Chapter 2

When I returned to the dorm, Madison was hunched over her phone, typing away.

Messages were popping up on her screen at a rapid pace.

Her cheeks were flushed with excitement, and every now and then, she’d cover her mouth and giggle.

A dull ache spread through my chest, like tiny needles pricking at my heart.

I didn’t need to guess who she was talking to.

“Nora, you’re back?” She finally noticed me.

“I thought you were staying at home tonight.”

I nodded absentmindedly.

My family lived in the same city, so whenever I didn’t return to the dorm, my roommates assumed I’d gone home.

In reality, I spent most nights curled up in Julian’s apartment, tangled up with him.

Madison pressed her lips together with a smile.

“That handsome guy who came to pick you up after dinner—is he really your brother? I thought he was your boyfriend.

My fingers paused as I put my things away.

Brother.

The word felt like a blade scraping across my face.

So that’s what he’d told her.

The Bennett and Cross families had been close for generations.

Julian and I had known each other since we were kids.

We’d secretly started dating in high school, keeping it from both our families. We’d been together for five years now.

He used to say we’d get married after graduation.

But I never expected people to change their hearts, or for him to get tired of me so quickly.

This wasn’t the first time he’d been inappropriate with another girl.

I’d seen flirtatious messages from other women on his phone before.

I’d cried, fought with him, even thrown things.

Every time, he’d soothe me and tell me those girls meant nothing. They were just a way to pass the time. I was the only one he loved.

I’d even asked him to make our relationship public.

But he always refused.

He said that once our families found out, given how close the two families were, they’d force us to get engaged immediately.

As soon as we were old enough, they’d drag us straight to the courthouse to get married.

I couldn’t bear to throw away five years together, so I swallowed my hurt time and time again.

Until this time.

I really didn’t want to wait for him anymore.

“Nora? What’s wrong?” Madison tilted her head, looking at me innocently.

I snapped back to reality and forced a smile.

“Nothing. I’m just a little tired.”

She didn’t suspect a thing and excitedly shoved her phone in front of me.

“He asked me to go racing with him tomorrow!

“What should I wear? You must know what kind of style your brother likes, right?”

Julian once told me that racing was his second wife.

In the five years we’d been together, he’d never once taken me racing.

Yet now, just to pursue Madison, he was willing to give her the most important seat beside him.

The relationship I’d once believed was unshakable suddenly felt like one big joke.

Looking into Madison’s bright, excited eyes, I suddenly felt strangely weightless.

It was as if the heavy stone pressing against my chest had finally shattered.

“Wear this.”

I pulled a red bodycon dress from her wardrobe.

“He likes them bold.”