Chapter 1

After the graduation ceremony, Emmitt Raymond and I were finally about to end our four-year long-distance relationship and start living together.

When I went to pick him up, I accidentally bumped into one of his classmates and knocked an instant photo out of her hands.

I bent down to pick it up, but when I saw what was on it, I just stared, stunned.

Emmitt, who always swore he'd never get close to any woman but me, was in the picture, his arm wrapped around a woman I'd never seen before.

"Sorry. Are you okay?" she said, reaching out to help me up.

As she helped me, I got a clear look at her face.

There was nothing special about her, just a regular girl with black-rimmed glasses and the most basic outfit.

The only thing that caught my eye was the necklace around her neck, glinting a little.

It was shaped like a tiny rabbit trying to catch the moon.

It made a matching set with the necklace Emmitt had bought just a couple of days ago and now wore around his neck.

I froze for a second, then handed the photo back to her and shook my head.

What could possibly be wrong?

Just found out my boyfriend of four years might be cheating on me, no big deal.

As usual, I went to pick him up with the bouquet I'd bought just for him.

When I walked up to him, my eyes instinctively landed on the necklace with the lock pendant resting against his chest.

Emmitt noticed my gaze and paused for a second before explaining, "I saw this online a couple of days ago and thought it looked nice, so I bought it..."

I nodded, keeping my tone casual. "It looks good."

Emmitt, who had been about to say more, suddenly stopped.

He looked up at me, his brows furrowing as he studied my face, like he was waiting to see how I'd react.

"You're not going to ask anything else?" he said.

I paused while packing his bag and shot back, "What else is there to ask?"

Emmitt just stood there, stunned.

Honestly, if Emmitt ever showed up with something I hadn't seen before, I wouldn't let it go until I got the whole story.

Had to get to the bottom of everything, no exceptions.

But now, it just didn't matter anymore.

I stuffed the last thing into Emmitt's backpack and gave it a pat.

"Let's go," I said.

The place we were moving into was pretty far from my job.

The ride took half an hour.

I get carsick, so I spent the whole trip with my brows knitted in discomfort.

Actually, the place we'd originally settled on wasn't even here.

Emmitt moving into the place I'd been renting was something we'd agreed on ages ago.

But starting earlier this year, he kept finding all kinds of reasons to look for a new place.

Sometimes it was the commute, sometimes he said he just couldn't get comfortable there.

Only now do I realize that there weren't really that many reasons after all.

Turns out, he just wanted to be closer to her. That was all.

All the way there, Emmitt wouldn't let go of my hand, kept chatting about random stuff, testing the waters to see where I stood.

I kept my responses lukewarm, dodging him whenever he tried to get close.

Just as we were about to get out of the car, Emmitt reached out and stopped me.

Emmitt glanced at me, a hint of concern in his voice. "Rayna, did something happen today?"

He hesitated for a moment, then added, "You seem a little... off."

I turned to look at him.

The afternoon sun was warm, shining on his graduation gown, like it was drawing a line under our youth.

I smiled at him, took his hand just like always, and kept my voice casual.

"Nothing's up, just tired. Let's head back," I said.

Emmitt gave me a long look, and when he saw I really was acting like nothing was wrong, he let out a breath he'd been holding.

"That's a relief. I thought something might've happened today. You were acting so cold toward me," he said.

He picked up our bags and said, "After all this time, we finally graduated and have our own place. Let's go inside and see if it's up to your standards!"

Emmitt and I had picked out this place together. Every piece of furniture, every little decoration, I'd handpicked myself.

But now, even though I was the one who chose it all, I couldn't feel happy about any of it. Not even a little.

Emmitt pushed open the door, but his smile faded instantly.

Before I could even process what was happening, he hurriedly cleared the table and hid everything behind his back.

"After the graduation ceremony, Lucas and the crew wanted to throw a party. It got late, and I just forgot to clean up..." Emmitt tried to sound casual.

My gaze paused for a moment on the shopping bag behind him before I looked away.

I gave a noncommittal hum, pushed his hand away, and walked toward the bedroom.

Emmitt hurried after me, sat down on the edge of the bed, nervously rubbing his hands together.

"Babe, what's going on?" he asked, concern in his voice. "You just don't seem yourself today. Are you sure nothing happened?"

"You just don't seem yourself today. Are you sure nothing happened?"

"No," I said flatly.

I shook my head, dropped my things, and stretched out on the bed.

"Just tired. You can go now. I'm going to sleep for a bit," I said.

With that, I turned away and closed my eyes, not waiting for a response.

Emmitt looked a little lost for a second, then gently patted the blanket.

"Alright, get some rest. I'll take care of the unpacking and make you something to eat," he said softly.