Chapter 2

I walked aimlessly through the campus, completely numb. Memories of Ethan and me kept flashing through my mind.

We were high school sweethearts. We met on the school debate team.

We used to prep for tournaments together and travel for competitions.

Sometimes, practice would run late, and we’d miss the last bus. Since Ethan lived "near" me, he’d always offer to drive me home.

Later, I found out from a mutual friend that Ethan’s house was in the exact opposite direction of mine.

He wasn’t on the way at all. He drove thirty minutes out of his way just to get me home safely, then drove forty-five minutes back to his own place.

I never called him out on it. Instead, I kept letting him drive me home.

Whenever he bought Starbucks, he always brought an extra iced latte for me.

When we went to a haunted house, he’d grab my hand tightly, looking even more nervous than I was.

We had this beautiful, unspoken tension between us, neither of us brave enough to break the spell.

Until the night after our high school graduation party. I had a bit too much to drink and tripped on the stairs.

Ethan panicked. He rushed over, crying as he pulled me into his arms, and drove me straight to the ER.

At the hospital, he asked the doctor three times to make sure I only had a minor scratch before he finally calmed down.

Ethan knelt in front of my chair. At that moment, I saw the entire universe in his teary eyes.

"Chloe, be my girlfriend. Let me take care of you forever."

I nodded eagerly, my heart bursting with joy.

When our college admission results came out, my SAT scores were much higher than his.

I turned down an admission offer from Boston University just so I could stay in our hometown and attend the local state college with Ethan.

I thought our love was rock-solid. But I had been blind to the warning signs.

Our relationship probably started rotting the moment Ashley entered the picture.