Chapter 1

When they saw me, they all froze.

Arthur was the first to speak. "Since you've already found out, there's no point hiding it. Claire just came back, and she needs us. You'll have to take this trip alone."

It was absurd.

Three days earlier, the three of them had sat in front of me holding those same tickets.

Noah talked about jumping into the Mediterranean. Theo planned out all the footage he'd shoot along the way. Arthur even held my hand as we dreamed about how romantic the trip would be.

That was why I'd turned down the offer.

I glared at them. "If you didn't want to go, why didn't you just tell me?"

Arthur frowned. "If we'd told you, would you still have signed the sailing agreement?"

Noah sounded impatient. "Evelyn, weren't you the one who always said you wanted to sail around the world? Now that you actually get to go, you're blaming us?"

Theo even tried to persuade me. "You're not really losing anything. You're good enough to land a job at a top firm in two years anyway. But you only get one chance to sail around the world at 22."

But I'd spent two whole years working toward that offer.

I completed three internships, went through six rounds of interviews, and barely slept four hours a night throughout graduation season.

I interned during the day, wrote my thesis at night, and was still preparing the next day's presentation at dawn.

When the job offer finally came through, they were the first people I told.

Arthur even posted in our group chat, "Of course our brilliant Evelyn pulled it off."

Those words had made my entire night. Now, all that hard work meant nothing to them. They treated it like just another job I could easily land in two years.

These were the friends I'd grown up with, the people I'd trusted with everything. Yet with a few careless words, they'd brushed aside two years of my hard work.

There wasn't a trace of sympathy for me in their eyes. All they cared about was making Claire feel welcome, even if it meant pushing me out.

I looked at Arthur again. "And you? You said yes to me just to trick me onto that boat, didn't you?"

Arthur frowned. "Evelyn, I didn't agree to date you to trick you. When you get back in two years, we can pick up where we left off."

Suddenly I couldn't speak.

I'd chased Arthur for five years.

When he competed in an equestrian event, I waited outside the arena in the rain for four hours so I could be the first to hand him a towel afterward.

When he was hospitalized for a stomach condition, I skipped my school's Christmas party to spend three nights by his side.

On my 18th birthday, I got drunk and asked him, "Arthur, when are you ever going to like me?"

He just ruffled my hair. "Give it time."

I waited five years, and he finally said yes.

But he hadn't said yes because he loved me. He'd used my feelings for him as leverage to get me to sign.

Five years. I'd thought my love had finally been returned. Instead, it had all been a lie.

I glanced at Claire and couldn't help laughing. "So you arranged all of this just to get me out of London for two years, right?"

Nobody answered.

But their silence told me everything I needed to know.

Two years. Just long enough for Claire to fit in, but not long enough that I'd be out of their lives for good.

Claire's eyes turned red. "Evelyn, why are you looking at me? I never wanted to take your place. But if it hurts you this much to have me here, I'll leave."

She'd barely taken two steps before all three of them went after her.

Noah grabbed her. "What are you talking about?"

Arthur stepped in front of her. "Nobody's asking you to leave. It took so long to get you back. You don't have to leave for anyone."

I stood off to the side, painfully aware of the irony.

So they did know how much it hurt to be sent away.

The thought of Claire leaving broke their hearts. But when it came to me, leaving was simply expected. They hadn't even bothered to discuss it with me.

The four of them had plotted to push me out while claiming it was for my own good.

My eyes landed on Claire's wrist.

She was wearing a new navy-blue braided bracelet.

We'd made those bracelets together when we were 18. There were four, one for each of us, as a symbol of our friendship.

We'd promised each other. "Only the four of us can wear these bracelets. They're a symbol of our lifelong friendship!"

Claire noticed where I was looking and tucked her hand into her sleeve.

"Who gave you that?" I asked.

Theo stepped in front of her. "Don't start. She's always been sad that she missed out on spending time with us as kids, so we made her one."

I looked down at the bracelet I'd worn for four years, its knots now faded and frayed. The irony wasn't lost on me.

Anything that belonged to our shared past was Claire's for the asking, handed over piece by piece whenever she wanted it.

They could always make another bracelet. And if Claire couldn't fit into our little group, they'd simply push me aside to make room for her. I was replaceable.

I took off my bracelet and placed it in front of Claire. "You want to be part of the group, don't you? This bracelet is part of our history too. You can have it."

Then I picked up my bag and turned to go.

Arthur caught my wrist. "Stop making a scene. In a month, I'll be there when you board."

I shook him off.

Just as I stepped outside, I got a message from Helen Marsh, the voyage's project director.

Three days earlier, Helen had contacted me privately.

The voyage wasn't just for tourists. A global investment research team backed by one of Europe's largest funds would also be on board.

They were accepting only six graduates from around the world, and I was the only one Helen had personally invited.

If I completed the two-year program and performed well, I could go straight into a role at headquarters overseeing the entire project.

I'd turned down the opportunity because I wanted so badly to stay with my friends. I hadn't told them because I didn't want them to feel guilty.

There was no point in telling them now.

Helen followed up with another message.

"Ms. Pryce, there's just one spot left on the investment analysis team.

"If you accept, you'll need to depart early with the advance team. You'll board the ship at the Port of Southampton the day after tomorrow."

I replied immediately, "I accept."

Instead of leaving in over a month, I'd be setting sail the day after tomorrow.