Chapter 1

There was a brief silence in the room. Edward Parker's hand froze above my head.

Renee Lane laughed, as if she'd heard some harmless joke. "Tanya, don't be like this, okay? It's your birthday."

Edward retracted his hand, his brows furrowing. "Tanya Cullen, everyone's watching us. Don't sulk just because you lost."

Whenever he called me by my full name, I would back down, afraid of upsetting him, afraid our friends would pile on, and afraid they'd accuse me of making a fuss over nothing.

But this time, I simply removed the candles from the cake one by one. "I'm not the one who looks bad here."

Renee tugged on Edward's sleeve. "Edward, let's just forget it, okay? I don't want to watch the movie anymore."

Although that was what she said, her fingers tightened around the movie ticket.

Our friends immediately chimed in.

"The vote's already decided. We can't make an exception now."

"Come on, Tanya. Be the bigger person, okay? Edward can still make it up to you tomorrow."

Edward glanced at his watch. There were only 20 minutes left until the movie started. He fell silent for a few seconds before saying, "I'll take Renee there. If you still want to celebrate your birthday, stay here. I can't keep trying to keep both of you happy."

I looked at him and repeated myself. "I told you. There's no need for you to do that."

He walked straight past me, as if he hadn't heard me.

Renee followed him. She sighed as she passed me. "Tanya, you know how much he hates being forced to choose."

The door clicked shut, and the music in the private room started up again.

The poll on the big screen was still visible. Compared to Renee's 17 votes, that one lonely vote for me sat at the bottom, like the last shred of dignity I had left.

My phone buzzed.

A new poll titled "How many minutes until Tanya chases after Edward to apologize?" popped up in the group chat. This time, it wasn't anonymous. The three options were ten minutes, half an hour, and tomorrow morning.

Renee voted for ten minutes, and others did the same.

"Don't overestimate her. I think it will happen within five minutes."

"She can't bear to leave Edward."

Edward didn't vote, and he didn't stop the poll either.

Someone said, "I assume Tanya was the one who voted for herself in the earlier poll, huh?"

Renee responded with a giggling emoji. "Of course. Who else would vote for her?"

I stared at her message, my fingertips turning cold. They didn't even believe that single vote could have come from anyone else.

I left the group chat.

The birthday crown was still on the table. Its golden paper had been soaked by spilled drinks, lying there limp and crumpled.

I grabbed my bag and turned to leave.

Someone called out. "Tanya, you're really leaving?"

I didn't look back.

The hallway was endless, and the glass wall reflected my silhouette. A white dress, red eyes, empty hands.

I looked like a clown who could no longer go on with the act.