Chapter 2

Early the next morning, a woman’s sharp voice echoed from the hallway.

"I’m giving you one last chance. Is it her, or is it me?!"

Curious, I opened my door. It was my new neighbor, Amber. She was gorgeous, with a killer body and an incredibly edgy style.

But for some reason, every time I ran into her, a strange sense of unease would wash over me.

"What are you looking at? Never seen a hot girl before?" She turned and glared at me, her tone dripping with hostility.

I couldn't understand why she hated me so much. Her eyes were always filled with pure disgust.

"I just wanted to see whose dog was barking so early in the morning," I said, raising an eyebrow and biting back.

"What did you just say?!" Furious, she raised her hand and lunged at me.

I slammed the door shut in her face, letting her scream her head off in the hallway.

*Ding!*

My phone buzzed. A new friend request on SnapChat.

I tapped on the profile picture. It was a handsome guy, and it looked like a real photo, not a stock image.

"Hey there," a message popped up almost instantly.

I was confused. Ever since I started dating Ryan, I barely used dating apps or accepted random requests. How did this guy find me?

"Did you forget about me already, Chloe?" the guy sent another message when I didn't reply.

I stared at the screen, racking my brain, but I couldn't place his face at all.

"?" he sent.

He was being way too pushy.

I tapped his profile details. It showed he had added me by searching my exact username.

"Sorry, who is this?" I typed and sent.

Oddly enough, he went completely silent.

Over the next few days, I bumped into Amber almost every morning.

"Oh, you're up early too?" I asked, watching her yawn. I was starting to suspect she was doing this on purpose.

"Ugh, if I don't work, are you going to pay my bills?" She rolled her eyes, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, looking half-asleep.

"..." I turned away, ignoring her.

But from what I had observed lately, she didn't seem to have a real job. She only dressed up when she was going out to party.

*Ding!*

The elevator arrived.

The moment the doors slid open, Amber suddenly stood up straight and smoothed her hair.

Inside the elevator stood three women, each dressed in completely different styles.

"Oh, hey, cousin. What are you doing here?" Amber said with a fake smile to a woman wearing gold-rimmed glasses.

The woman clearly wanted nothing to do with her, her eyes filled with cold annoyance.

Then, Amber pulled out her phone, pressed the voice message button, and said in a sweet, dripping voice:

"Ryan, babe, guess who I just ran into in the elevator?"

Maybe it was a coincidence, or maybe she did it on purpose, but since I was standing right next to her, I caught a glimpse of her screen. The profile picture of the person she was messaging... was identical to Ryan's. Only the contact name was different.

"Some people just don't know when to give up. Always clinging to someone else's boyfriend," Amber said, tilting her head to glare at the woman behind me with pure contempt.

The atmosphere in the elevator turned suffocatingly tense. But except for her, no one said a word.

*Ding!*

The elevator doors opened on the ground floor. Amber seemed to be intentionally tailing me.

I walked out of the lobby slowly, then slipped into a blind spot and doubled back.

Sure enough, I saw her waiting by the elevators again.

My brain spun. I hid in the shadow of the staircase.

"Austin, I’m taking the day off," I texted my brother.

Since graduating, I had been working at our family's firm, so my hours were highly flexible.

Just when I thought she was going back up, the elevator doors opened. Ryan walked out.

Amber smiled warmly and wrapped her arm around his.

Ryan looked slightly annoyed and pulled away, but then he quickly leaned in and kissed her on the cheek.

After that, they walked out of the building, one after the other.