Chapter 1

The year I turned twenty-three, I had a dream.

In it, an old woman warned me, gentle and insistent.

"Break up with your boyfriend, now. If you don't, they'll spin you in circles and lie to you the whole time."

"He and your best friend have had feelings for each other for a long time."

"If you don't believe me, go look at your boyfriend's username online."

"The initials already tell you the answer."

I went and looked at his display name. Sure enough, it was Maud Simmons's initials.

But it still felt absurd to me. "It could just be a coincidence."

The old woman only smiled, bitter.

"You don't believe me? In a little while, he'll shoot down your hot-springs resort birthday plan,"

"and pick the country lodge your best friend set up instead."

I jolted awake and realized it had only been a dream.

I was about to share the strange, eerie thing with my boyfriend and my best friend when, all of a sudden.

A message popped up in the three of us group chat.

"Rosie, your birthday's in three days. Let's skip the hot-springs resort and switch to a country lodge instead, okay?"

1

I stared at the message.

A chill ran through me.

They really wanted to cancel my hot-springs resort and swap in a backwoods lodge?

"Rosie? Why aren't you answering? Do you like the lodge idea?"

Maud's messages kept coming, one after another.

"I looked forever to find this place. The reviews online are amazing!"

"They say the campfire chicken there is out of this world, and you can even go strawberry picking!"

Maud's little avatar kept popping up.

Then my boyfriend, Benedict Gilbert, chimed in right behind her.

"Rosie, Maudie's right."

"The hot-springs resort is packed right now, and expensive too. No fun."

"Going to a country lodge and getting close to nature is so much better. Breathe some fresh air, way better than soaking in a pool of disinfectant."

I closed my eyes, and the old woman's bitter smile echoed in my head.

"Break up with your boyfriend, now... they've had feelings for each other for a long time..."

"You don't believe me? In a little while, he'll shoot down your hot-springs resort birthday plan and pick your best friend's country lodge."

It had come true.

The three words landed on my heart with a dull, heavy ache.

Before I could reply, the chat had already scrolled up under new messages.

They chatted away, warm and lively.

Even without me there, the two of them seemed to have endless things to talk about.

I typed out a line:

"But I still like the hot-springs resort better..."

Then I deleted it, one letter at a time.

I hinted, softly, that I didn't want to go.

But Maud waved three tickets in front of my face.

"Tickets to the country lodge. I already bought yours. Pretty thoughtful, right?"

I stayed silent.

Benedict frowned, impatience showing in his eyes.

"Rosalie Henson, you've got such a good best friend handling all this, booking everything for you. You should count yourself lucky."

"Can you stop sitting there with that face and killing the mood? Nobody owes you anything."

I lowered my head. "Fine."

In the end, they still packed me into the car by force.

In the yard of the country lodge.

A plump woman in a blue apron came out to greet us, her voice booming:

"You're Maudie's booking, right? Come on in, we've got the fire going for you already!"

Maud chatted eagerly with her.

"So this is your boyfriend? Handsome guy, pretty girl, what a match."

Benedict just stood there smiling.

Letting them assume, saying nothing to correct it.

Maud shot me a sideways glance, testing, then smiled shyly.

"Ma'am, you've got it wrong. My best friend here is his girlfriend!"

The woman gave two awkward laughs and walked off.

Maud leaned close to my shoulder, smiling, coaxing me.

"That lady just didn't know, that's why she got confused. Rosie, you're not upset, are you?"

I said nothing.

Any other time, I'd have been the first to clear it up.

"You're my best friend. How could I ever take it to heart?"

Besides, a mix-up like this had happened more than once or twice.

Every time, I cheerfully explained to people.

"One of them is my boyfriend, the other's my best friend. They're the two people closest to me."

I never kept my guard up around them.

Once, the three of us went hiking together. I got too tired to keep climbing and waited by myself at the foot of the trail.

The two of them went up to the top to take photos.

And I never once suspected anything was happening behind my back.

But now, something seemed to have shifted.

Just then, the owner came over carrying a birthday cake.

"There's a birthday cake too. We've got an event at the lodge today, so we're giving you one."

I lowered my head, my gaze landing on the cake, and stopped cold.

Written across it in bright, bold letters: