Chapter 1

It was around eleven at night when I showed up at the hotel because my parents told me to pick up my drunken brother.

I had just stepped into the hallway outside the party room when I heard him raising his voice.

"Samuel, seriously? I heard you're seeing some girl and treating her like she's the best thing on earth, but you won't even show me a picture?" he asked.

I froze on the spot.

Samuel was my boyfriend. We'd been dating in secret for a year and a half, and nobody in my family had a clue.

Right after that, I heard Samuel's voice. "Show her to you?"

He sounded like he was talking about someone he barely knew. "It's just for fun to date her. Why are you acting like it's a big deal?"

The second I heard that, it felt like someone dumped a bucket of ice water over me. Even my fingers went numb.

Before I could talk myself out of it, I shoved the heavy door open.

*****

I stood outside the party room with sweat pooling in my palms.

Even through the door, Kevin's voice practically blasted my eardrums.

"Samuel! Dude, seriously? I heard you're dating some girl and treating her like she's the best thing in the world, but you won't even show us a picture?" he asked.

Samuel was my boyfriend.

We had been dating in secret for a year and a half. Nobody in my family knew.

Then I heard him.

He sounded amused, almost lazy. "Show her to you?"

He paused, and then tossed out a line like he couldn't care less. "It was just for fun. Why are you taking it so seriously?"

My whole body went ice-cold in a heartbeat.

The tiny bit of excitement I had earlier when Mom and Dad asked me to pick up my drunken brother suddenly felt pathetic.

Turns out I was the joke.

To him, it was just for fun.

A year and a half together, and that was all I meant to him.

I didn't stop to think. I pushed the heavy door open hard.

The room went dead quiet.

Everyone whipped their heads toward me.

I didn't look at any of them. I walked straight over to Kevin, who collapsed over the table.

"Kevin, Mom and Dad told me to take you home." My voice came out so steady that it surprised me.

Kevin squinted at me, drunk and confused. "Huh? Katherine? What're you doing here?"

I reached over to help him up.

Someone next to him finally reacted. It was Nolan, one of Samuel's buddies.

He grinned. "Whoa, where'd this pretty girl come from? You here for Kevin?"

I ignored him.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of Samuel.

He shot up from his chair, his face turning paper white. His lips moved like he was about to say something.

"Katherine..." His voice cracked.

I acted like I didn't hear him and pulled Kevin to his feet.

Nolan kept running his mouth. He nudged Samuel with his elbow. "Dude, don't tell me she's that just-for-fun girl you've been hiding. Damn, she's actually gorgeous!"

Samuel snapped, "Nolan, shut the hell up!"

He looked at me, panic all over his face. "Katherine, it's not what you think. Let's talk outside."

I steadied Kevin and finally looked Samuel straight in the eye.

That panic didn't move me at all.

I lifted one corner of my mouth and spoke to everyone, and to him. "You guys keep hanging out. My brother's hammered, so I'm taking him home."

Then I turned around with Kevin and walked out.

I didn't spare Samuel a single glance.

Behind me, Nolan finally muttered, "Holy crap. It is her."

And Samuel hissed, furious. "I said shut up!"

The door closed behind me and cut off the noise.

The hallway lights felt way too bright.

Kevin leaned on me and mumbled, "Samuel, drink. Keep drinking."

I stayed quiet.

I held him up and walked him out, step by step.

The cold inside me slowly turned into anger.

I shoved Kevin into a cab, dragged him home, and dropped him on his bed.

My parents kept complaining about how Kevin never behaved and how Samuel was the responsible one.

I muttered a soft "mm-hmm" and went to my room.

When I closed the door, the whole world went silent.

My phone buzzed once in my pocket, then again.

I pulled it out.

The screen lit up with more than ten missed calls, all from Samuel.

And there were even more WhatsApp messages.

The first one was from twenty minutes earlier. [Katherine, where are you?]

[Pick up.]

[Let me explain. That was just the guys messing around. You can't take that seriously.]

[They were pushing me. I didn't know what else to say.]

[Can you please call me back?]

[I'm sorry. I swear I didn't mean it. Just give me a chance.]

They kept coming, one after another.

I stared at them, completely numb.

I scrolled to the bottom.

The newest one came three minutes ago.

It was a long paragraph.

[Katherine, I know you're mad. But I really have something tonight. Sophia just flew back. Her red-eye lands soon, and I have to pick her up from the airport. It's late, and she's alone. Let's talk tomorrow when I'm back, okay?]

So Sophia was back.

The girl he called just-for-fun wasn't worth a real explanation.

But the one he called his first love came back, and he dropped everything for her.

He didn't even bother pretending with me anymore.

I stared at the message for a long time.

Then I opened his profile and blocked him.

I also blocked his calls.

Every way he could reach me was gone.

I tossed my phone on the bed and walked to the window.

The city lights were bright, and the traffic below looked like a glowing river.

It had been a year and a half. I really thought we were good.

He remembered I hated onions and picked them out for me.

When I got sick, he skipped class to buy medicine.

In winter, he warmed my hands in his pockets.

Turns out all of that was just a performance for his buddies, for me, and maybe even for himself.

Now that the real leading lady was back, the stand-in finally needed to leave the stage. It was good.