Chapter 1

Before my boyfriend, Jared Vance, came to visit, I repeatedly reminded my mom, Eleanor Mack, "Just keep everything light and casual, and please don't say anything inappropriate."

Mom got annoyed.

"I'm a grown woman. Do I really need you to teach me how to behave? Don't worry, I absolutely won't embarrass you."

Only after Mom's repeated assurances did I bring Jared home, though I was still nervous.

On the way, I kept preparing him for the worst as well.

Jared patted his chest and promised, "Relax. I love you, so I won't take anything Mrs. Cochran says to heart."

Mom was very satisfied with Jared. She sat on the couch, holding his hand and chatting nonstop.

"Tiffany is so lucky to have found an outstanding boyfriend like you."

Jared replied graciously, "Mrs. Cochran, you're too kind. I'm the lucky one to have found such a wonderful girlfriend like Tiffany."

To my surprise, Mom glanced over and let out a loud laugh.

"You say she's wonderful? You don't know yet, do you? She contracted HPV in her sophomore year—it was really bad. She reeked of this awful smell, and the doctor basically said she was sleeping around."

In that moment, I felt the world spinning around me.

During my sophomore year, a new girl moved into our dorm. She was really promiscuous and liked to use other people's towels without asking. I actually caught HPV from her.

Terrified, I cried and begged Mom to go to the hospital with me for a check-up.

The doctor did a thorough examination and said I must've caught it from someone else since I wasn't sexually active.

Never in a million years did I imagine that Mom would casually bring it up like it was some kind of joke when Jared came over for the first time.

The lively atmosphere instantly froze, and Jared's face went stiff.

"Mom, I caught it from someone else. Wasn't the doctor's report clear enough?" I reminded Mom in a low voice.

Mom kept talking as if she hadn't heard me.

"You were practically in tears back then, so of course the doctor had to write it like that to protect your privacy. Who knows if you really caught it from someone else?"

My father, Nicholas Cochran, couldn't take it anymore.

"What nonsense are you spouting?" he reprimanded her, his voice low. "As her parents, don't we know what kind of person Tiffany is? She's been well-behaved since she was little. There's no way she'd do anything that disgraceful."

His eyes darted toward Jared, silently telling Mom to drop it since he was right there.

But Mom just wouldn't stop.

"I'm only telling the truth. We still have the doctor's report. Are we not allowed to tell the truth now? Besides, Tiffany has always been good at putting on an act.

"Back in middle school, she had a crush on a boy and flat-out refused to admit it. If I hadn't snooped through her diary, she would've totally kept me in the dark."