Chapter 1 1. Brokenhearted

"Let's break up,"

"What? W-what do you mean?" Grace stammered. A cold sweat started rolling down her back.

"I want to end this relationship," Victor said.

"B-but we've only been dating for two months. Why do you want to break up? What did I do wrong?" The girl asked, almost crying.

"I realized that I've been feeling uncomfortable with you." The boy with thin lips let out a long sigh. "I don't know about you, but I really want to break up. Please don't bother me anymore. Live well. Goodbye,"

Grace was stunned as she watched Victor walk away, leaving her alone in the cafe near their campus. Victor Sbastian; her first love, whom she had a crush on for six years - since high school.

Tears trickled down Grace's cheeks. Her chest felt tight, as if she were drowning in the deepest sea on earth. She cried alone, like a stupid girl.

Arriving home, Grace was pensive in her room. It was raining heavily outside, just to add more gloom to the atmosphere.

Suddenly, a notification sound came out of her phone. Grace opened it and found a new message in her chat group consisting of her and her two best friends, Bella and Sarah.

'Grace! This is awful! Did you know that the asshole Victor has been fooling you all this time?!' - Bella.

*Bella sent a screenshot of the chat group between Victor and his male friends:

---

'I've just broken up with her.' -Victor.

'Wow, wow... Are you serious? Then, how did she react?' -James.

'Of course she cried; what else? Haha! All my assignments are finished. Why would I waste any more time with her?' -Victor.

'You're so mean, Vic! HAHA! Then, have you slept with her?' -James.

'Nope. She has been playing bitch with me; keeping her stupid prestige or something. On top of that, I don't want to sleep with an ugly like her either. She made me want to puke just by seeing her face.' -Victor.

'Ha ha ha! You are a real jerk, man! I will learn from you more often. HA HA HA!' -James.

---

'Don't mind that bastard, Grace. If you feel unwell, you don't have to come to campus tomorrow. I will take care of your absence.' -Sarah

'I'm fine, girls. Thank you for cheering me up. But I think it's true; I won't come tomorrow. I need some time alone.' -Grace.

'Sure, Grace. Calm yourself. If you need anything, don't hold yourself to calling me,' -Sarah.

'I won't! Thanks, girls!' -Grace.

---

"Ugh!!" Throwing her face on the pillow, Grace cried even more.

"Why am I so stupid...?" She said.

Grace Menken was a twenty-year-old art student at Torbern City's largest university. She was a skilled painter but also the top fool for love.

Since high school, Grace had liked Victor, a popular, good-looking guy in her class. Even though Victor was rumored to be a playboy, she always closed her eyes and ears.

During that time, Grace had always been kind and helped Victor sincerely out of her feelings of love. Victor, who realized from the start that she had a crush on him, deliberately took advantage of her. He often asked her to help him with assignments and other things.

After graduating from high school, many of the students in Grace's school entered the same university, including her two best friends and, of course, Victor.

As time passed, Grace had transformed into being a little good-looking, and Victor realized that. However, both Grace and Victor had a lot of assignments, so Grace began to look away from Victor.

That was when the man got the idea to date Grace so he could use her again. And like a fool, the innocent Grace fell into Victor's trap without hesitancy.

And this is it ... A girl was wailing in her room, accompanied by the roar of lightning striking outside the window. Not only Victor, but she always got the same treatment from other men. They only dated her to take advantage of her kindness, then ended up cheating and dumping her.

Grace's face was swollen and pale. She didn't mean to be this weak and stupid. But she was a lonely girl since she lost both of her parents when she was little. She survived on the savings and insurance they had prepared for her. But two years ago, her grandmother died, so she now had to live alone.

The more Grace pondered, the more she lost herself in her sorrow. This was a situation when the devil would take action. A thought came to Grace's mind.

"There's no point in me living in this world anymore. I'm worthless and all alone," She muttered.

She looked at her pathetic reflection in the mirror. "Maybe in the next life, I will be happier."

***

Morning dawned. The remnants of last night's rainstorm made the roads wet and the air cold. Grace didn't sleep all night. Now she looked like a mummy who had been resurrected by magic.

The throbbing pain was still clearly felt in Grace's chest. Her heart was completely broken, and her pride was tarnished.

"The most uncomfortable thing is when you realize all your stupidity and regret it," Grace muttered to herself.

She opened the wardrobe and took out her favorite sky blue mini dress. Then she went to the bathroom and washed her face before perching in front of the dressing table to dress up.

After that, she went to the warehouse and took a two-meter-long rope.

'I don't have anything left. Maybe I will feel a little pain, but then I will wake up to a different life. Thank you, Sarah and Bella, my best friends. If it wasn't for you both, maybe I would have chosen to leave a long time ago. But now, there is nothing I can fight for anymore. Goodbye, girls. Don't cry over me. - Grace'

The girl put her last message on the refrigerator door. She didn't want to cry because she was afraid of ruining her makeup. She wanted to die beautifully.

It was still early in the morning, and Grace drove her white car to a place quite far from her apartment. Near the beach, there was an abandoned mansion. Previously, the mansion was occupied by an old husband-and-wife couple until they died without heirs. The mansion ended up just sitting there until it was slowly damaged by time.

The rumor said the mansion was haunted and the couple were actually witches. Some said they performed demonic rituals there. Because of that, no one dared to enter the mansion.

However, Grace was not afraid of ghosts because the reality of life was scarier than ghosts. For Grace, her life was the scariest horror show that always made her have trouble sleeping and have nightmares.

All this time, Grace thought the mansion was lovely. Its location close to a quiet beach made it look peaceful. Therefore, she chose it to witness her leaving this mortal world.

Grace parked her car in front of the mansion. Then she stepped in with a rope in her hand and a broken heart.