Chapter 2

Austin was stunned when he heard my words.

He smiled down at me, like I was a toddler throwing an unreasonable tantrum.

“She’s your best friend. Are you seriously getting jealous over this?

“I just think of her as your family, so I’m being a little extra considerate. That’s all.”

He patted my head and said, like he had done countless times before, “Okay, stop making a scene.”

My mind flashed back to the past.

Laurel’s family had pressured her to get married. So, she asked him to accompany her to her hometown and act as her boyfriend for a week.

Another time, she got lost during a hike. He abandoned me on the highway without hesitation and drove off to find her. I clung to the car door and begged him desperately. He only gave me a cold stare. “Laurel is in trouble right now. I have to go. Stop making a scene.”

My thoughts returned to the present. I watched him pick up a shrimp and place it into my bowl once again. My appetite vanished completely. “I’m not eating anymore.”

“Grace, what’s your problem now?”

His gentle gaze from earlier had vanished.

It was not until Laurel gently tugged at his sleeve and told him that I was allergic to seafood that a hint of guilt appeared on his face.

“I’ll make you something else, then.”

“Don’t bother.”

With that, I went back to my room without looking at them again.

As the door clicked shut, Laurel’s voice came through.

“Is Gracie upset? Maybe I should go talk to her,” she asked using my nickname.

“Don’t bother with her. She’s always been like this. Let’s just eat.”

I could hear them laughing and carrying on in the living room. They were talking over some mindless variety show animatedly.

Yet, when it was just Austin and me, he would snatch the remote and turn off my show.

He would say, “Stop wasting your time on this brainrot. You’re not exactly smart to begin with.”

Snapping back to the present, I sat on the carpet and let out a long, heavy sigh.

Then, I took out my phone and canceled the wedding invitations, my dress, and the venue, one by one.

Soon after, Austin’s flat and indifferent voice came through the door.

“Grace, I’m sending Laurel home.”

Before I could respond, the front door already slammed shut behind them.

It was raining cats and dogs outside. Austin was not fond of such weather.

Once, I was trapped at a mall because of a downpour. When I asked him to pick me up, he said with obvious annoyance, “The rain’s going to let up soon anyway. I finally get a break at home, and you seriously want me to go out in this weather?”

Yet, whenever Laurel came over for dinner, he would personally drive her home, rain or shine.

He would even get in the rain with her. They would duck under a tree and share those ridiculous grins.

I drifted off as I recalled the rainy days we shared in college.

He would pull me into his arms and cover my head with his hand. He had told me that he would shield me from the storms forever.

In the blink of an eye, the very hands that had shielded me were protecting someone else.

Austin only came home early the next morning.

He tiptoed into bed, careful not to wake me.

He lay beside me with his back turned, but the glow from his phone screen was strikingly bright.

I could not help but turn my head and saw a text message from Laurel.

[Austin, the company gave me two movie tickets. Do you want to join me tomorrow?]

She then texted more, as though she was afraid of being too obvious.

[Gracie’s not really into this kind of movie anyway.]

Austin’s hand hovered in midair as he hesitated before typing a reply.

[But tomorrow’s Grace’s birthday. I promised I’d spend it with her...]

Before he could send the message, Laurel texted again.

[It’s okay if you’re busy. I can go alone… Boohoo.]

He could never say no to Laurel when she played the victim.

He replied, [Sure, let’s go together.]

So, among the three of us, I was the one who got cast aside.