Chapter 1

"To be honest, I'm used to having you around. How many years have we known each other, ever since elementary school?"

As my childhood sweetheart, Jack Jenner, embraced me, I could not stop the shivers that wracked my body.

I had known Jack for 16 years, and we had been sleeping together for eight.

Just five minutes ago, he wished he could merge into one with me.

I thought we were in love. Although we never said it out loud, I always believed we had a strong understanding. I had long assumed that we were a couple, but I never expected... myself to just be his friend with benefits.

The birth control pill did not go down smoothly. It stuck to my throat, making it hard to speak.

"How about another round?" Jack gently pushed me back onto the bed.

The pink bed cover was the one I put on yesterday while Jack lifted the mattress for me. He had joked, "We're like an old couple."

Now, my mind was in a complete mess.

"You've taken the pill anyway. Don't waste it. Consider it as drawing a perfect ending to our absurd youth."

I instinctively pressed against Jack's shoulders. "You said you're getting engaged?"

In a good mood, Jack grabbed my wrist in one go as his melodious voice invaded my ears. "I wanted to tell you, but a little greedy cat was eager for some action and blocked my mouth. Lina came back. She said she still wants to marry me."

Lina Andrews was the class belle who rejected Jack's confession at our high school graduation ceremony. Later on, Jack would even drink three full glasses of liquor to stop her name from being mentioned.

They were getting engaged?

Oblivious to my shock, Jack excitedly shared, "I had someone check the dates, and the earliest will be Sunday! Lina doesn't have many old friends since she's been abroad these past few years. You can help her fend off the drinks at the engagement party and be her bridesmaid at the wedding."

As he spoke, he seemed to remember something and pulled an invitation card from the bedside table drawer. "Lina said she wants me to design the wedding invitations, but I don't understand girls' taste. My darling Ariana, give me some advice."

Just twenty minutes ago, I had pulled the bitter birth control pills from that drawer.

The pristine white invitation was understated yet elegant. Jack's and Lina's names were interwoven like a pattern. It was clearly a carefully designed piece that cost a handsome sum.

Jack had already decided to marry Lina. He was preparing for his wedding to someone else while sleeping with me.

A surge of anger made me tremble. "Jack, you want me to see the invitation to your wedding to another woman while we're still in bed?"

I tore the invitation to shreds in the blink of an eye. "You're getting engaged and married, so what the hell am I?"

"Ariana! Have you lost your mind? Why tear up my invitation?" Jack was so busy picking up the pieces and did not even notice my expression.

When he saw me getting out of bed to get dressed, he grabbed my arm.

"Why are you making a fuss? If I don't get engaged or married, am I supposed to fool around with you forever? I don't even like you!"

After he finished yelling, he belatedly realized he had gone too far. He frowned at me as he added dryly, "I consider you my best friend, a childhood sweetheart who'd sleep in the same bed..."

Though he said so, he loosened his grip as if he had touched trash. His expression returned to its usual nonchalance as he tilted his head to look at me with a deliberately teasing smile. "Or am I just too charming that you've fallen head over heels for me without even realizing it? Ariana, don't scare me."

Jack pretended to be calm, but his panicked eyes betrayed him. His fear of being pestered made me smile bitterly, and my eyes burned.

This only made him more flustered, so he simply turned his back to me with a cold expression as he got dressed.

"Ariana, we've been best friends since we were kids. If you cry, it'll just make it seem like I've bullied you. We have gender equality now. Don't be so old-fashioned. It's not funny!"

He straightened his clothes, turned around, and left. "Lina's plane has landed. I'll take her to a hotel tonight. Pack up your things, especially those cheap, identical trinkets you bought. Take them all away. Don't leave any for me."

His last words to me before closing the door were, "We won't do this anymore. It's not fair to Lina."