Chapter 1

My long-distance boyfriend thought I was too into sharing everything, so he actually gave his WhatsApp account to his roommate.

He made his roommate message me every single day and even say goodnight to me.

I never caught on—the whole thing was covered up flawlessly.

But then, during a long weekend, I traveled thousands of miles just to see him.

I stood right behind him and overheard his words.

"Ethan, how's it going with my girlfriend? She hasn't noticed anything weird, has she?" Ryan Carter said.

Ethan Brooks's eyes slipped past him and settled right on me.

He shook his head and then gave me a cool, easy-going grin.

"Are you kidding? Things couldn't be better between us," Ethan replied.

A chill ran down my spine in an instant.

I'd thought Ryan's sudden change these past few weeks meant he'd finally developed feelings for me.

But I never expected the person I'd been chatting with online wasn't even Ryan.

Maybe because my gaze was too intense, he suddenly turned around, as if he could feel me staring.

The moment he caught sight of me, a flash of panic flickered across his face, but it was gone immediately.

He avoided my eyes, grabbed my hand, and tried to explain, "What brings you here, babe? I was literally just telling my roommate I'd come to see you tomorrow."

I forced a smile, trying my best to seem normal, but no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't get any affectionate words past my lips.

After a brief pause, I managed to squeeze out some words. "Guess we really are on the same wavelength."

When Ryan saw my calm expression, he relaxed, his whole stance loosening up as he took the cake from my hands.

I stared into his eyes, trying to catch even a trace of remorse.

But there was none.

Instead, I saw a flicker of exhilaration, for not being caught.

My heart clenched painfully.

I'd spent three years pining after Ryan, and we were together for only one year.

But right now, my love for him was crumbling.

Tears brimmed in my eyes, and my voice was barely more than a whisper. "Let's break up."

Before I could finish, Ryan's phone suddenly rang, cutting me off.

He put it on speaker without thinking.

An anxious voice echoed through the space.

"Ryan, Sophie just passed out from low blood sugar. Get over here, now."

After the person finished the sentence, he turned off the speaker instantly.

Then he kicked a trash can, grumbling and cursing under his breath, "Go get a doctor. It's not like I can help."

But after hanging up, his face became anxious. He spat onto the ground, shoved the cake into Ethan's hands, and bolted toward the field.

As he ran, he called back to me, "Babe, I'll come back to you in a bit. You can go drop your stuff off at the hotel first."

My heart twisted hard inside me.

I watched Ryan's back as he walked away without hesitating. I trembled, stepping back.

He had promised me he would keep his distance from Sophie Miller.

The first time Ryan and I ever fought because of Sophie was on my birthday.

I dropped my friends' party invitations and just stood at the station, waiting and hoping he'd show up.

Ryan had promised he'd travel to my city to celebrate with me.

I stood there from early morning until nightfall, watching crowds come and go.

But he never came.

It wasn't until the early hours of the next morning that my phone—dead silent all day—finally lit up with a message.

It was from Ryan. [Sorry, Sophie's code messed up, and I came to help her, so I didn't notice the time. Ended up missing my train.]

I honestly thought they were dealing with some insanely complex code.

But the very next second, I got a friend request from Sophie.

She sent me a photo.

It was just a short snippet of simple code.

But in the glossy black reflection of the computer screen, I could clearly make out Sophie and Ryan sitting close together, practically typing hand-in-hand.

She then sent a message to me. [Oops, sorry. Looks like I kept Ryan from celebrating your birthday. My bad.]

I was shaking with rage.

Fingers trembling, I shot the whole chat over to Ryan, demanding an explanation.

All I got was a total brush-off in return. [Would you stop? Sophie's not exactly a fast learner. That's why it dragged on.]

I called him up, but he instantly hung up after the ring.

Not willing to give up, I kept blowing up his messages, wishing he'd just step up and sort things out.

[Seriously? Being a slow learner doesn't mean you need to type hand-in-hand, does it?] I asked.

All I got from him was a whole week of being completely iced out.

Over those months, Ryan and I burst out into so many fights and spats.

And without exception, every single drama could be traced right back to Sophie.

I'd hit rock bottom, felt completely hopeless, and tried to break up more times than I could count.

But whenever he showered me with affection over WhatsApp, I found myself unable to break things off.

Looking back now, I was tangled up in it, trapped in the game, and didn't even realize it.

I took a deep breath, pushed down every emotion, and dragged my suitcase away, acting like nothing at all had happened.

Ethan stopped me, unable to meet my eyes. His fingers trembled nervously.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gone along with Ryan and lied to you," he admitted.

I stared at him for a long moment, but didn't give him a single word—just walked right past.

I had no reason, and no need, to forgive him.

But Ethan wouldn't give up. He caught up to me and gently took the suitcase from my hand.

"Let me help you," he said.

"No," I shot back.

I tried to pull my suitcase back, but Ethan held onto it tightly and refused to let go.

He blinked and raised the cake in his other hand. "Guess this is my reward," he joked with a small smile.

Suddenly, I remembered yesterday—I'd taken a photo of the cake I made and posted it on Ins.

Right after I sent it, a notification popped up. It was Ryan's account. [I want a taste of your cake, babe.]

All because of that one sweet message, I couldn't wait and hurried off to this strange city full of happiness.

But what I walked right into was a betrayal that had been set up from the very beginning.

I pressed my lips together, my gaze dim as I turned away.

"Whatever," I muttered.

But Ethan looked like he'd just hit the jackpot, his voice going all upbeat. "How about we connect on WhatsApp?"

He pulled up his phone and looked at me, his face full of anticipation.

I just gave him a cold stare and said, "No."