He Wanted to Save the World, So I Saved Myself

When Liam got ready to spend another night at Chloe's place, I couldn't take it anymore. I rushed forward, spreading my arms to block the front door. "Liam." I looked up at him, my voice trembling. "Are you her boyfriend, or mine?" The eyes that used to look at me with nothing but warmth were now filled with cold detachment. "Elena, I'm just trying to be a white knight for someone who's hurting. Can't you be a little more open-minded?" I froze, listening to him continue. "A man is always a boy at heart. I'm just living out my childhood dream of being a hero. You should be supporting me." "Elena, don't be so selfish. I can't be your personal savior forever." Right. His savior complex was distributed equally to anyone in the world who needed help. Back in high school, Whenever someone was bullied, he was always the first to jump in. If someone couldn't afford lunch, he would share his allowance with them. Even when my father beat me black and blue and left me shivering in the alley, Liam was the one who found me and gently wiped away my blood. I couldn't go back to that abusive household. So, he took me in. We relied on each other. We healed each other. But when the rumors of my assault spread at school, people started victim-blaming me, calling me damaged goods. It was Liam who held me and whispered, "Elena, they are the ones who are wrong, not you. To me, you are an angel." But the very thing that made me love him was now tearing me apart. I had fallen for him because he was a hero. And now, I was losing my mind because he wanted to play hero for someone else. Pulling myself back to reality, I grabbed his sleeve tightly, begging him. "Liam, please don't go..." I stared into his eyes, desperately searching for a single shred of warmth or pity. There was nothing. He gently but firmly pried my hand off his sleeve. His words were brutally cold. "I have to. Chloe is sick. If I don't go look after her, something terrible might happen." Tears instantly blurred my vision. I choked out, "But I'm sick too." "Liam, my father said he's coming for me. I'm terrified..." Liam let out an annoyed sigh. "I told you, the security in this building is top-notch. He can't get in." Realizing he sounded too harsh, He softened his tone, patting my shoulder gently. "Elena, stop wrapping your whole identity around being a victim." "Chloe took some psychology classes. She told me that the more I coddle you, the more you'll think you're broken. It's time you learned to handle your own emotions."

My heart went completely numb. I didn't have the strength to block him anymore. Slowly, my arms fell to my sides. A smile finally broke across his face. He nodded in approval. "That's my girl. That's the supportive girlfriend I know." "I'll bring you some pastries when I get back tomorrow morning." With that, He left without a second thought. The door clicked shut. Leaving me in the suffocating, pitch-black silence of the apartment. I felt like I was back in that dark, cold alley years ago. All the traumatic memories rushed back like a tidal wave. Anxiety crawled through my veins. Right then, There was a sudden, violent pounding on the door. Thud! Thud! Thud! I crept up and looked through the peephole. I was met with the menacing, drunken glare of a man. "Open the damn door, you little brat! Your father already sold you to me to pay off his debts! You're going to be mine sooner or later!" "Just you wait!" The terror of past abuse suffocated me. My body went cold, and my hand instinctively flew to my phone to call Liam. But his words echoed in my head, over and over. "You need to learn to be independent. You can't rely on me for everything." Slowly, I lowered my phone. I bit my lip so hard it bled, refusing to make a single sound. I didn't sleep a wink that night. As the morning light crept through the blinds, I dragged my exhausted body into the living room, trying to pour a glass of water to soothe the tightening in my chest. But the moment I looked up, I froze. There was a strange woman sitting on my couch. She wore a cute white skirt and had a bright, radiant smile. She stood up and greeted me warmly. "Hi, I'm Chloe Miller, Liam's secretary." So this was the Chloe he was always talking about. The one who constantly needed his protection. Before I could even process this, Liam walked out of our master bedroom, speaking in a casual, matter-of-fact tone. "Chloe is going to live with us from now on. It's closer to the office, so her commute will be easier." Years ago, He had brought a battered, broken version of me to this exact apartment for the exact same reason. Back then, this place was my only sanctuary. We lived together, fell into a routine, and eventually fell in love. But now, he was bringing another woman into our home using the same excuse. How was I supposed to feel okay with this? Seeing my eyes well up with tears, Liam quickly brought a pastry to my mouth, trying to feed me. "Don't be silly, are you seriously jealous of my employee?" "Trust me, you're the only one I love." He raised three fingers, swearing to God. But his vow felt so cheap, so utterly meaningless. "Elena, I heard you struggle with depression," Chloe said, putting on a show of deep concern. "But don't worry, I studied psychology. Liam and I will help you heal." Her eyes, however, were dripping with pure provocation. After she moved in, Everything changed. The cabinet that used to be mine, Was now stuffed with her dresses and skincare products. My antidepressants were pushed into a dusty corner, barely having any space left. To "cure" me, The two of them put all the knives back in the kitchen drawers right in front of me. They even unlocked all the safety latches on the balcony windows. "Chloe said that locking you away only makes you feel more insane." "Elena, start living like a normal person. You can do this." Nighttime was even worse. In the past, even a soft sigh from me would wake Liam up to comfort me. Now, when I woke up screaming from nightmares, covered in cold sweat, He didn't even flinch. He wouldn't even look at me. "Chloe said you need to face your fears. Running away won't solve anything." But after a month of this "treatment," My condition only got worse.

Chloe stood by my hospital bed, biting her lip as she apologized. "I'm so sorry, Elena. I didn't mean to make your condition worse. But I promise, I will cure you." I let out a bitter, mocking laugh. "Cure me? Where is your medical license, Chloe?" She stiffened, clearly not expecting me to be so blunt. Immediately, she put on a perfect display of hurt and vulnerability. "Elena, if you hate me that much, I'll just leave." Liam instinctively stepped in front of Chloe, shielding her from my gaze. That protective gesture stabbed me right in the chest. "Elena, Chloe is only trying to help you. Why do you have to be so toxic?" "Why are you always so ungrateful?" He got more and more worked up. Until finally, he said the words that completely shattered my heart. "No wonder nobody likes you. No wonder your mother chose death just to get away from you!" My mother's departure wasn't a sudden rainstorm. It was a lifelong dampness in my soul. When my father beat me, my mother took the knife for me. Before she took her last breath, she told me, "Living is too painful. This time, I'm leaving, even if it means dying." I had shown my deepest, bleeding scar to Liam. And now, he was using it to tear me apart in front of another woman. I thought I would cry, but when I touched my chest, it felt completely empty. Just cold, hollow air. I guess when your heart gets cold enough, it stops feeling the pain. "Liam, you're right. So, why don't you leave me too?" I forced a broken smile, Desperate to sever ties with him once and for all. A flash of panic crossed Liam's face. "Elena, I didn't mean it like that." He tried to explain, but Chloe stopped him. "Liam, she's too unstable right now. She won't listen to anything you say. Let's give her some space to calm down." Liam hesitated, then nodded. He tucked my blanket in and walked out with Chloe. Once he walked out that door, He didn't come back. It wasn't until the next morning that they returned to handle my discharge papers. Looking at my pale face, Chloe smiled playfully, like she was holding a secret. "Elena, guess what Liam and I did for you yesterday." My face remained blank. "I don't care, and I don't want to know." Her smile faltered for a second, But she quickly recovered, pulling a giant plush bear from her bag. Her face was smug. "Look at this! Isn't it cute? I know it's your favorite." "There was a couples' challenge at the mall yesterday. We had to kiss for a whole hour to win this for you! Our lips were practically bleeding, but we did it!" "See? Liam and I really care about you." In all the years I had been with Liam, We had never done anything that intimate. He had always told me, "The highest form of love is respect. I'm afraid to touch you too much because I don't want to lose control and hurt you..." Yet, He could passionately kiss another woman for an hour just for some game. A wave of intense nausea hit my stomach. I grabbed the plush bear and threw it straight into the trash can, then gave Liam a cold stare. "I have a boundary when it comes to hygiene. I don't want secondhand garbage." Liam's face flushed red with anger. "Elena! Are you cured now? Since when did you learn to be so malicious?" "Chloe and I did this just to make you happy! Why do you have to be so petty about how we got the bear?" I smiled bitterly. "But I'm not happy at all." "Liam, let's break up. I'm going back to pack my things." Before Liam could even react, I had already hopped into a cab and driven away.

Returning to the apartment, I was overwhelmed with emotion. This place used to be my safe haven. But now, the storm inside was too violent, and there was no room left for me. Just as I finished packing my bags, Liam and Chloe rushed through the door. Liam cornered me against the wall, his eyes bloodshot as he begged me not to leave. "Elena, we love each other so much. Why are you doing this over a silly argument?" "If you don't want me protecting other people, I won't. I'll be your hero, and yours alone." "It's too late tonight. Tomorrow, I promise, I'll make Chloe move out. Okay?" Right. We used to love each other so much. A love where we would have given our lives for one another... Memories of his grand gestures flashed through my mind. Once, when I said I wanted pastries from Paris, he hired a private charter jet to fly them in overnight. On my birthday, He rented out an entire amusement park just to put on a private firework show for me. And when my father attacked me, he threw himself in front of the blade, getting stabbed twice just to get me to the hospital safely... But no matter how beautiful the past was, when it's time to let go, you have to let go. If you keep trying to fish for a fallen sword in a flowing river, you only torture yourself. But Liam was stubborn. To calm him down, I decided to play along and agreed to stay. I would leave secretly in the morning. "Okay, I'll give you one last chance." Liam let out a sigh of relief, wrapping his arms around me tightly. "Get some sleep. I promise you won't see a third person in this house tomorrow." That night, My insomnia returned. In the dead of night, I suddenly felt a chill on my back. I opened my eyes, and my heart stopped. Standing by the window was the man I feared most in this world. My father. He had climbed up the balcony and broken into my room. He crept toward me, his eyes filled with greed. "Found you at last, you useless brat!" "Give me the money right now, or I'm selling you to that old man down the street." The paralyzing fear of my childhood threatened to choke me. But this time, I refused to be his victim. I clenched my fists. I lunged forward and bit his wrist as hard as I could. My teeth sank deep into his flesh, and the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth. He screamed in agony and shoved me away violently. I crashed heavily onto the floor. My arm swept across the bedside table, knocking over the burning scented candle. The flame caught the sheer curtains instantly. Within seconds, the fire climbed up the fabric, roaring into a blaze. Panicked, my father didn't care about the money anymore. He scrambled back out the window to save his own skin. By the time the smoke seeped through the door into the hallway, Liam and Chloe finally realized something was wrong. Chloe was choked by the smoke and fainted, collapsing right into Liam's arms. Liam looked at me, trapped in the middle of the raging fire, a look of sheer conflict on his face. "Elena, this is between you and your father! I can't let Chloe get hurt!" "I have to get her to safety first. I'll come back for you!" "You know fire safety! Try to get out on your own, I'll be right back!" The thick, hot smoke stung my eyes, but I just laughed softly. Since nobody cared if I lived or died, I would save myself. Maybe Liam was right. I couldn't wait for someone else to carry an umbrella for me. I had to walk through the rain myself. In that moment, I realized that the heart that chose me first had been beating inside my own chest all along. I stopped looking toward Liam. Instead, I turned toward the open balcony. Below the balcony was a rushing river. My only chance at survival. I wiped the tears from my face, and without a single shred of hesitation, I jumped straight into the dark water.