Chapter 1

I love surprises.

That was why, during our three years of long-distance, Ethan sent a monthly surprise box to our house. He wanted me and my older sister, Natalie, to unbox them together.

The rule was simple: whoever unboxed the item got to keep it.

But for three whole years, my share was always cheap, dollar-store keychains.

Meanwhile, Natalie always seemed to unbox Cartier necklaces and Chanel bags.

I honestly thought I just had terrible luck.

Until yesterday, when I saw a pinned chat on Natalie's Snapchat.

It was a message from Ethan.

"For this month's box, make sure you choose numbers 1, 4, 5, 9, and 11."

"I put your surprises in those."

My breath caught in my throat.

I scrolled up through their chat history.

It turned out that for the past three years, on the exact day we were supposed to open the boxes, Ethan would text Natalie a list of numbers beforehand.

He made sure she would always get the luxury gifts he had meticulously prepared.

The truth hit me like a physical blow.

It wasn't that I had bad luck.

It was just that Ethan had given all of his luck—and effort—to Natalie.

If that was the case, then I didn't want any of it anymore.

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