Chapter 1

The moment the message appeared, my hand shook.

Before I could respond, I was added to a group chat called 'Welcome Home, Maya'.

More people joined one after another.

Then I spotted a familiar profile picture and nearly dropped my phone.

Julian Shaw.

My online boyfriend of a year and a half.

We’d met on an academic forum.

While I was dieting, exercising, and working on my research, he’d been there for me. During my lowest moments, he’d stayed up with me through countless revisions of my proposal.

My grip tightened around my phone.

So Maya Lane really was the person behind that post.

Someone in the chat quickly noticed Julian.

'Julian’s coming too? Maya, you must be pretty important!'

'I heard Julian’s almost impossible to get hold of at his lab overseas, but Maya managed to invite him the moment she came home.'

Maya sent a blushing emoji.

'Don’t start. He’s only coming to welcome me home.'

Then she tagged me directly.

'Hazel, you’re the person I want to see most. You have to come!'

Julian, who hadn’t said anything until then, suddenly appeared.

'Hazel?'

The chat instantly went silent.

Maya acted as though she’d only just noticed.

'Julian, you know my cousin?'

His reply came almost immediately.

'She’s my girlfriend.'

Those three words unleashed a flood of question marks.

Several of my former high school classmates emerged from the shadows.

'Hazel Lane? Online dating?'

'Are we talking about the Hazel Lane I know?'

My chest tightened.

Throughout all three years of high school, the room would go quiet whenever I entered.

Then the mocking laughter would begin.

When I sat down, they’d joke that my chair was about to collapse.

When I ate, they’d say the pig was back at the trough.

During gym, they’d run behind me and imitate my heavy breathing.

My cousin Maya was always at the center of the crowd, smiling as she pretended to defend me.

“Don’t say that about my cousin. She’s just a little overweight.

“But Hazel, you really should eat less. Everyone’s only saying it because they care.”

It took me years to understand that she’d enjoyed watching me get humiliated.

The more pathetic I looked, the prettier and kinder she seemed by comparison.

Maya sent a voice message.

“Oh my God. So the gorgeous girlfriend Julian was bragging about last night was our Hazel? I can hardly believe it.”

She followed it with a hand-over-mouth emoji.

“But the Hazel I remember looks a little different from the girl in that photo.”

“I’m not trying to cause trouble.”

“I just don’t want Julian getting his hopes too high. He should probably prepare himself before meeting her.”

My stomach churned as I read her messages.

Leah Grant immediately joined in.

She’d been Maya’s most devoted follower in high school.

'A little different? They’re practically different species.'

'You have to be careful with online dating these days. You never know what kind of monster is hiding behind the screen!'

Maya replied with a laugh.

“Come on. People can change a lot after high school. Maybe Hazel’s beautiful now.”

I was about to explain that my photo hadn’t been edited or filtered when a private message from Julian appeared.

‘I didn’t know you knew Maya. She’s part of the joint research program at my lab.’

'Hazel, we really were meant to find each other.'

The tightness in my chest finally eased.

I typed three words in reply.

'See you tomorrow.'

Then I looked at myself in the mirror.

The woman staring back at me had a slim waist, long legs, and flawless skin. Anger had left the corners of her eyes faintly red.

She was breathtaking.

This time, I wasn’t running away.