Chapter 2

"Lia, I like you. Will you be my girlfriend?" Nicholas asked.

The crowd was screaming and cheering, and even the professors were leading the applause.

Back then, no one would've guessed that our relationship would come to an end in just three years.

The party wrapped up around midnight.

I was a little tipsy, so after a quick shower, I collapsed onto my bed and started scrolling through my phone. Just then, one of Madeline's Instagram posts popped up.

She had tagged me specifically.

"Huge thanks to Nicholas for helping out with the play. Supper's on me!"

The photo showed a table overflowing with barbecue. Nicholas sat beside Madeline, his head lowered as he carefully cut the steak for her.

I knew right then that the visit he promised me tonight wasn't happening.

I closed the app, opened my laptop, and checked my inbox.

My application to that top-tier university abroad had been accepted. I replied to confirm I'd be there on time and booked a flight abroad for two days later.

…

The next morning, I headed to the academic building to drop off my printed leave of absence.

As soon as I stepped out of the dorm, I ran into Nicholas.

He marched toward me, looking pretty irritated. "Aurelia Quinn, why didn't you pick up your phone yesterday?"

I blinked, then checked my call logs and realized he had called me nearly 50 times.

"It was on silent. I didn't notice," I said.

Nicholas didn't look like he bought it, but he kept talking anyway.

"Look, the concert ended so late that we just got a hotel room nearby. It's not like I stood you up on purpose. You don't need to throw a temper tantrum over…"

His voice trailed off when he noticed the application form in my hand.

"What's that?" Nicholas asked.

"It's a report for my academic advisor," I said simply.

Nicholas blinked, visibly relaxing. "Is it for a competition? The Math Olympiad is coming up soon…"

As he was talking, another girl walked out of the dorm. She headed straight for Nicholas and handed him a coat. "You must be Nicholas. Here's the coat Madeline wanted."

I watched him take the coat with the kind of practiced ease that told me this wasn't his first rodeo.

"Lia, Madeline's clothes were soaked, and she's waiting for me to bring her this coat. I'll come find you later tonight."

I watched him rush off. It finally clicked that he hadn't shown up here to wait for me at all. He was just running an errand for Madeline.

But that didn't matter anymore.

After I got the final signature from my academic advisor and headed back to my room, my best friend, Sienna Blake, came storming in, looking absolutely livid.

"Lia, did you know Nicholas is taking Madeline out for her birthday? He wouldn't even clear his schedule for your birthday last month! What is he doing celebrating hers?"

I didn't say a word as I unlocked my phone.

Sure enough, Madeline had just posted a new update, wearing the exact coat Nicholas had come to pick up that morning, as a birthday cake sat between them.

Her left wrist was adorned with a brand-new bracelet—the same one I had once pointed out and said was beautiful.

Now, it was her birthday present.

Sienna was fuming. "What is this girl's problem? Does she not realize Nicholas is taken? And what the hell is he even doing?"

"He won't be taken for much longer," I said quietly.

Sienna stopped mid-rant. "Wait, what did you say?"

"Sienna, I'm going abroad," I explained. "My flight leaves tomorrow."

She stood frozen for a long moment before finally saying, "But… you love Nicholas more than anything. Did Madeline do something? Talk to me, Lia. I'll go hash it out with them right now!"

Shaking my head, I held up my phone to show her Madeline's Instagram post.

Nicholas had just liked it and left a comment a few seconds ago.

"Happy 21st birthday. Hope you're always this happy."

Sienna stared at that comment and went quiet. After a while, her eyes started to well up. "So… what are you going to do?"

I looked down at the stack of application forms and gave her a small smile. "I'll be fine once I leave."

"Is he not going to try and stop you?"

I tucked my phone away. "He doesn't even know."

And honestly, I didn't think he'd care.

I took one last look at Madeline's post. After a moment of thought, I hit the "like" button. I decided it would be my blessing to them before I left.

I ended up sleeping until 8:00 pm, and when I finally opened my eyes, my roommate told me Nicholas was waiting downstairs.

After briefly freshening up, I went down and found him standing at the entrance with Madeline beside him.