Chapter 2

Paul had tagged me. "Hey, Zach, don't overthink that post. Susie just lost a bet to me, and that's all."

I didn't bother replying. I turned to Dad instead. "Dad, I want to further my studies overseas."

He looked up, surprised. "Really? I thought you and Susie were going to find a job in Belxon after graduation."

That had been the plan. Until Paul's birthday party, when I happened to see the letter Susie had written him. That was when I realized that the only reason she wanted to go to Belxon was because of him.

Joanna was planning to go there too. She said the three of them could look out for each other.

They'd spent so much time discussing among themselves. They didn't even remember I was sitting there until the end.

Susie had added casually, "Zach can come too. The more, the merrier."

They had made their plans around Paul, and I was just an afterthought.

I forced a smile and said to Dad, "I've changed my mind. I don't want to go to Belxon anymore."

My presence wouldn't make a difference to them anyway.

Dad searched my face for a moment, then patted me on the shoulder without asking any further. "Alright, just start working on your applications."

I nodded and went to my room.

When I checked my phone again, Susie had replied to Paul's message. "You think everyone is as petty as you? Zach is mature. He won't care about something this small."

I stared at the word "mature". The truth was, I did care.

Susie was my girlfriend, yet everyone around us thought she and Paul were a perfect match.

She had never once corrected them. She just let them tease her about it.

And it bothered me a lot. I'd brought it up to her before.

One night, the four of us had gone to see a movie. On the way home, I reached for Susie's hand and quietly said, "Susie, could you stop being so close to Paul?"

She looked at me in surprise, then quickly smiled as though it were nothing.

She gave me a helpless look and said, "Do you think I want to? If he weren't your best friend, I wouldn't hang out with someone this arrogant.

"Be more mature. Don't make a big deal out of something this small. Come on. They're waiting for us up ahead. Let's catch up."

Before I could say anything, she let go of my hand and strode ahead.

Just like today, every time I tried to express how upset I was, she just brushed it off and told me to be mature.

Just then, another voice message from Paul came through in the group chat. "Don't get cocky! Next time you lose a bet to me, I won't go so easy on you!"

Susie replied immediately, "Bring it on."

I opened my chat with Susie.

At 8:00 pm the night before, I'd sent her a job posting in Belxon and told her I wanted to apply.

Two hours later, she'd replied with only three words. "Okay, go ahead."

The message before that was from three days earlier. I'd asked how her thesis was coming along. She'd taken an hour to reply with a simple "It's fine."

Yet she'd replied to a meme Paul posted in the group chat at almost the exact same time.

The farther back I scrolled, the longer and more thoughtful her messages were. The closer to today, the shorter and colder they got.

Then, another notification popped up. Paul had tagged me in the group chat.

I froze when I saw the photo.

"Oops, Zach! I accidentally broke your ring. Sorry! How much was it? I'll pay you back."

Before I could reply, Susie sent a message. "Don't worry about it. It's just a ring. It wasn't worth much."

I stared at her words, my fingers frozen over the keyboard.