Chapter 1

Chloe Zimmerman didn't reply.

But the translucent comments in front of me immediately blew up.

‘Holy crap! He picked Yara Henderson! Chloe must be freaking out right now!’

‘I'm dying. She was hoping he'd pick the least attractive girl in the photo, and instead he went straight for the heiress from one of the most powerful families in the city?’

‘Chloe seriously expects Yara to take her place? She wouldn't dare ask her in a million years!’

I picked up the black coffee on my desk and took a sip.

The bitterness slid down my throat.

Yara Henderson.

Her name kept appearing in the comments.

My gaze returned to the cropped photo on my phone.

The girl I'd chosen sat in the middle of a wide leather couch in a simple black dress.

She was effortlessly striking.

Even in a still photo, she seemed detached from everything around her, her eyes lowered as if none of it could hold her interest.

Then there was Chloe.

We'd met through an online game two years ago.

She was always checking in on me, staying up late to grind ranked matches together, and gifting me expensive in-game cosmetics.

Back then, I'd been sick and taking medication that caused my weight to shoot past two hundred pounds.

My confidence had hit rock bottom.

It was Chloe calling me “babe” and “baby” over voice chat night after night that pulled me back from the edge of depression.

We'd been dating online for two years.

She'd asked to meet in person countless times.

I'd always found some excuse to put it off.

Then, six months ago, I finally recovered.

I practically lived at the gym after that, dropping the excess weight and rebuilding my body until I barely looked like the same person.

I'd planned to surprise her.

Instead, she surprised me first.

I set down my coffee and scrolled through my contacts.

My last conversation with Ethan Peterson had been a month ago.

I'd sent him an old photo of myself from high school.

He was the mutual friend who had originally invited me to Chloe's gaming group.

And apparently, he was also the one who'd taken a photo of me at my lowest and turned it into entertainment for everyone else.

As if to confirm my suspicions, several new comments appeared.

‘Ethan is such a snake. He deliberately sent Chloe that old photo, then kept stirring the pot!’

‘Chloe almost threw up when she saw it. Then she immediately planned this huge meetup so she could humiliate him in front of everyone!’

‘They're meeting at Polaris tomorrow. Ethan even bought this huge, ugly ripped-up coat and plans to make him wear it in front of the whole crowd!’

I stared at the blue words floating in midair.

Then I picked up the box cutter on the desk.

The blade pressed against the stem of a dried rose.

Slice.

The brittle flower fell apart, scattering petals across the desk.

Two years of an online relationship.

And apparently, the whole thing had been nothing more than a cheap joke built on lies.

I searched for Polaris and pulled up its location.

Just then, my phone started vibrating.

A voice message from Chloe.

“Babe, tomorrow night at eight. I booked out Polaris for us.

“I've planned a very special first meeting, so make sure you look your best.”

Another message came through immediately.

“Babe, I've invited all my friends too. You're not going to chicken out at the last second and embarrass me, are you?”

My fingers moved quickly across the screen.

“Of course not. I'll be there right on time!”

I hit send, tossed my phone onto the couch, and walked into my closet.

I slid open the wardrobe doors.

Rows of fitted shirts, jackets, and polished shoes lined the shelves.

My gaze settled on a black dress shirt.

I pulled it out and held it against myself.

The fabric stretched neatly across my broad shoulders before tapering down toward my lean waist.

The man staring back at me from the mirror had a sharp jawline, deep-set eyes, and features that bore almost no resemblance to the overweight teenager in that old photo.

That oversized ugly coat?

Ethan could wear it himself.