Chapter 1

During my first year of long-distance with Ethan, I found a selfie of my best friend, Chloe, on her phone. She was standing on his balcony.

I lost my mind right then and there.

With teary eyes, she squatted in front of me and said, "I was just helping you drop off his winter clothes. The lighting was great, so I took a quick snap. You can go through my phone if you don't believe me."

That single sentence made me soft-hearted for three years.

For three years, she helped me pick up his Amazon packages, brought him slow-cooked beef stew, and even sent holiday gifts to his parents on my behalf.

Everyone told me, "Clara, you must have saved a kingdom in your past life to have a best friend like Chloe."

Until this Thanksgiving, when I finally got some PTO and flew over to surprise him.

At the entrance of the apartment building, I ran into Ethan’s neighbor, Mrs. Gable. She was carrying a pumpkin pie and looked me up and down.

"Oh, sweetheart, you must be Chloe's friend, right? She went out to the farmer's market. She'll be back in a bit."

I froze.

"How do you know she went grocery shopping?"

Mrs. Gable smiled warmly and said:

"She goes every single morning! It's been three years. Everyone in this building knows her. We all thought she was Ethan's wife."

I stood at the building entrance, clutching my suitcase. My feet felt glued to the ground.

Three years.

She wasn't helping me look after him.

She was living my life.