Chapter 1

Chris and I used a CoupleStreak app to track our relationship.

For 999 consecutive days, he sent me a "Goodnight" message every single day.

He said it was our special ritual.

Even when we fought, even when he went on business trips, and even when he didn't finish his client dinners until three in the morning, he never missed a single day.

Until last night, when the streak stopped at day 999.

The app gave a cold notification: Your streak has been broken.

Thinking something terrible had happened to him, I called him 108 times.

When he finally picked up on the 108th call, his voice was raspy and exhausted.

"Stop pressuring me, Chloe. I’m still at the hospital. Grace is having an episode."

Grace was his ex-girlfriend. She had gotten divorced just two weeks ago.

I gripped my phone tightly, my heart sinking inch by inch.

"So you forgot to say goodnight to me?"

Chris paused, as if he had just realized it, and let out a soft, dismissive chuckle.

"We’ve been together forever, babe. Are you seriously throwing a tantrum over something so petty?"

But this "petty" thing was something he had built with his own hands when he was chasing me.

He once told me that "goodnight" wasn’t just a word; it was his way of making sure I was the very last thought in his mind before he went to sleep.

I stared at the broken number on my screen. Suddenly, I felt like our two and a half years together weren't that long after all.

It was long enough for him to form a habit, but short enough for him to completely forget about me the moment another woman needed him.