love, my ass! Didn't you see? Tobias sent a truckload of roses, but Julia didn't even look at them. She chucked a lighter onto the flowers, and before they knew it, they got reported for arson and called into the station!"I laughed from the heart, their antics just cracked me up. Nothing they did would bother me anymore.But Julia wasn't giving up. She showed up again a week later. She had sunglasses and heavy makeup, but it didn't mask how drained she was."Austin, I miss you so much," she said, tears streaming

Chapter 10

Julia went home that night and left me alone after that.Meanwhile, Tobias started posting about his daily life with her again on Instagram."Lia got me this villa. She really cares about me!""I'm going on a trip to Ravensville with Lia. She's being super clingy!""I'm marrying Lia. We'd love for everyone to join us at our engagement ceremony!"I didn't block him, and I wasn't really checking his posts. I'd smile whenever I came across his posts bragging about his relationship with Julia.I knew what Julia was like, and Tobias would only end up in a worse place than I did. I didn't block him because I was just waiting for that day.That day came sooner than I thought. Not even six months had passed before Mark called to tell me Julia and Tobias had broken up.She dumped him after she learned his company had been bankrupt for ages. He was putting all his daily expenses on her card.Julia had a huge argument with him and even brought me up. "You're nothing compared to Austin! H

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