Chapter 5

That night, during a game of Truth or Dare, Eric finally let his guard down and shared the reason behind his quiet nature.

Eric said, "My ex thought I was broke and dumped me. She just took off to study abroad without a second thought, and honestly, I still can't get past it."

He went on, "But the truth is, I'm actually loaded. My family wanted me to keep things low-key at school, so I kept it under wraps.

"I thought we could get through that test together, but in the end, she ditched me for not being rich enough."

So it turned out Eric had been hurt deeply by love, which was why he had seemed like a lost soul.

Every day, I'd stick close to Eric. We'd grab lunch together and jam on the new guitars at the club.

The other club members would tease me, saying, "You sure know how to handle Eric. Ever since you showed up, he's not so icy anymore."

With a little effort on my part, Eric started smiling a lot more these days.

During the holidays, I posted a photo of me and Kelsie having dinner together on my social media.

That day, Eric suddenly said to me, "You're my little sunshine."

Later, on Christmas Eve, Eric rented out a seaside restaurant just for us and confessed his feelings.

I still remember every word he said. He told me, "Alisa, thank you for saving me. You're like the sun, my remedy. You helped me move on from my past and taught me how to love again.

"I don't even know how to describe you, but from now on, my world is going to revolve around you. I'll always be here for you, and I'll never betray you. Will you be my girlfriend?"

I didn't give Eric a straight answer that night. I just grinned and teased, "Well, that depends. Let's see if you can impress me."

The day we made it official, Eric pulled me aside and wouldn't let it go until I posted about us on my feed. He wanted everyone to know he was my boyfriend.

I figured he was just head over heels for me. That was why he wanted to shout our relationship from the rooftops.

I posted a photo of me and Eric snuggled up together on the mountain, catching our first sunrise. I paired it with a playful caption.

[Here's to our first sunrise together. Boyfriend, you're officially on duty. Treat me well from now on!]

That day, Kelsie commented: [Hey, that side profile looks kinda familiar.]

I replied: [When you're back, I'll introduce you guys.]

Thinking back now, I realize it only dawned on me later that Eric had figured out I was close with Kelsie.

He pushed me to go public with our relationship online just so Kelsie would see it and get jealous.

Looking back now, all those sweet words Eric said when he confessed? He acted like they never even happened.

That promise about never betraying me? The second his first love showed up, none of it meant a thing anymore.

For three years, I stuck with Eric while he found himself again, and honestly, he couldn't get enough of me.

Just a month before Kelsie returned home, our folks met for the first time and even picked a date for our wedding.

But now, everything had been thrown off.

What I never expected was that Kelsie was the very girl who left Eric so heartbroken that he never got over it.

Watching those two wrapped up in each other by the stairs, my heart twisted painfully.

Kelsie hugged Eric tight and said, "Let me spend every birthday with you from now on, okay? I promise I'll never leave you again."

Eric pulled her into his arms, holding her so tightly it was like she was a treasure he'd just gotten back, something precious he thought he'd lost for good.

Eric choked out a reply, his voice thick with emotion. "Okay."

Kelsie wouldn't let it go, her tone gentle but persistent. "So, are you really going to break up with Alisa? Eric, let's get engaged!"

I didn't stick around to hear Eric's answer.

I gave three years of my life to loving him.

But in the end, he threw it all away in less than three minutes.

After stumbling upon Eric and Kelsie's secret, I went back to the private room and finished off the entire bottle of red wine I'd brought.

Giving such a fine wine to Eric would've been a total waste.

I walked out of the party all alone, totally wrecked. Guess even the universe felt bad for me, because right then, it started pouring rain.

A G-Wagon pulled up in front of me, and the driver rolled down the window. "Need a ride?"

I looked over and saw it was Steven Roman.

"Want me to take you back to Eric's place?" he asked.

I shook my head. "No way am I going back to that heartless jerk."

Steven gripped the steering wheel, looking thoughtful. "Is it Kelsie?"

I stared at him, surprised. "How did you know?"