Chapter 1

I rushed into the rehearsal hall, still clutching the Icy Hot pain patches I had bought for Julian.

But in the next second, I heard Hudson laughing inside.

"The sixty-third time! It worked! I told you she’d even blow off her final audition for the National Dance Theater just for Julian!"

"Only three more to go," someone chimed in, laughing. "Once she makes a fool of herself at the kids' recital, the sixty-six paybacks will be complete!"

I froze outside the door.

For three years, I thought Julian’s coldness toward me was just his personality.

Until Melanie, draped in Julian's jacket, smiled and asked,

"So, for the last three, how do you want to play her?"

Julian didn't answer.

But his silence was all the answer I needed.

I looked down at the pain patches in my hand and suddenly smiled.

It turned out the person I was desperately running toward had never even thought of catching me.

If that was the case, I was done playing this game.

As for what they owed me, I would claw it back, dollar by dollar, tear by tear.

**Chloe's POV**

I didn't even have time to change out of my pointe shoes before I bolted up to the third floor.

I was still clutching the Icy Hot pain patches I had bought for Julian.

Ten minutes ago, Julian's best friend, Hudson, sounded like he was on the verge of tears over the phone. He said Julian had broken his leg during rehearsal and couldn’t even stand up.

And I, like a fool, believed him.

For him, I abandoned my final audition for the National Dance Theater—an opportunity I had spent three years preparing for—and took a cab across the entire city just to save him.

The door to the rehearsal hall was slightly ajar.

There were no painful groans inside. No doctors, either.

Julian was sitting casually on a chair with his legs crossed, a towel draped over his knee. He didn't look injured at all.

Hudson was holding up his phone, recording and laughing hysterically. "The sixty-third time! It worked! I told you, as long as we use Julian’s name, that little puppy Chloe will throw away her dream audition in a heartbeat!"

Someone next to him chimed in, "She’s so gullible. It's been three years. Does she really think Julian actually likes her?"

Julian didn't laugh. He just casually spun the water bottle in his hand. "Alright, stop recording."

"What? Feeling bad for her?" Hudson nudged his shoulder on purpose. "If she hadn't used dirty tricks to steal Melanie's solo back then, Melanie wouldn't have been depressed for so long. You promised you’d get Melanie her sixty-six paybacks! Don't go soft on us now!"

Melanie sat by the mirror, wearing Julian's jacket. She looked so fragile, her voice practically dripping with innocence. "Let it go, guys. Chloe didn't mean to. She loves Julian so much. If she found out these three years were just a game, she wouldn't survive it."

"Good! She shouldn't!" Hudson sneered. "Whatever Melanie suffered back then, we're making her pay back double!"

"So, what's the plan for the last three?"

Melanie looked at Julian and made a sweet, delicate suggestion. "Let’s not be too harsh. Just make her publicly admit she stole my spot back then. Give her a little warning. She’s so proud; making her get on her knees and apologize in front of everyone will probably hurt her worse than death."

Outside the door, my hands turned ice-cold.

The plastic bag in my hand crinkled under my tightening grip, deformimg the pain patches inside.

It turned out that the heart I had poured out for three years was nothing more than a "payback checklist" to please Melanie.

I remembered standing in a torrential downpour for three hours just to bring him an umbrella. I remembered skipping meals to save up and buy him expensive designer dance shoes. I remembered his cold face, his constant lateness, his canceled plans...

I used to think he was just emotionally awkward.

Now I knew every cold shoulder was a precisely calculated cut, designed to make another woman smile.

"For the sixty-fourth payback, how about we mess with her kid's recital at the end of the month?" Hudson's laugh was pure venom. "Doesn't she care about those little brats more than anything?"

Julian didn't stop him.

His silence was sharper than any knife, completely slicing away my very last shred of hope.

I didn't push the door open to confront them. I didn't break down and scream.

I just quietly tossed the bag of pain patches into the hallway trash can, turned around, and walked down the stairs.