Chapter 1

Winnie Lane's POV

The notification about my transfer came through. I would be leaving in seven days.

I didn't go back to the guest room. The mattress in there was too soft, and with my bad back, sleeping on it was out of the question.

Zane Shaw had replaced it for Mia Zimmer.

The morning after Mia sleepwalked and somehow ended up outside our front door, he'd ordered the new mattress without a second thought.

Even back then, he'd already been making sure that whenever Mia stayed over, she would have somewhere comfortable to sleep.

So I stayed in the living room instead, while a strip of warm yellow light spilled from beneath the master bedroom door.

My eyes drifted over the things scattered around the room. So many of them were unfamiliar to me.

They all belonged to Mia.

The one that stood out the most was the pair of pink bunny slippers tucked inside the shoe cabinet.

Zane had gone out in the pouring rain just to buy them for her.

That day, Mia had shown up at our door in a pair of heels, and Zane had carried her inside himself.

He carefully treated the blisters on the backs of her heels, then went straight back downstairs to buy her those slippers.

The size was right. The color was right. Even the little bunny design suited her perfectly.

But that wasn't always the case. The last time Zane and I went on vacation, I'd asked him to pick up a pair of slippers for me, yet he got the wrong size three times.

In the end, he handed me a pair of disposable hotel slippers and said, "They fit well enough. Just make do with these."

That was when I finally understood. Some people would walk into your life and, without ever having to ask, receive the very best of everything.

And then there were people like me. We were expected to make do.

I looked away and went back to the guest room, where I sat on the edge of the bed until morning.

When I came out early the next day, Zane and Mia were already sitting at the dining table, having breakfast together.

The second Mia saw me, her eyes filled with guilt. "I'm sorry, Winnie. I've caused trouble for you guys again."

Before I could respond, Zane spoke up for her. "It's not your fault. You're sick. You can't control it."

I said nothing. The bitterness in my chest climbed into my throat until my nose stung and my eyes began to burn.

What exactly couldn't she control? Her sleepwalking? Or the feelings between the two of them that had already started burning again?

I walked over, took a seat at the table, and stared at the elaborate breakfast spread in front of me. I reached for the iced coffee, only for Zane to smack my hand away. "That's Mia's. She always has coffee in the morning."

Then he pushed a glass of warm milk toward me. "Drink this instead. Those dark circles are awful. Were you up all night again? Winnie, you really should take a page out of Mia's book. She actually knows how to keep a decent sleep schedule."

I tuned out the rest of his lecture. I just sat there, staring at the iced coffee.

Zane knew every one of Mia's habits by heart. At this point, making her morning coffee was practically muscle memory.

He'd even bought a coffee machine just for her. Every morning, he ground the beans himself and brewed her a fresh cup.

Ever since Mia started sleepwalking, I would wake up to an empty, cold spot beside me.

Zane was willing to get out of bed at seven in the morning just to make coffee for Mia, yet in the three years we'd been together, this was the first time he had ever made breakfast for me.

And apparently, I had his ex-girlfriend to thank for it.

I didn't touch the glass of milk he'd pushed toward me. A heavy silence settled over the table.

Mia was the first to break it. She gave a little pout, then slid the coffee across to me with an air of exaggerated generosity. "It's fine. If Winnie wants it, she can have it. I don't mind."

She made it sound as though I were the one taking something that belonged to her.

But she'd taken my home and Zane away from me. And now, somehow, even that cup of coffee was hers.

She was the one taking things from me. Not the other way around.

Zane frowned and pushed the coffee back toward her. "You've had the same routine for six or seven years. There's no reason to change it just because of her."

Then he looked at me, his voice turning firm. "The milk is your only option. Drink it or don't. It's up to you."

I said nothing. Mia drinking coffee in the morning might have been a six-or-seven-year habit. But I'd been allergic to milk for 25 years.

And once again, when it came down to choosing between us, Zane chose her instead of me.

When Mia lied about her sleepwalking, he'd chosen to help her keep the truth from me.

And now, over something as insignificant as breakfast, he expected me to risk my health rather than inconvenience one of Mia's precious little habits.

I got up from the table and went back to the bedroom.

Behind me, their laughter and conversation carried on without so much as a pause.

As if whether I was there or not made no difference at all.

I packed my suitcase in silence. By the time I came out again, I had no idea how much time had passed. Zane and Mia were already gone.

He'd driven her to work. Meanwhile, I was supposed to squeeze onto the subway.

Rain was coming down in sheets outside, and Zane had taken both umbrellas from the entryway.

Ever since Mia came back into his life, two things had quietly disappeared.

The car that used to be waiting for me every morning and every evening. And the man who'd once promised he'd always be there to weather every storm with me.

I turned around and went back to the bedroom.

I messaged my manager to ask for the day off, telling her I needed to take care of the paperwork for my overseas transfer.

"Winnie, what made you change your mind all of a sudden?"

I stared at the message for a long time without answering.

I'd turned down the transfer before because Zane and I were supposed to get engaged soon.

I'd even given up the chance to study abroad because all I'd wanted was to build a little home with him here.

But now, someone else had moved into that home. So I didn't want it anymore.