Chapter 3

When we got to the private room, the noise hit us before we even opened the door.

I caught bits of the conversation—everyone seemed to be talking about some woman named Chloe Bennett.

Ryan looked nervous. He kept tugging at his clothes and rubbing his hands together, and we stood outside that door for a while before he finally pulled me inside.

The second we walked in, every pair of eyes turned to us.

A woman stood up, and her smile didn't reach her eyes. "Ryan, I heard you were celebrating your six-year anniversary with your girlfriend, so I came."

She added, "I wanted to see for myself what's so special about this woman that she's managed to stay by your side for six whole years."

The moment I heard Chloe's voice, my heart sank.

This was the voice from that night, the one who'd answered Ryan's phone.

Chloe's eyes swept over me with apparent disdain before finally meeting mine. She let out a soft laugh. "Ryan, your girlfriend is gorgeous! But doesn't she look a little like me?"

The room went dead silent. Ryan's grip on my hand tightened painfully, and he stared at Chloe without saying a word.

She extended her hand to me. "Hi, I'm Chloe. I'm Ryan's first love."

Chloe was wearing the exact same white dress as I was. That identical shade of white felt like a knife twisting in my chest.

This was why Ryan insisted on bringing me here, and why he insisted I wear this specific dress. Because this way, I'd look the most like his first love.

Ryan pulled me into the private room without much small talk, and we sat down in the center. Everyone wore these fake warm smiles and congratulated us on our sixth anniversary.

But I knew the truth. Every single person in that room, Ryan included, only had eyes for Chloe.

At first, Ryan managed to stay seated next to me. That lasted until the truth-or-dare bottle landed on Chloe.

She picked dare, and everyone started egging her on to kiss whoever she wanted most in the room.

Chloe's eyes turned red instantly. Tears pooled at the corners but didn't fall, and she looked straight at Ryan with this pitiful expression.

Then she let out a bitter laugh and raised her glass. "The person I want to kiss already has someone by his side. I'll just down three drinks instead."

Ryan shot to his feet and rushed over to grab the glass from her hand. "Are you crazy? You know you can't drink."

Chloe stared at him with those wounded eyes. "But I only want to kiss you. Your girlfriend's sitting right there—how can I kiss you? I have to drink."

Ryan's chest heaved up and down. He looked torn, like he didn't know what to do.

I watched this ridiculous scene unfold, and I was done being invisible at my own anniversary party.

I sneered, "So should I leave? Give you two some privacy to finish your dare, and I'll come back after?"

My voice dripped with sarcasm, and I drained my glass right in front of Ryan.

But he wasn't even looking at me. His eyes stayed locked on Chloe.

The bitter taste of alcohol spread through my mouth and sank all the way down to my heart.

I loosened my grip, and the glass hit the floor, shattering. The sound snapped everyone back to reality.

Ryan finally let go of Chloe's hand and walked back to me.

To ease the awkward tension, everyone quickly changed tactics and told Chloe to pick truth instead.

Chloe smiled and pulled out a card.

She said, "Would you get back together with your ex?"