Chapter 1
I got scraped up all over trying to save my fiancée, Claire Reynolds.
But on the very first day she was supposed to take care of me, she vanished.
Her guy bestie, Ryan Matthews, posted a tweet with a picture of her from behind.
Ryan: [Sick day, but it's nice to have you here taking care of me.]
I posted a tweet too.
Ethan: [Just broke up. Single life, here I come!]
Later, she crossed half the country just to see me.
*****
Not long after I posted my tweet, my phone rang.
It was Claire.
She said, "What's with your tweet?"
She sounded a little flustered, though she tried to hide it.
"Exactly what it says," I replied.
Her voice grew more anxious, "Delete it. It'll just make people misunderstand."
"We're done. No misunderstanding," I said.
"Come on, we're already planning the wedding. How could you just break up with me?" she said.
I sighed. "Even if I don't want to let go, what difference does it make?"
"Why? Give me a reason. Is it just because I suddenly had to work overtime today?"
"Yes," my voice flat.
Her voice went up a notch. "Are you serious? All those late nights and extra hours—who do you think I'm doing it for? It's all for us, for our future together!"
I let out a cold laugh. "So taking care of your sick guy bestie is considered overtime now?"
There was a long pause on the other end, then she stammered, "How did you know?"
"That doesn't matter. What matters is, we're done." With that, I hung up.
*****
Claire slumped into her chair, her face pale and upset.
Her phone was ringing off the hook.
"Claire, what's up with Ethan's tweet? Did you two have a fight?" her mom asked.
"Claire, what happened?" one of her friends said.
"Is Ethan's tweet true? Are you guys fighting?" the other friend asked.
"Seriously, what's going on?" her friends asked.
Everyone saw the tweet and started blowing up her phone, asking what happened. She had to explain to everyone, over and over.
Meanwhile, Ryan couldn't help but feel a little pleased as he watched Ethan and Claire argue at the hospital bedside.
After Claire finished her calls, Ryan acted all innocent and said, "Claire, is this because of me? Did I make you guys fight? Should I go talk to Ethan and clear things up?"
"No need. He's not the jealous type. He just needs some time to cool down," Claire said.
*****
I called my parents and told them the truth about why we broke up.
They were shocked, but they were understanding and didn't say much, just respected my decision.
Claire and I met at a friend's party, and we totally hit it off from the start.
Our relationship wasn't some wild rollercoaster, but we had a steady three years together.
We just clicked, never even argued, not once.
Claire always said she wanted a wedding that was really special and absolutely perfect.
So I dove headfirst into planning everything.
I got hands-on with every detail, from picking out the best flowers to fussing over the table card designs.
Honestly, with the way I was handling things, I could've gone pro as a wedding planner.
But for the past six months, she'd been working overtime all the time, always busy.
I felt bad for her, worried she wasn't eating properly, so I'd bring her food whenever she was working late.
But when I got to her office, she was nowhere to be found.
Her coworkers said she'd left on time, and some guy had picked her up.
While she was asleep, I checked her chat history.
That's when I found out her guy bestie, Ryan, had gotten divorced and moved back to the country.
I confronted her with the chat logs, but she didn't see anything wrong with them at all.
She said, "You went through my phone? Don't I get any privacy?
"Ryan and I have been best friends for ten years. If we wanted to be together, we would've done it ages ago. Why would you even be in the picture?
"You're just being paranoid. Everything looks suspicious to you!
"Do you even know what a bestie is? I don't even see him as a guy."
I wasn't buying it. "If your relationship is really that innocent, then why did you have to lie to me about working overtime?"
She kept insisting she was right. "I only lied because I didn't want you getting all worked up.
"I know you too well. You're so narrow-minded, you can't let anything go."
Her words left me speechless.
After that, things got way out of hand.
No matter what Claire and I were doing, if Ryan called, she'd bail instantly, just drop everything and rush off.
At first, I'd argue with her, but it was pointless. Nothing ever changed.
Eventually, I just went quiet.
My heart just kept sinking, bit by bit.
And my feelings for her just kept slipping away.
That day, Claire and I were walking across the street together.
Suddenly, a car came speeding straight at her.
I dove forward, pushing her out of harm's way. She was totally fine, but I got scraped up all over.
She took an annual leave to stay home and take care of me.
But the moment Ryan called, she disappeared without a trace again.
Ryan posted another tweet, just to provoke me.
This time, I decided I wouldn't let it slide anymore.