Chapter 2
It wasn't fair.
I didn't waste my breath trying to convince them I wasn't some pathetic simp. That summer, I quietly packed up everything I owned, told no one, and left the country with my parents.
Staring at Rafael, his eyes red and swollen, I couldn't say I felt any real pleasure, but my appetite was gone.
When Rafael heard me, the hope in his eyes dimmed. He frantically grabbed some tissues, trying to pull himself together, his voice barely audible. "It's fine. I know you don't want to see me right now. I'll wait until you want to."
He looked at me, his smile strained. "Phoebe, you've been gone for years. I've really missed you."
The friend next to me was practically bursting, his face bright red as he struggled not to laugh. He shot me a desperate look for help.
I shot Rafael a glance, and even the fancy desserts on the table couldn't spark my interest anymore.
After a long silence, I finally spoke. "I went to Austral, not another planet."
If he really wanted to see me, couldn't he just buy a ticket and fly over?
But no, he had to show up the day I got back and kill my vibe.
Rafael was about to say something else when a loud commotion erupted outside the VIP booth.
The door burst open, and after all these years, that familiar voice hit me again.
The woman said, "Sorry, my fiancé's in there. I was worried he might be in trouble. Really, I'm so sorry."
Rafael's face twitched awkwardly for a moment, and then Lauryn suddenly rushed at him, grabbing his collar in a frenzy.
Lauryn said, "Rafael, you lied to me! You lied to me again! You said you were working late at the office tonight, but I knew it. I knew you were here to see Phoebe. What am I to you?"
After Rafael pushed her away, Lauryn looked at me with tears in her eyes. Then she suddenly dropped to her knees, her voice breaking with desperation. "Miss Cooper, please, don't fight me for Rafael, okay?
"You already have everything, but Rafael is all I have. Please, Miss Cooper, for the sake of our time as classmates, just let me have him. Please, just let me have him, okay?"
"Lauryn!" Rafael shouted.
No one expected Lauryn to drop to her knees like that. Rafael got flustered, grabbing her arm in a rush. "Phoebe, don't listen to her nonsense."
I wasn't about to stick around for whatever messy love triangle this was turning into. I glanced at the anxious manager, grabbed my bag, and left.
Word got out fast—gossip travelled at lightning speed among the elite. In high society, even the slightest drama turned into headline news, and before I knew it, everyone was talking.
I ran into Rafael again at the class reunion. The organizer, clearly hoping for some drama, noticed we were keeping our distance and decided to stir things up by suggesting we play spin the bottle.
When the bottle landed on Rafael, they asked him who he really liked.
Rafael pressed his lips together, giving a painfully bitter smile.
"Didn't know a pearl when I saw one and ended up treating a fake like it was the real thing," he said.
I lowered my eyes, refusing to meet his gaze.
When the bottle pointed at me, they asked if I liked Rafael. I lifted my head calmly, my voice loud enough for everyone in the room to hear. "No."
That shut the conversation down, and the vibe got awkward. As the game continued, the bottle finally landed on Graeme Roach, the class president back then.
He was always kind of distant, barely ever socialized with anyone at school.
They egged him on for ages before finally asking, "Graeme, now that you're a college professor, was there ever a girl in our class you liked?"
Back then, the whole class voted Lauryn as the class beauty. I honestly didn't care, but Lauryn stopped me in the middle of the crowded cafeteria, looking all pitiful, her voice soft and trembling.
She said, "Phoebe, I never meant to steal the class beauty title from you. Honestly, I always thought you deserved it more than anyone."
Somehow, that turned into me being the villain—supposedly bullying Lauryn just because I didn't get picked as class beauty.
Most of the guys in our class started treating Lauryn like she was some delicate princess, all because she acted so fragile—even Rafael, who used to whine to me nonstop about how much she got on his nerves.
Graeme sat directly across from me. When our eyes met, he gave me a soft, gentle smile.
"Yes."
"So who is it, Graeme?" someone teased.
I glanced at the classmates gathered around and then deliberately stirred the pot, my tone carrying a mischievous edge.
Graeme gave a resigned smile and played along. "She always kept to herself—gentle, and honestly, just a wonderful person."
The crowd was getting rowdier, everyone desperate to find out who Graeme was crushing on. Feeling totally ignored, Rafael suddenly cut in. "Why don't you just give her a call, Graeme? If you both like each other, who knows, maybe you'll hit it off..."
Before Rafael could even finish, someone started banging on the door again.
Lauryn stormed into the private room, standing right in front of Rafael, practically seething. "Didn't you say this was just an employee dinner?"
Rafael's face shifted instantly. I raised an eyebrow and edged away a bit.