Chapter 1
On the eve of our engagement party, my fiancé suddenly decided to postpone the wedding to keep his newly returned first love company.
His friends teased him. "What about your perfect little fiancée at home? Dude, you guys just finished decorating your new place."
Brian Harper only scoffed it off. "Stella? Please. A few sweet words and she'll totally be fine pushing the date back.
"Anyway, after all these years, she's like a lost puppy. She's completely obsessed with me."
I stood frozen for a long time. Then I quietly left, pretending I hadn't heard a thing.
That night, I signed up for the Mars Colonization Volunteer Program.
He had no clue.
He was going to make it up to his first love, and I was going to embrace my new life.
*****
My phone screen lit up.
Brian's voice came through the speaker loud and clear, mixing with the heavy bass of the bar and the laughter of his buddies.
He said, "Stella Thompson? Please. A few sweet words and she'll totally be fine pushing the date back."
I stood at the door of the fire escape, holding the final catering confirmation letter for our engagement party that I had just picked up.
"Dude, you two already furnished the house, and the invites are out. You're really gonna cancel the party the day after tomorrow?" another voice slurred, thick with alcohol. "Is Stella going to be cool with that?"
Brian let out a mocking laugh. "Whether she's cool with it or not, where else is she gonna go?
"After all these years, she's like a lost puppy. She's completely obsessed with me.
"You guys didn't see her in high school. Whenever I played basketball, she'd sit by the court guarding my gym bag and holding my water. Couldn't shake her off if I tried."
"She jumps when I say jump.
"We're just pushing the date back a bit this time. She has no right to be mad."
The laughter got even louder.
Someone chimed in. "True that. Brian's got her wrapped around his finger. That girl only has eyes for you.
"Is Emily really back this time? I heard she couldn't hack it in Europe and is looking for a safety net."
"Shut up," Brian's voice darkened, then returned to that careless tone. "Emily is different.
"I owe her for what happened back then."
"Now she needs me. I can't just ignore her.
"Stella she'll understand, I'm sure.
'She will understand.' I slowly relaxed my grip.
The confirmation letter fluttered to the floor.
Inside that VIP booth, my fiancé was talking about the last seven years of my life, from eighteen to twenty-five, with absolute contempt.
It felt like a sick joke.
I bent down, picked up the paper, folded it in half twice, and shoved it into my jacket pocket.
Then I pushed open the door to the private room.
The air in the booth, thick with the smell of vape smoke and liquor, instantly rushed over me.
Brian sat in the middle of the leather booth. His long legs were crossed, and he was swirling a glass of whiskey.
When he saw me, a flicker of surprise flashed across his face.
But it was gone in a flash.
He put down his glass and waved at me. His tone was as casual as if he were calling a pet. "Stella? Why are you here?
"Come sit."
I didn't move.
The other three guys in the booth were his usual frat brothers.
Their smiles were a little stiff, and they shot each other awkward looks.
"Hey, future Mrs. Harper," one of them started tentatively.
"Don't call her that yet," Brian cut him off. He stood up and walked toward me. "We aren't officially engaged yet."
He stopped in front of me. He smelled of women's perfume.
It was faint, but cloyingly sweet.
Not his usual woody cologne.
It was the cheap fruity body spray Emily Summers loved in high school.
All these years, and she still hasn't switched.
Brian reached out to wrap an arm around my shoulder.
I turned sideways and dodged him.
His hand hung awkwardly in the air.
"What's wrong?" He frowned, a hint of impatience bleeding into his voice. "Who pissed you off?"
I looked at him.
I had looked at this face for seven years.
From his sunlit profile when he hit a three-pointer and smiled at the bleachers in high school, to his lowered eyelashes under the streetlamp as he lit a cigarette after late-night college study sessions.
I thought I knew him well enough.
Well enough to trace every inch of his features with my eyes closed.
But looking at him now, he felt like a total stranger.
"The day after tomorrow," I said.
My voice came out steadier than I expected. "The engagement party."
Brian's frown deepened.
He glanced back at his buddies. They immediately took the hint, got up, and awkwardly shuffled out.
The door closed behind them.
Now it was just the two of us in the private room.
The music was still pounding, some loud EDM track.
"Stella." Brian sighed, sounding helpless. "I was just about to talk to you about this."
"Emily just got back today, and she's not in a good place right now.
"She's all alone here, no family, no friends. I can't just leave her to fend for herself.
"Let's push the engagement party back a bit, okay?"
He reached for my hand.
I stepped back.
"Push it back until when?" I asked.
Brian's hand grabbed empty air.
His face darkened. "Stella, Emily's situation is complicated. Try to be a little understanding."
"I never said we aren't getting engaged. It's just a delay of a few days until I get her settled."
"Until when?" I interrupted him.
He paused.
He probably didn't expect me to press the issue.
After all, in his world, Stella never said no to him.
"A month?" he ventured, watching my reaction. "Or two months?"
"We have to wait until Emily finds a job and gets used to life here again," he said. "Don't worry, the house is already furnished. It's not going anywhere."
I looked at the patronizing patience in his eyes. And the thinly veiled annoyance he couldn't quite hide.
"Brian," I said.
"Yeah?" he said.
"You just said I was like a lost puppy. That I was completely obsessed with you."
Brian's expression flickered.
He tugged at the corner of his mouth, trying to smile, but couldn't manage it.
"You heard that?" he asked.
"Yeah," I replied.
"That was just guys joking around. Why take it seriously?" His tone lightened. "I was just fronting for the boys.
"You gotta put on an act in front of them.
"You know how guys like to brag."
He moved in a little closer. "Don't be mad, alright? Just call the venue the day after tomorrow and cancel the catering."
"I'll cover the cancellation fees.
"Once things settle down for Emily, we'll pick another good date and make it even bigger than this one."
He said it like it was nothing, like it was just a trivial thing. Like canceling a casual weekend movie date.
Not an engagement we had spent half a year preparing for, notified all our friends and family about, and even picked out the curtains for our new place together.
I watched his mouth moving.
Suddenly, I remembered an afternoon in our senior year of high school.
The day Emily transferred schools, Brian skipped study hall and smoked a whole pack of cigarettes under the bleachers.
When I found him, his eyes were red.
He grabbed my wrist, his grip so tight it almost hurt.
He said, "Stella, you're the only one who'll never leave me, right?"
He said, "You'll always be there for me, won't you?"
I nodded.
With all the absolute devotion an eighteen-year-old could muster.