Chapter 2

It felt like I had to get everything off my chest.

The more I spoke, the more heartbroken I became.

By the time I finished, my voice was slightly hoarse.

On the other end of the line, Ryan was silent the entire time.

It wasn’t until my sobs finally died down that he spoke—his voice cold.

"Are you done crying?"

There was impatience in his tone, like a bucket of ice water dumped over me as if to remind me how ridiculous I was.

The emotions I struggled to control vanished in an instant.

I stared at the photo of him kissing Michelle, feeling a hollow ache spread through my chest.

As much as I hated to admit it, when I had been pouring my heart out, I stupidly imagined he might still comfort me like he used to.

But that single sentence shattered that illusion completely.

Suddenly, everything felt meaningless.

"Yeah," I murmured, not saying another word.

Without hesitation, he hung up.

…

An hour later, an anonymous photo landed in my inbox.

Ryan was carrying Michelle into his car.

Her hand was tucked into his coat pocket and this time, he didn’t pull away.

I crouched down, shutting my eyes as silent tears dripped onto the back of my hand.

It was a long time before I finally stood up and went to the bathroom to wash my face.

After pulling myself together, I went to tell my parents that Ryan and I had broken up.

I told them everything.

They were furious, of course, but more than that, they felt heartbroken for me.

They comforted me gently, their warmth easing the pain in my chest.

Looking at their faces, I felt a sense of relief.

I was lucky to have grown up surrounded by love.

That was why I could never bring myself to hold on to a man who didn’t love me.

Maybe I wouldn’t be able to let go so quickly.

But I knew it would be faster than I had expected.

…

After dropping Michelle off at her place, Ryan turned to leave.

Before he could step away, Michelle, her cheeks flushed, asked if he wanted to stay.

The tension from earlier still hung between them, thick with an unspoken intimacy—one that carried the weight of something more than just friendship.

Ryan knew exactly what she meant.

But a cold gust of wind swept past, stripping away whatever was left of that moment.

He recalled Lizzie’s sobs from earlier and, after a brief pause, shook his head.

"No."

Michelle chuckled.

"Right. You’re going off to coax your little girlfriend, huh?"

She tilted her head, her voice laced with amusement.

"Ryan, if you keep spoiling her like this, she’s going to have you wrapped around her finger. Who knows how many times she’ll pull the breakup card in the future?"

Something about her words made him frown.

He wasn’t sure what he was planning to do, but whatever thought he had about going to see Lizzie disappeared completely.

After briefly saying goodbye to Michelle, Ryan left.

Once inside the car, he glanced at his chat with Lizzie—no new messages.

For some reason, that irritated him.

Feeling restless, he made a call and headed to the club.

Word traveled fast in their circle.

The moment he stepped through the door, a few of his friends were already teasing him.

"Tsk, nothing more troublesome than a woman's affection. You’ve got the gorgeous Lizzie Lee and your childhood sweetheart all to yourself—so why the stormy face?"

"Ah, makes sense. Knowing Lizzie, she’s probably already dumped you, hasn’t she?"

Ryan sank into the couch, crossing one leg over the other, casting them a sidelong glance.

"Since when did you all get so nosy?"

The group fell silent, exchanging quick looks.

"Come on, Ryan, no need to get so worked up. Did we hit a nerve?"

"Messing around with Michelle while you’re still technically with Lizzie… Sure, it’s not unheard of in our circle, but it’s pretty shady."

"Aren’t you even a little worried she might actually leave you this time?"

Ryan lifted his glass, taking a slow sip.

"She won’t.

"She’s been bringing up breakups too often lately. It’s about time she cooled off."

The others chuckled.

"Fair enough."

…

Three days later, my mom set me up on a blind date.

Before I could even protest, she had already dressed me in an elegant cream-colored tweed dress.

"Just go and meet him, okay? He’s already waiting for you.

"If you don’t show up, how am I supposed to explain it to his family?"

…

Left with no choice, I reluctantly agreed.

But I had already made up my mind to be upfront about everything once I got there.

It wasn’t that I couldn’t move on from Ryan, but I simply wasn’t ready to start a new relationship just yet.

However, when I arrived at the rooftop private dining room, following the address my mom gave me, I froze.

Sitting there, dressed in a white sweatshirt, was a man I hadn’t expected to see.