CHAPTER TWO: THE BOY SHE CHOSE

**CHLOE'S POV**

On Thursday morning, I went to school as usual.

Only this time, I wasn't the cheerful Chloe Bennett everyone knew. I was the girl who had watched her best friend receive the one thing she'd secretly wanted for ten years, and who now had to pretend it didn't hurt.

The campus was bright and loud, full of people with nowhere to be but happy. I walked through it like someone wearing a coat two sizes too heavy.

"Chloe!"

I barely had time to turn before Olivia came rushing toward me, her face glowing with the kind of happiness that made me want to look away.

"Hey," I said, forcing a smile.

She stopped in front of me, practically bouncing on her toes. "Girl, you won't believe what happened."

I already had a pretty good idea. "Tell me."

"Ryan and I talked all night!"

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "All night?"

"We started texting after dinner, and before I knew it, it was almost two in the morning. I couldn't even sleep afterward. I kept rereading our messages like an idiot." She laughed and pressed her phone to her chest. "He's such a sweetheart."

Of course he was. Ryan Whitmore had always been a sweetheart. At least, that was what I'd spent ten years telling myself.

"He's so thoughtful," Olivia went on. "And guess what? He picked me up this morning!"

I blinked. "He did what?"

"I only gave him my address last night, and he actually came to get me. Have you seen his car? It's gorgeous. And don't even get me started on how rich he is. He's handsome, sweet, rich, and he actually listens when I talk. What more could a girl want?"

I had an answer to that.

Someone who wasn't her best friend's ten-year crush.

I kept it to myself.

"And he brought me flowers!" she added.

My smile nearly slipped.

Ryan had brought Olivia flowers. I tried to picture him on her doorstep with a bouquet, waiting for her to come out. I pictured the way she must have smiled when she saw him, and the way he must have looked at her. Then I wondered whether he had ever thought of doing something like that for me.

The answer came far too quickly.

No. Why would he? I was Chloe Bennett: the girl he borrowed notes from, the girl he teased in lectures, the girl he trusted to help him pass exams. I was not the girl he bought flowers for.

"Oh. Okay," I managed.

Olivia's smile dimmed. "Wait. What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing."

"You've been strange since I got here. You're not even excited for me."

Guilt twisted together with the ache in my chest. "I'm excited for you, Liv. I'm just tired."

She studied my face. "Are you sure?"

"Of course."

She finally nodded. "Okay. But if something's bothering you, you have to tell me."

"I will."

It was a lie. But I couldn't tell her the truth without changing everything between us. How could I explain that every time she said his name, it felt like a thumb pressing against a bruise I was desperately trying to hide? How could I admit that I had wanted him long before she ever looked at him that way?

I couldn't.

So I walked with her toward our lecture halls, listened to her talk about the flowers, and pretended my heart wasn't breaking a little more with every word.

---

My first lecture ended earlier than expected.

I packed my books and stepped outside, already wondering where I could spend the next hour without hearing another story about Ryan.

Then I saw them.

Olivia stood near the steps, laughing at something he'd said. Ryan faced her with one hand in his pocket and an easy smile on his face, the morning sun catching in his dark hair.

I slowed down. I should have kept walking. Instead, I stood there like an idiot, my books clutched against my chest, watching the two people who had somehow turned my worst fear into reality.

Olivia said something I couldn't hear. Ryan laughed and pulled her into a hug. It was a simple hug, nothing dramatic, nothing that should have hurt as much as it did.

Then he pressed a kiss to her forehead, and something inside me cracked.

I looked away so fast my neck hurt.

For ten years, I had imagined being close to Ryan in a way that meant something. His arms around me. His smile meant only for me. His attention resting on me for reasons that had nothing to do with lecture notes or exams. I had imagined a thousand things.

Not once had I imagined standing across a courtyard, watching him give them all to my best friend.

It was ridiculous, really. He hadn't cheated on me. He hadn't broken a promise. He hadn't taken anything that belonged to me. Ryan had never been mine.

And yet, as Olivia leaned against him, I felt betrayed by a boy who had never given me a reason to expect anything.

I hated that feeling. I hated that I couldn't switch it off.

Most of all, I hated myself for still wanting him.

"Chloe!"

I turned as Olivia hurried toward me, her cheeks pink, her smile so bright I wanted to ask her to dim it.

"Hey."

"Where have you been? I've been looking everywhere."

"Just coming from class."

"Oh, right." She glanced back at Ryan, then at me. "Guess what? We were talking about our date tomorrow. He's picking me up at seven."

"That's nice."

She tilted her head. "Okay, seriously. What's going on with you?"

"Nothing, Olivia."

"Then why do you keep acting like you don't want to hear about Ryan?"

My heart gave an uncomfortable twist. I hadn't realized it was that obvious.

I took a breath. "Maybe because you talk about him every five minutes."

She stared at me. For a moment, I thought I'd hurt her. Then she sighed and looked down at her phone.

"Sorry. I know I've been going on about him."

"It's fine."

"No, I get it. I'll calm down." She slipped the phone into her bag. "It's just that he's my boyfriend now, Chloe. I want to tell you things. You're my best friend. I should be able to talk to you about him."

I nodded, even though the word *boyfriend* made my stomach tighten.

I wanted to tell her that being her best friend was exactly why I couldn't bear to hear it. That every detail she shared felt like another piece of my heart handed back to me, bruised and useless.

But she was right about one thing. She was my best friend.

And I wanted her to be happy.

"I know, Liv," I said quietly. "You can talk to me."

Her face softened. "Thank you."

She hugged me, then hurried back to Ryan, who was waiting by the steps. I stood there until they walked away together, shoulders almost touching, then let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding.

I needed to get over Ryan Whitmore.

Quietly. Without making Olivia feel guilty for falling for him. Without making Ryan uncomfortable over something he didn't even know about. And without letting either of them see how much it hurt.

I had no idea how to do any of that.

But I had to try.