Chapter 2

As the words left my mouth, tears gushed down my face, completely out of my control.

I clenched my jaw, not letting myself make a single sound.

"Wasn't this just supposed to be casual?" Damien's voice was icy, with a trace of impatience on his face.

Before I could say a word, he'd already shut the door.

I honestly couldn't tell how I got home. And I had zero clue what happened along the way.

Erin looked guilty. "I'm so sorry, Cora. I had no idea Damien would act like that. He really didn't have a girlfriend at the time, so I just..."

I said quietly, "Erin, I just want to be alone for a while."

Erin stopped mid-sentence, but still nodded.

She turned and walked away.

I opened up Damien's feed.

He hadn't blocked me, so his updates were still visible.

The most recent post had just gone up.

It was a photo of him and that girl. She stood in front, holding up her phone for a selfie.

She'd caught him in the middle of work, snapping a shot of his focused expression.

The caption read: [With her.]

The comments were flooded with well-wishes.

I stared at that caption, unable to look away.

And the photo... That wasn't Damien's vibe, nor the way he usually wrote.

An idea quietly surfaced in my mind, and a dull pain throbbed in my heart.

I couldn't give up. I dialed his number, my hands shaking.

In no time, the call went through.

"Hello?" A bright, feminine voice answered, just as I'd feared.

It was her. No doubt about it.

My heart felt like it was about to stop. I held my breath, not making a single sound.

Then I heard Damien's voice on the other end. "Who's this?"

The girl answered, "No idea. The contact says Cora Shelton. Do you know her?"

"Don't know her. Hang up," Damien replied almost instantly.

The girl said, "Oh, okay."

And just like that, the call ended.

It felt like someone had grabbed my heart and was crushing it in their fist, squeezing it mercilessly. It was bitter and painful, all at once.

I thought perhaps I should just leave him behind and start over in a place where no one knew me.

That night, I didn't sleep a wink.

Early the next morning, Erin pushed open my door and walked in. "Cora, cheer up! I'm going to introduce you to someone way better.

"He's definitely more handsome than Damien. Let's make him regret ever letting you go."

Before I could even respond, Erin dragged me out of bed.

She didn't give me a single second to wallow in my misery.

Erin dressed me up and whisked me straight to a high-end restaurant.

Erin said, "Let me introduce you properly. This is Dexter Pierce, my college senior and one of our top alumni.

"And this is Cora Shelton, my best friend. She's in her final year at design school and has won all kinds of design awards."

Erin made the introductions sound almost official.

"Hey, just call me Dexter," he said, reaching out his hand.

His hand was long and elegant, and I froze for a second.

I finally looked up at him.

He had gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose, making him look like the perfect gentleman.

"You..." I was about to say.

But just then, I caught sight of two figures by the door. My chest tightened instantly.

"Cora, come on, shake his hand! What's up?" Erin nudged me, urging me forward.

Then she followed my gaze and fell silent.

There was Damien, his arm wrapped around that woman who looked so much like me, heading straight for us.

"Hey, aren't you the girls from yesterday?" The girl was named Vivian Bates. Her eyes sparkled as she hurried over.

She grabbed Erin's arm. "You must be Erin, Damien's little sister! I met you before, back when you were thirteen."

She added, "Wow, I can't believe how much you've grown up."

So it wasn't a new girl. It was someone from his past.

My heart lurched, and my elbow bumped the cup on the table. Hot water ran down the edge, spilling everywhere.

I cried out. Hot water splashed onto my thigh, and I jumped up from my seat.

Instantly, all eyes in the restaurant were on me.

"Cora, did you get burned?" Erin exclaimed. She immediately came over to check on me.

I replied, "I'm fine."

Trying to ignore the pain, I looked over at Damien.

But the whole time, his eyes never once landed on me.

Back then, even if I got the slightest bump or bruise, he'd freak out way more than anyone else.

I used to laugh at him. "It's not even a big deal. Do you really have to make such a big deal out of it?"

He'd look at me with that earnest look in his eyes and say, "Yes, I do. You're my sweetheart. Even the smallest injury makes my heart ache."

Now, in his eyes, I was nothing but an irrelevant nobody. I became a stranger he couldn't care less about.

It was like needles piercing my heart, leaving me breathless with the pain.

"Come on. I'll take you to the hospital," Erin said, pulling me along, worry written all over her face.

I replied, "No, really. I'll just go to the bathroom and handle it myself."

I rushed out in a panic.

I couldn't tell if I was more afraid of seeing them together, acting all close.

Or if it was just the pain of having to face the reality that I was now the girl he'd tossed aside.

"You're Cora, aren't you?" A voice came from behind me.

I glanced up and caught Vivian's reflection in the mirror.