Chapter 1

Whenever they played Truth or Dare, my boyfriend's childhood sweetheart, Clara would deliberately dare him to pull the same prank on me, and Ronan would always willingly play along: he would pretend to propose to me.

The last time, I fell for it. I joyfully held out my hand, but a mechanism inside the ring snapped shut, and I cried out in pain.

Ronan and Clara doubled over with laughter, ignoring my finger, which had been pinched purple.

Afterward, Ronan pinned me against the wall and swore that this year, he would give me a real proposal.

So when his bodyguards brought me to the private club where we first met, I changed into an expensive white silk gown, styled my hair, and applied my most exquisite makeup.

I even played the touching scene out in my head, imagining myself nodding and saying yes.

But as I pushed open the door to the VIP room, my heart pounding, someone threw a full glass of deep red wine in my face. It streamed down my chin and onto my gown.

A woman's laughter erupted from the crowd.

"I told you Aurora would show up, didn't I? Ronan, you lose!"

Ronan walked over, looking resigned. He gently dabbed at my face with a napkin, his tone as soft as ever. "Dressed up just for me? A shame to ruin a good dress."

"Clara dared me to bet on whether you would have the guts to come to our turf tonight. I bet that you would. The wager was this: if you didn't, I'd propose tomorrow. If you came, we'd have to wait another year."

"Sorry, baby. Since you showed up, I guess we can't get married this year."

I looked into his eyes. After a long moment, I asked him, "Then, do you remember what tomorrow is?"

He shrugged nonchalantly and smiled. "Of course. Our sixth anniversary. I couldn't forget that."

The wine trickled down my collarbone, cold and sticky. I shivered.

Suddenly, the whole thing felt utterly pointless.

Our anniversary meant nothing compared to one of their pranks.

Just like me. I could never win against Clara, his childhood sweetheart.

I unclasped the simple silver bracelet, the one I'd worn for six years, from my wrist.

"This is over. We're breaking up."

...

The silver bracelet clattered on the cold marble floor. With that single clink, the whole room fell silent.

Ronan's smile vanished, his brow furrowing.

"Stop throwing a tantrum. It's just a dirty dress. I will help you out of it and wash it for you when we get back to the room."

"You know how Clara is. She's been like this since we were kids, and her games used to be much wilder. She was actually going easy on you today."

"You usually don't have the nerve to set foot on our turf. Now that you're finally here, don't make my men think my woman doesn't know her place."

Clara leaned against the card table, pouting.

"Aurora, it was just a simple game. If you can't take a joke, I just won't tease you anymore. What's the point of threatening Ronan with a breakup over every little thing?"

"I told you she was too sensitive, but you insisted she come. Now look at the mess you've made."

She crossed her arms and dropped into the sofa. All eyes in the room turned to me, unfriendly. It was as if they blamed me for ruining their fun.

Clara was the only girl in their circle, the apple of everyone's eye. If she so much as frowned, they all had to fall all over themselves to appease her.

Ronan, of course, was no exception.

I still remember the first time I met her. She loved Truth or Dare, and each dare was more outrageous than the last.

Other people's punishments were to go pick a fight with some punk on the street; when it was my turn, she ordered me to act out our favorite sexual position with Ronan in front of everyone.

I only whispered that the dare was crass, and Clara immediately stormed out, red-eyed, slamming the door behind her.

The mood in the room soured instantly, and they all rushed out after her, with Ronan leading the pack.

That dinner, which was supposed to be my formal introduction to the family, ended with me sitting all alone at the long table.

Ronan never mentioned it when he came back, but from then on, if Clara didn't approve, he would never bring me into his circle for any gathering.

Even now, though we've been together for six years, very few of his brothers even know me.

Now, Ronan was frowning at me. "Aurora, go apologize to Clara."

In the past, to stay by his side, to fit into his circle, and to protect his pride in front of his men, I would have swallowed my own pride.

I wouldn't have even waited for him to ask; I would have been the first to bow my head.

But now, my declaration of a breakup was still less important than Clara simply saying she was "unhappy."

It finally clicked. From the very beginning, in Ronan's heart, our relationship had never outweighed his bond with his childhood sweetheart.

I picked up the handbag and trench coat I had so carefully chosen to meet his family. Facing the roomful of scrutinizing gazes, I said, word by word, "Ronan, we are completely over. I mean it."

I turned around. My heels were unsteady on the slippery floor, but I walked out without a single glance back.