Chapter 1

The next day, my best friend, Jake Lawson, had his parents host a family dinner to smooth things over after the broken engagement. My girlfriend, Nora Mitchell, was expected to attend as his new girlfriend.

She asked me to come along. "You’re Jake’s best friend," she said softly, "If you're there to vouch for us, his parents will actually believe this isn't just some petty revenge scheme against his ex."

I stared at her. "And what exactly is my role here?"

Nora hesitated for a fraction of a second, then gave my shoulder a light, casual pat. "As a good friend, obviously. It’s just acting. Don’t overthink it."

At the restaurant, the waiter placed a seafood platter directly in front of me. Knowing my severe allergy, Nora immediately slid the dish out of reach and swapped it for a bowl of soup. "Be careful," she warned, "There might be tiny shrimp in that."

My white-knuckled grip relaxed just a fraction. She hadn't forgotten. She still remembered what I couldn't eat.

However, the second Jake muttered that he wasn't feeling hungry, Nora abandoned my soup. "Is something wrong with the food?" she asked.

Before Jake could even answer, she was already picking the olives out of his salad and flagging down the server to take away the mango dessert. "He doesn't eat olives," she instructed the waiter, "And mangoes mess up his stomach."

My soup sat ignored at the edge of the table, turning cold.

It wasn't that she had forgotten how to take care of me. It was just that the moment Jake opened his mouth, I became an afterthought.

Halfway through the dinner, the private room door slammed open. Jake’s ex-fiancée, Lyla Sterling, stood in the doorway, reeking of booze. Her eyes locked onto Nora’s fingers intertwined with Jake’s, and a nasty sneer spread across her face.

"New girlfriend?" She mocked. "Why don't you ask her who that guy sitting right next to her is?" She whipped around, pointing a sharp finger straight at me. "He's the real boyfriend, isn't he? The one she’s been dating for five years."

The entire room went dead silent.

Jake turned pale, instinctively trying to pull his hand away, but Nora tightened her grip first. "Wesley and I broke up a long time ago," she stated, her voice icy and clear, "Jake isn't a homewrecker."

I froze. In two short sentences, she erased five years of history and rewrote me as the desperate, clingy ex.

Jake glanced up at me, guilt flickering in his eyes. However, he didn't pull away. Instead, his fingers slowly closed back around hers. The hand I had personally shoved into his palm was now one he actively chose to hold.

Jake’s mother was still skeptical. To put the rumors to rest once and for all, she demanded they take a couple’s photo to send to the family group chat.

Nora handed me her phone. "Wesley, do you mind taking it for us?"

When the screen lit up, the wallpaper was still a picture of us. It was from my birthday last year, her arms wrapped tightly around me at the beach. Back then, she told me she wanted to use that exact photo for our wedding display board.

Now, through the camera lens, she was adjusting Jake’s jacket, pulling him close to her side. Jake looked stiff, but Nora whispered, "Lean in closer, or it won't look believable."

He hesitated, then leaned his shoulder against hers. They both looked straight into my lens.

I pressed the shutter. Using my girlfriend’s phone, I took the photo that made her relationship with my best friend official.

Jake’s parents finally bought it. Lyla, however, looked at me with pure, pitiless amusement. "Guess some guys just can't take a hint after a breakup." She snickered. "They’re together now. Why are you even still tagging along?"

Nora didn't defend me. She just leaned in and murmured, "Wesley, you should head home first. I need to stay and help smooth things over with Jake’s parents."

Late that night, my phone buzzed with a text from her.

[What I said at dinner was just to cover for him. You’re my real boyfriend, always. Wait for me to come home and explain everything.]

I sat in the dark living room, waiting all night long.

Nora never came back.