Chapter 2

I first met Lilith back in middle school.

She was a straight-A student, but her family wasn't well-off. And because she was pretty, a bunch of guys kept bothering her, trying to make her be their girlfriend.

She was proud and stubborn, so she ended up making a lot of enemies.

One day after school, I was heading home when I heard some noise in a lane. I turned and saw Lilith cornered by a few guys. They were eyeing her in a way that made her seem even smaller and more vulnerable.

I've always been the type to stand up for others. Plus, the guy leading them was someone I couldn't stand. So I didn't hesitate to step in and defend her.

Those guys were total bullies—only picking on the weak. When they saw me, they didn't dare mess with me and took off in a flash.

I reached out and helped Lilith to her feet.

From that day on, we became best friends.

Once we were friends, nobody dared to mess with Lilith anymore.

Later, we both got into the same university. Lilith blossomed into an even more stunning beauty, and she turned heads everywhere she went.

Honestly, I couldn't have been happier for her.

I met Spencer at the freshman orientation. He was one of the star seniors giving a speech, and I fell for him the moment I saw him.

Just for him, I tried out for the student council. And I actually made it.

Spencer was the most popular guy on campus. Girls flocked to him, and I was just another face in the crowd.

Even after I joined the council, I still never spoke a word to him.

Then came the school's Winter Assembly. The girl who was supposed to rehearse with Spencer had to drop out at the last minute. Since I was the only one in the council majoring in acting, he asked me to be his partner.

With the performance just around the corner, we ended up spending almost every day together.

That was the first time I really got to be close to him.

But because of that, I started neglecting Lilith.

A little jealous, Lilith came looking for us and ended up bickering with Spencer. That was when the two of them started holding a grudge against each other.

After the performance wrapped up, Spencer and I got closer and started hanging out together all the time.

One night, after a few drinks, I blurted out my feelings to him. To my shock, he actually agreed to date me.

But when Lilith found out, she got even more pissed and ignored me for ages. I had to bend over backwards to win her back.

From then on, Lilith just couldn't stand Spencer.

Because of that, I always kept them apart, constantly playing referee between them.

But I never imagined they'd already hooked up behind my back.

And here I was, left in the dark like a fool.

I stumbled back to the party, numb and in a daze.

My friends could tell something was wrong. So I made up an excuse, said I wasn't feeling well, and ended the party early.

Once everyone was gone, I took a cold shower and lay in bed. I scrolled through all our old photos. Read years of chat logs with Spencer. I cried so hard that I could barely catch my breath.

After all this time with him, I never saw it. He was just using me all along.

How ironic.

My thoughts were all over the place, and the more I dwelled on it, the worse I felt. In the end, I popped some melatonin, hoping to knock myself out.