Chapter 3

I tossed and turned all night.

In the darkness, my eyes stayed open. I couldn't see anything, yet I saw everything too clearly.

The underground garage lights, Adam holding her, pushing her away then pulling her back, the veins on his neck when he yelled "Shut up," his back trembling as he turned around.

Each image was like a brand on the inside of my eyelids. Closing my eyes only made them sharper.

Adam and I grew up together, the classic childhood sweethearts.

The Sterling family had deep roots in this city. My family was equally well off. Our families had been close for generations, and we were a perfect match.

The longest time Adam and I ever spent apart was these two years while I was getting my master's degree abroad.

Everyone said I was lucky.

Adam came from a good family, had good looks, a good temper, and he had doted on me since we were kids.

In ninth grade, I had a fever and stayed home from school. He got a fake excuse note from somewhere, skipped class, and rode his bike for 30 minutes just to bring me medicine.

I only found out later that was his first time skipping class. His dad made him stand in the corner the whole night.

In eleventh grade, my family moved south to Riverdale.

I thought the distance would be the end for us. But on the first day of school, I turned around and saw Adam sitting in the back row, winking at me.

Adam was the only heir in his family for three generations, yet he transferred schools for a girl. Our parents almost had a falling out over it.

He never said things like "You are my whole world." But every single thing he did said it for him.

So when I decided to go abroad for my master's degree and postpone our wedding for two years, everyone told me not to.

Even my mom said, "A boy this good is impossible to find. Aren't you afraid someone will steal him away?"

Only Adam didn't try to talk me out of it.

That day, he took me out for a buffalo wings place, sweating from the heat. Suddenly, he stopped and looked at me. "This is your dream, Olivia. Go. I'll wait. "

He said it so easily, as if two years was nothing but a long break.

So I packed my bags and left.

I thought we could survive any distance and any amount of time.

When top international companies came after me with offers, I turned them all down without hesitation.

My classmates didn't get it. They asked how I could say no to such great offers.

I smiled and replied, "I have to go back. Someone has been waiting for me for years."

But how could I have known? That summer two years ago, full of his solemn promises, now stood completely empty.

The tenderness in Adam's eyes when he looked at Emily was real.

I knew him inside out. He had feelings for her.

Emily was the underprivileged student I sponsored back in my sophomore year of college.

That year, I went with my dad to a charity event hosted by his company.

The principal handed me a big stack of profiles on students who really needed help.

I picked Emily's from a dozen names—good grades, but her dad got cancer when she was a junior in high school, their family fell apart, debts piled up, and she quit school.

The first time I saw her, she was turning her father over in a hospital hallway. She was skinny as a stick. Her eyes had a weariness that didn't belong on someone so young.

I asked her, "Do you still want to study?"

Her eyes turned red, and she nodded vigorously.

Later, I helped cover her dad's medical bills, and she went back to school.

After a year out, Emily still scored high enough on the SAT to get into a top university in Riverdale.

She had never left her small town before. Once she came to Riverdale, she clung to me, always so sweet and warm.

Over time, she naturally got to know Adam.

The first time she met him, she was shy and couldn't even look him in the eye.

After hearing our love story, her face lit up with envy. "Olivia, you two are so perfect together.

"I can't even imagine how beautiful your kids would be."

She even found a fan page about us on social media, going through every post about Adam and me, and crying at the sweet parts.

She became our biggest shipper, remembering every anniversary and sending her wishes right on time.

But now thinking back... something wasn't right.

I jolted upright and started scrolling through our chat history.

On Valentine's Day this year, Adam came to visit me at school overseas, and Emily didn't send a single message the whole day.

The closer I got to coming home, the less she texted me.

Back then I was busy with graduation and moving, so I figured she was busy with her internship too.

I was sure that before I left the country, Emily only had a secret crush on Adam.

She looked at him shyly, keeping her distance.

The change started after I left.

From the day went away, someone quietly stepped into my place.