Chapter 1

I'd just settled into my seat on the plane when a few DMs popped up on my phone. They were from a relationship-advice influencer I had interacted with online years ago.

"Hey, Rosemary. It's been five years, hasn't it? My followers have been wondering whether you've been able to move on from that relationship."

I tapped on her profile. My video was still there, pinned to the top with the most likes. I then tapped the video open.

On the screen, the me from five years ago was crying her heart out, muttering, "He said he's had a girlfriend all along, that they've been together for five years.

"They've already met each other's parents and are planning to get engaged as soon as they graduate. And he said his girlfriend comes from a really wealthy family. But my family is also wealthy, though…"

Because of what I said, quite a few people felt bad for me back then.

"I can understand wanting answers and her anger, but she just had to say her family was rich, too. It's like she's wondering why she's the one getting played when she's also rich."

"I mean, five years is a long time. How can someone just walk away from it so easily?"

"That scumbag deserves to rot in hell."

Some even accused me of having ulterior motives.

They claimed I was the one who deliberately inserted myself into their relationship and knowingly became the other woman.

And they said I only reached out to the influencer to feed the public my sob story to pressure the real girlfriend into leaving.

After skimming through the old comments, I was just about to close the app when a new comment from a minute ago popped up. "Guys, it's been five years. I'm going to bet that this homewrecker managed to steal him."

I was about to report the comment when a reply that had just been posted appeared underneath it. "She didn't. Stop spreading rumors."

I recognized that profile picture instantly. It was Tyler Goff's burner account, the one he hadn't used in ages.

Back then, it was his lies that thrust me into the eye of the storm. What right did he have now to tell others not to spread rumors?

With a sneer, I went back to the influencer's DMs and typed, "I moved on ages ago. Please take the video down."

When I gave it some thought, I realized that Tyler and I first crossed paths thanks to a textbook damsel-in-distress moment.

Tyler didn't even know that his dad had a second family until his dad's actual wife showed up at their door.

The woman had brought a group of people with her, all holding up their phones to record everything. They tore at Tyler's mom's clothes while hurling a barrage of vicious insults at her.

Tyler shielded his mom with his own body, eventually ending up covered in cuts and bruises. That was when I stepped in front of them to protect them while calling the cops.

The police officers put an end to the farce and brought the group in for questioning and warnings. "No matter how serious the issue, violence is not allowed! Look at what you did to them! That's completely unacceptable!"

After I finished giving my statement, I got ready to leave. As I reached the door, Tyler called out to me.

His face was still a mess of bruises. As he spoke, the movement split his wounds open again, causing blood to trickle down. He gave me a sincere bow, then asked me for my number.