Goodbye My First Love Chinese Drama

The world came back in a blur of twisting metal and the horrifying screech of tires. One moment, we were driving. The next, a truck had run the red light.

In the passenger seat, my head throbbing, I watched my boyfriend, Adrian, scramble to comfort his first love, Cassie, who was crying in the backseat. He didn't even glance back at me, his girlfriend of five years, as he helped her out of the wrecked car.

Paramedics arrived. Through the haze of pain, I watched Adrian hover over Cassie, refusing to leave her side for a second. It was like I wasn't even there anymore. He didn't remember my birthday, never knew my favorite food, and never cared that I was allergic to the flowers he bought for me, the same ones Cassie loved.

I had been a side character in their love story, a placeholder until the real star of his life returned. I had been obsessed with Adrian Payne, but it wasn't love; it was a sickness, a trauma bond I had mistaken for devotion.

Why did I do that? Why did I let him mold me into someone so submissive, so unlike myself? It felt like I was being controlled by some invisible force, a plot that wasn't my own.

The spell was broken. The obsession vanished. All that was left was a cold, empty feeling and a sudden, desperate longing for someone else: Kellen Campos, my childhood sweetheart, the boy I had left behind five years ago. I booked the first flight to New York.

Chapter 1

The world came back in a blur of twisting metal and the horrifying screech of tires. One moment, we were driving. The next, a truck had run the red light.

I was in the passenger seat, my head throbbing, a sharp pain in my arm. Adrian, in the driver's seat, was already moving. He looked at me, then his eyes flickered to the backseat.

To Cassie Tate. His first love.

She was crying, a small cut on her forehead.

"Ellery, are you okay?" Adrian asked, his voice tight.

Before I could answer, Cassie let out a sob. "Adrian... I'm scared."

His focus snapped away from me. It was like I wasn't even there anymore. He unbuckled his seatbelt, scrambled into the back, and gathered a whimpering Cassie into his arms.

"It's okay, Cassie. I'm here. I've got you," he murmured, his voice softer than I had ever heard it. He didn't even glance back at me, his girlfriend of five years, as he helped her out of the wrecked car.

Paramedics arrived. They put me on a stretcher. Through the haze of pain, I watched Adrian hover over Cassie, refusing to leave her side for a second.

And right there, with the smell of gasoline in the air and a blinding pain in my arm, I felt a strange sense of clarity. It was like a spell had been broken. For five years, I had been obsessed with Adrian Payne. I thought it was love.

It wasn't. It was a sickness, a trauma bond I had mistaken for devotion. He didn't love me. He never had. I was just a placeholder, a convenient stand-in until the real star of his life returned.

I was a side character in their love story.

The spell was broken. The obsession vanished. All that was left was a cold, empty feeling and a sudden, desperate longing for someone else.

Kellen Campos.

My childhood sweetheart. The boy I had left behind five years ago, right after I met Adrian.

As they wheeled me into the ambulance, I pulled out my phone with my good hand. My fingers flew across the screen.

I booked the first flight to New York.

"I need to go. Now," I told my assistant over the phone from my hospital bed a few hours later. My arm was in a cast, but the pain was nothing compared to the urgency I felt. "I don't care what it costs. Get me on that plane."

"Why now? What's the hurry?" she asked, confused.

"I have to find someone," I said, my voice shaking. "I have to get him back."

I hung up before she could ask more questions.

I was going to find Kellen.

I had to.

I remembered how I used to be before Adrian. Vibrant. Confident. The proud heiress to the Beard hotel empire. Then I met him, and I bent and broke parts of myself to fit into the tiny box he called "the perfect girlfriend."

Why did I do that? Why did I let him mold me into someone so submissive, so unlike myself? It felt like I was being controlled by some invisible force, a plot that wasn't my own.

And Kellen... he was the complete opposite.

He was my best friend. My first love. We grew up together.

He would indulge my every whim. He'd climb the tallest tree to get me a kite, wade into a freezing lake to retrieve my lost bracelet, and spend all night helping me with a project I' d procrastinated on.

He knew I hated ginger, so he'd pick it out of every dish for me. He knew I loved stargazing, so he built a small observatory on his roof just for us.

He had planned to confess to me on our high school graduation night. He' d told me later, his voice full of a pain I was too blind to understand at the time.

But that was the night I met Adrian Payne.