Chapter 2

That night, I tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep.

Eventually, I picked up my phone and stumbled across a post on a local forum.

[SOS: I fell for my best friend's boyfriend, and I don't know what to do.]

The profile picture was the cover of a piano album.

My heart lurched. Almost without thinking, I tapped on the post.

[I love my best friend. We grew up taking piano lessons together, and we even promised we'd study abroad someday.

[There was a time when I wanted to quit piano for good, but she stayed by my side every day and kept encouraging me. She's the reason I stuck with it and eventually got into my dream school.

[Then she got a boyfriend. At first, I was jealous because he was taking up the time that used to be mine.]

My phone suddenly buzzed with a message from Evan.

[Come out. I'll celebrate your birthday with you. Just the two of us.]

I locked my screen and was about to keep reading when Evan sent several more messages in a row.

[You spend all day getting upset over nothing. Don't think I can't tell what this is really about.

[You're jealous because Zoey's doing better than you now.

[She blamed herself all night after you left and cried for hours. She's supposed to be your best friend, but somehow I'm the one stuck comforting her.]

A sharp pain cut through my chest, and my vision blurred.

Back then, I graduated at the top of my class from the conservatory and earned the school's only spot in a yearlong training program overseas.

But I couldn't stand the thought of being away from Evan for an entire year, and I couldn't bear the disappointment on Zoey's face.

At the time, I thought I already had everything I wanted. I had the man I loved and my best friend by my side.

So I gave the opportunity to Zoey.

I wiped the corner of my eye, then picked up my phone.

[You're right. You two really are perfect for each other.]

Then I blocked Evan.

Zoey's post continued.

[Last year, my best friend gave up her chance to study abroad so I could go instead. What she never knew was that I envied her even more because she had a boyfriend who absolutely adored her.

[Living alone in another country was harder than I expected. After I came back to our country, a pipe burst in my apartment one night. I didn't know who else to call, so I reached out to her boyfriend for help.

[That night, we crossed a line... And after that, we couldn't seem to stop.]

Near the end of the post, she actually sounded conflicted.

[Her boyfriend was going to propose to her today, but she suddenly got upset and broke up with him.

[Should I take this chance to be with him, or should I try to help them get back together?]

The comments were even better. People were absolutely tearing her apart.

[Your apartment flooded, and your first thought was to call your best friend's boyfriend? Girl, be serious.]

[So she gave up a huge opportunity for you, supported you for years, and you thanked her by sleeping with her boyfriend? That's actually insane.]

[The way you're writing this like it just "happened" is killing me. You knew exactly what you were doing.]

Suddenly, all the little things I noticed before and brushed off started falling into place.

The last time I saw Evan, he was wearing a slate-blue sweater, and Zoey had a headband in almost the exact same color.

I had even joked about it.

"You two match. You almost look like you planned matching outfits."

Neither of them denied it. They just looked at each other and smiled.

Not long ago, Evan gave me a limited-edition keychain.

A few days later, when I went over to Zoey's place, I spotted an entire limited-edition set sitting on her desk.

The memory made my stomach twist. I immediately pulled out my phone and looked it up.

Sure enough, the keychain Evan gave me was just the free gift that came with the full set.

That was when it finally hit me: my boyfriend and my best friend had been sneaking around behind my back for a long time.

I lay in bed staring at the ceiling, my chest tight. I didn't sleep at all.

As soon as the sun came up, I got out of bed and went through the apartment, gathering everything that reminded me of Evan and Zoey.

I kept at it until sunset. Then I boxed everything up, carried it downstairs, and threw it all in the trash.

I had just breathed a sigh of relief when my phone suddenly buzzed.

One of my classmates had messaged me.

[Kaitlyn, what the hell happened among you three? Evan and Zoey just went official!]