1

Liam was the first to react.

"Catherine, when did you get here?"

I took a quiet step back and looked at them.

"Is it true? What you just said?"

Ethan looked away guiltily, Noah pushed up his glasses, and Owen stared at the floor.

"Catherine, since you heard everything, we'll stop pretending.

"Selena's always been delicate. She could never handle Alaska's freezing weather.

"But you're different. We've all known how independent you are since we were kids. You'll be fine on your own."

Before Liam could finish defending her, Selena grabbed his sleeve, her eyes red.

I looked at them coldly.

"So which one of you made those fake preview pages?"

Liam stepped forward. "I did."

"Fine. Then whose idea was this game?"

Standing in the middle of the group, Selena lowered her head and avoided my eyes.

"That's enough!"

Ethan stepped in front of Selena and frowned at me.

"We came up with the idea together. Don't pick on Selena."

I turned to Liam.

"That night, when you said you'd be with me, was that part of the plan too?"

Liam swallowed hard.

"You said your parents divorced because of a long-distance relationship, so you'd never date anyone long-distance.

"If I hadn't said yes that night, you wouldn't have submitted the application."

I couldn't see a shred of guilt in Liam's eyes.

My chest went so tight I could barely breathe.

"You'd go this far just to get rid of me?"

Noah pushed up his glasses and frowned at me.

"Catherine, do you have to be so harsh?"

Then Selena suddenly reached for the laptop on the table.

"Catherine, this is all my fault.

"I'll change my application right now. I'll go to Alaska, and you can stay—"

Before she could finish, the four of them rushed to stop her.

Owen snatched the laptop right out of her hands.

"The acceptance letter's already here. It's all settled."

"But what about Catherine?"

Selena's shoulders shook as she cried, looking as fragile as ever.

"It's all my fault. Now she has to go all the way up north for school by herself."

Liam pulled out a handkerchief and gently wiped the tears from Selena's eyes.

"Alaska gets brutal blizzards. You could never handle weather like that, silly. Don't do anything reckless just because you feel guilty."

I stood a few steps away, knowing full well that an acceptance letter wasn't some form you could just swap out.

Selena was only putting on a show, and my childhood friends were all happy to play along.

Only then did I understand. It wasn't that the University of Alaska was a bad school, or the wrong fit for Selena.

They just couldn't bear the thought of Selena suffering so far north.

But they hadn't hesitated for a second to ship me off.

Noah looked at me.

"Catherine, I admit we took the joke a little too far.

"But don't you like studying geology anyway?"

I gave a bitter laugh.

"Wanting to study geology and being tricked into going are two different things."

Ethan's face darkened.

"Oh, come on, Catherine. You were already interested in the Alaska program. We just gave you a push."

"Gave me a push?"

I repeated Ethan's words. It was beyond absurd.

It was true. I'd always longed to join that program.

Polar research was a dream I'd kept buried for years.

But I couldn't bear to leave the four people I'd grown up with. I'd turned down the institute's early admission twice. I'd even planned to give up the major I wanted and apply to an Ivy League school near Boston with them.

But there was no point in saying any of that now.

I turned and walked out. Behind me, Liam reached out on instinct to stop me.

"Where are you going?"

"Home."

Liam frowned.

"Stop it. We haven't finished talking.

"If you just walk off like this, how do you think that makes me feel?"

I looked Liam in the eye and spelled it out.

"Liam, what are we to each other? Why should I care how you feel?"

"Catherine, don't throw a tantrum," Liam said coldly. "I admit I agreed to date you that night so you'd submit the application, but that wasn't my only reason.

"Before school starts, I'll spend as much time with you as I can. And when I don't have classes, I'll fly out to see you.

"I'll give you all the time I can. Isn't that enough?"

So lying to me for Selena's sake and dropping by now and then was his idea of treating me well.

Selena spoke softly beside him, trying to calm me down.

"Catherine, Liam still cares about you.

"The night you filled out the application, you drank too much, and Liam was the one who took care of you."

I almost laughed out loud.

I took off the necklace Liam and the others had given me and set it on the entryway table.

I turned to Selena, my voice calm.

"Haven't you always wanted this?

"Oh, and you can have them too."

Selena went pale and waved her hands frantically.

"Catherine, that's not what I meant..."

Liam cut in.

"Catherine, are you done yet?

"Didn't you always say the five of us would be together forever?

"So what's this supposed to mean?"

I walked toward the door. "That was before. I don't want that anymore."

My phone was still buzzing in my pocket. It was an email from my advisor at the Polar Research Institute.

"The pickup vehicle will arrive in town in two days. Please confirm whether you'll join the team early.

"Please note that once the program's confidentiality agreement takes effect, all personal communication devices will be temporarily held in secure storage, and you won't be able to contact anyone outside the program."

I sent my confirmation without a second thought.

They must have thought I'd do what I always did after a fight: cry for a few days, then come back with my head down.

But this time, I didn't want them anymore.