Chapter 1

Ethan was a cold man. He was the type who wouldn't even reply to a text because he thought it was a waste of his precious time.

Excitedly, I sent him the trending "Boyfriend Instantly Reports His Day" challenge that was blowing up on TikTok.

He only sent back two words: "Grow up."

But that very night, I saw a video posted by his first love, Sienna.

The man who never replied to me in seconds was practically spamming her chat with every little detail of his day.

"Just got to the office."

"Meeting finished."

"Picking you up tonight. Babe, don't wear heels. Your feet will hurt."

I stared at the screen, and my mind flashed back to last week. I was rolling on the floor in the ER with acute gastritis, sending him thirty desperate texts for help.

He only replied the next afternoon.

"I'm busy. Stop exaggerating minor illnesses just to get my attention."

When Ethan finally came home, I was still sitting in the dark on the living room couch.

He glanced at my phone screen, sighed with annoyance, and pulled me into his arms.

"You saw that? Sienna just got back to the country and feels insecure. I'm just playing along to make her feel safe."

"You're my girl. You should know what's real and what's just a joke."

I looked down and smiled.

Yeah.

I finally realized that I was the joke.