Chapter 1: The Kiss That Broke Everything

Emily’s POV

My laughter died the second I pushed open the café door.

There he was, Lucas, my boyfriend of thirteen months with another girl on his lap, kissing her like he was starving.

His hands gripped her waist exactly the way they used to grip mine. Her long chestnut hair spilled over his shoulder as she leaned into him, completely lost in the kiss.

The small wrapped canvas slipped from my fingers and crashed onto the wooden floor. The sound cracked through the café like a gunshot.

Lucas jerked back. The same hazel eyes I’d stared into a thousand times flew to mine in pure panic.

“Emily —” His voice cracked. “It’s not —”

I didn’t wait for the lie.

I turned and ran.

Cold air slapped my face as I burst outside. Tears blurred everything, the brick paths, the fountain, the students laughing like my world hadn’t just shattered. I kept running until my lungs screamed, until I couldn’t hear the café bell ringing behind me anymore.

How could he?

I stopped under the big oak tree beside the arts building, bent over with my hands on my knees, gasping. The painting I’d spent three nights perfecting, our first date at the botanical garden, every tiny detail down to the coffee stain on his shirt was still lying on that café floor.

My phone started exploding with calls.

I answered the fourth one without thinking.

“Emily, baby, please listen —”

“Don’t call me baby,” I choked out. “I saw you, Lucas. I saw everything.”

“It’s not what it looks like! She’s —”

I hung up and turned my phone off. Then I sank onto the stone bench and finally let the tears fall.

Ugly, shaking sobs tore out of me. I hugged my knees tight, trying to hold myself together, but it felt like everything was spilling out. Thirteen months of memories, late-night talks, his laugh when I showed him my paintings, the way he’d kiss my forehead after I had a bad critique, all of it poisoned in a single second.

Why wasn’t I enough?

Footsteps pounded toward me. I didn’t look up until a familiar vanilla scent wrapped around me and warm arms pulled me close.

“Em…” Kara’s voice was soft but tight with anger. “What happened?”

I pressed my face into her shoulder, soaking her sweater with tears. “He was kissing her. Right there in the café. In our spot.”

Then she cursed under her breath. “That lying piece of shit.”

“I had a painting for him,” I whispered. “I spent all night finishing it. I walked in smiling like an idiot and… and he had her on his lap.”

Kara rubbed my back in slow circles, the way she always did when I was falling apart. “Did he see you?”

I nodded. “He tried to explain. I ran.”

“Good. Let him choke on his excuses.” She pulled back and brushed my wet hair from my face. Her eyes were fierce. “You’re too good for him, Em. You always were.”

“I thought he loved me,” I said, voice cracking. “He told me I was his favorite person. He said —”

“I know what he said.” Kara’s jaw clenched. “And right now it feels like your heart is being ripped out. But you’re not going to sit here and cry alone until you disappear.”

I wiped my eyes with shaky hands. “I just want to go back to the dorm and sleep.”

“Nope.” She stood up and tugged me to my feet. “We’re going out tonight.”

“Kara…”

“Icebreaker. Ladies’ night. Cheap drinks, loud music, and zero room for thinking about that asshole.” She linked her arm through mine and started walking, practically dragging me along.

“You’re going to wear that tight black dress I got you, the one that makes boys trip over their own feet, and we’re going to dance until your legs hurt.”

I tried to pull away, but she held on tighter. “What if I just cry the whole time?”

“Then you cry,” she said with a small smile. “But at least you’ll look hot doing it. And I’ll be right beside you, ordering shots and cursing his name between every song.”

A tiny, broken laugh slipped out of me. Only Kara could make me laugh when I felt this destroyed.

We walked slowly across campus as the sky turned orange and pink. The same colors I loved painting. Now they just reminded me of the ruined canvas I’d left behind.

“I really thought he was different,” I said quietly.

“I know, babe.” Kara squeezed my arm. “And it sucks. It hurts like hell. But tonight? Tonight we’re starting the process of forgetting him. Even if it’s just for a few hours.”

She glanced at me, a mischievous spark in her eyes. “Who knows? Maybe you’ll meet someone who actually deserves all those beautiful paintings you make.”

I shook my head. “I don’t want anyone else.”

“Not tonight you don’t,” she agreed.

“Tonight you just need to feel something other than pain. And if that something comes in the form of loud music and strong cocktails, then that’s what we’re doing.”

Lucas had broken my heart today.

Tonight, I was going to try and forget it existed.