Chapter 1

I stood frozen in Ryan's Manhattan apartment, staring at the emerald green designer dress laid out on his king-sized bed. My fingers trembled as I reached out to touch the silky fabric—Givenchy, the same designer I'd pointed out in a magazine last month when Ryan asked what I wanted for our anniversary. He'd laughed then, saying it was 'ridiculous to spend that much on fabric.' Yet here it was, not for me, but for someone else.

'Ryan?' I called out, my voice steadier than I felt. 'What's this?'

He emerged from the bathroom, casually buttoning his crisp white shirt, not even glancing at the dress that had stopped my heart. 'Oh, that? It's for Sophia—her scholarship gala is this weekend.'

'Sophia,' I repeated, the name tasting bitter on my tongue. Always Sophia. The scholarship student. The girl who somehow needed Ryan's constant attention and care.

'Yeah.' He shrugged, reaching for his watch on the nightstand. 'She mentioned she didn't have anything to wear, so I picked something up.'

I forced a smile, feeling my chest tighten with a familiar humiliation. 'The same designer I wanted for our anniversary?'

Ryan rolled his eyes, his handsome face twisting into that expression I'd grown to dread—impatience mixed with dismissal. 'Come on, Isabella. That's different. You have plenty of dresses. Sophia doesn't have the advantages you do.'

I nodded mechanically, swallowing the words that threatened to spill out. What about my advantages? What about being your girlfriend of four years? What about the ninety-nine times we'd broken up and gotten back together, each reconciliation feeling more hollow than the last?

Instead, I said nothing. I was good at saying nothing.

* * *

Three days later, I sat alone in a dimly lit corner of The Empire, a trendy Manhattan bar where Ryan was meeting his fraternity brothers. He was running late—again—so I nursed my martini, checking my phone every few minutes.

That's when I heard it—Ryan's distinctive laugh cutting through the ambient noise. My head snapped up, eyes searching until I spotted him at the bar with Josh Carter and two other Sigma Chi brothers. They hadn't seen me yet in my shadowed corner.

'So what's the deal with you and that scholarship girl?' Josh was asking, his voice carrying just enough for me to catch. 'Isabella still clueless?'

I froze, the glass halfway to my lips.

Ryan chuckled, running a hand through his perfectly styled dark hair. 'Sophia's tempting, babe. Not gonna lie.'

The men laughed, and Ryan continued, his voice dropping slightly, forcing me to strain to hear. 'And honestly, you've met Isabella. She's so high-maintenance. Always needing reassurance, always so emotional about everything.'

The world around me seemed to blur, sounds fading except for the blood rushing in my ears. I stared until my vision swam, watching as Ryan—my Ryan—mocked our relationship to his friends, reducing four years of my devotion to a punchline.

I'd been here before, hadn't I? Sitting alone, making excuses for him, telling myself that this time would be different. Ninety-nine times, to be exact. Each time convincing myself that if I just loved him harder, better, he would finally see me. Choose me. Put me first.

But as I watched him throw back another shot, laughing at my expense, something inside me finally, irrevocably broke.

* * *

That night, I paced my apartment, heart pounding against my ribs like it wanted to escape. When Ryan finally called around midnight, I answered with a calm I didn't recognize.

'We're done,' I said simply.

'Bella, come on,' he sighed, using the nickname he knew I hated. 'What is it this time?'

'I heard you tonight. At the bar.'

A pause. 'You're overreacting. It was just guy talk.'

'No,' I said, surprised by the steadiness in my voice. 'This is the hundredth time, Ryan. And the last.'

I hung up before he could respond, then turned off my phone completely. For the first time in four years, I didn't want to hear his excuses or his half-hearted apologies.

The next morning, I declined the job offer from Mitchell Enterprises and booked a one-way ticket to Chicago. My mother arrived at my apartment with empty suitcases and determination in her eyes.

'You're doing the right thing,' she said, carefully folding my clothes as I pulled them from drawers and closets. 'You deserve someone who chooses you first, every single time.'

I nodded, tears blurring my vision as she slipped an envelope into my purse. 'Emergency cash,' she explained. 'Just in case.'

As we packed away my New York life, I felt something unexpected beneath the grief and humiliation—a flicker of relief. Of possibility.

This time, I wasn't leaving to be chased. I was leaving to be free.