Chapter 3

“Yup, they just left.”

“What about Celeste? They’ve been together five years. I heard he was gonna introduce her to his parents next week.”

A tight pang gripped my heart.

Donovan had indeed brought this up a few days ago.

He had planned to bring me home soon to discuss our engagement.

That was precisely why I had been so confident, believing tonight’s game was the opportunity he was handing me.

Yet reality proved otherwise.

It was all wishful thinking on my part.

My mouth twitched into a self-deprecating smile.

Lily updated her Twitter just then.

“Huge thanks to a certain someone for accompanying me up the mountain in the middle of the night to watch the sunrise. Another item added to my ‘I Have, Have You’ checklist.”

I knew she had posted it specifically for my viewing pleasure.

Since Donovan and I officially got together, this scenario had played out far too many times.

The only difference was that before tonight, it would bother me to no end.

Tonight though, I just could not care less.

Once Donovan return from his sunrise-watching trip, we would be breaking up.

The next morning, I slept in until ten.

By the time I got out of bed, Donovan was already back.

Some donuts sat on the table while he leaned back against the sofa, selecting photos to post on his feed.

Seeing me come out, he didn’t even bother looking up.

“Got you breakfast.”

I cast a quick glance at them.

Chopped nuts topping, Lily’s favorite.

I didn’t much care for them.

With a bitter chuckle, I walked straight to the bathroom to wash up.

Noticing I hadn’t touched the breakfast, he finally lifted his head.

His brows knitted together, then he walked over and wrapped his arms around me from behind.

“Still mad about last night?”

He was always like this.

Every time I was on the verge of giving up, he would hand over some affection.

And I, without fail, would yield to that little amount of affection without a second thought.

But this time, I was truly exhausted.

I broke free from his embrace and proceeded to wash my face.

I didn’t utter a single word through it all.

Donovan’s expression darkened.

“Come on, you’re being unreasonable now.”

My hand holding the face towel paused.

He went on:

“You agreed to play—a deal is a deal.

“Lily won, so I went to watch sunrise with her. But I got you breakfast, didn’t I?

“What else do you want?”

“Yesterday was our anniversary,” I said softly.

Donovan’s face shifted subtly, his eyes dropping.

“There’s still next year, and many after.”

I smiled, choking back bitterness.

“You watched the first snowfall with her?”

“That was freshman year. We weren’t together back then.”

“And you gave her a hand-knitted scarf?”

“It was a trend back then, and she insisted on having one…”

“The tattoo on your wrist is her initials.

“Your passenger seat is permanently adjusted to fit her height.

“You came with her to try on wedding dresses.”

By the time I reached the final sentence, my voice was remarkably steady—so steady it surprised even me.

Donovan fell completely silent.

After a long pause, he finally forced out a sentence:

“Are those really so important?”

My heart shuddered. I turned to look him straight in the eyes.

I stared until my vision grew blurry, then let out a gentle, quiet laugh.

“No, not at all.”

Once we broke up, none of it would matter anymore.

For the entire day, I didn’t engage in any arguments with Donovan.

Not because I couldn’t, but because there was simply no point.

However, there were certain things I needed to say.

Not just to Donovan alone, but to let everyone know.

It wasn’t that I couldn’t afford to lose—I was simply done playing their game.

That evening, I pitched the same game over again.

It was the same crowd as the night before.

Both Lily and Donovan were there.

Upon hearing that I was the one who had gathered everyone, Lily let out a sneer.

“Already forgot how you lost yesterday?

“What do you have planned for today? If you lose again, would you let Donovan take me to meet his parents next week instead?

“Or is that too much to lose?”

Everyone exchanged looks, no one daring to chime in.

Donovan frowned, stepping in to stop her.