Chapter 1
James Rowland's plain silver ring, the one he never took off, was missing.
His friend posted a lost-and-found notice in their group chat.
[Whoever finds it gets to ride shotgun with James and spend the night with him.]
Over three hundred messages flooded in, girls cooing and signing up.
I had finished my shower, wearing his favorite white silk camisole, standing at the bathroom sink.
I bent down and picked up the silver ring from the crack in the tile floor. My heart was full of joy.
I was thinking about how to take credit for it and wondering if he would reward me.
Until I held the ring under the light and saw the two letters engraved on the inside.
It was E.L.
Not C.G.
Not my initials for Chloe Gardner.
It was Evelyn Lane, his first love, who had returned from abroad last week.
I stood there, holding the ring for a long time.
The bathroom steam dissipated, leaving my pale face reflected in the mirror.
My phone vibrated twice, and the messages in the group chat kept popping up.
[James has been wearing that ring since high school, right? It's been ages.]
[It must mean something special. Otherwise, he would never take it off.]
It was true. It meant something.
I turned the ring over, rubbing my thumb over the two letters again and again.
It was E.L.
He met Evelyn back in high school.
The sound of the door lock turning came from the entrance.
James walked in, suit slung over his arm, shirt collar loose, carrying that cool tobacco scent.
He glanced at me while changing his shoes, his eyes flicking over my camisole. However, he didn't react.
"Found it?" he asked.
I opened my palm, and the silver ring lay quietly inside.
He reached out to take it.
I clenched my fingers. "What's engraved on the inside?"
James stopped.
He looked down at me, his eyes cold.
"You've seen it," he replied, sounding a little impatient.
It wasn't a question. I smiled. "E.L., Evelyn Lane."
He didn't deny it or bother to explain. He walked past me, heading for the closet, unbuttoning his shirt. "It was a long time ago."
I followed him. "Then why are you still wearing it?"
"Habit." He brushed me off with that one word, not bothering to explain.
I leaned against the closet doorframe, watching him pull on a black T-shirt and grab the car keys from the top shelf.
"It's 11 p.m. You're still heading out?" I asked.
"Something's up with Alex." He walked right past me without slowing down or sparing me a glance.
As he was about to reach the door, I spoke up. "When did you find out Evelyn came back last week?"
He paused mid-step, then turned to look at me.
For a split second, I saw that flash of impatience in his eyes. "Chloe, don't start."
The door shut behind him.
I stood alone in the living room, still clutching his ring in my palm. He didn't bother to take it back.
Perhaps it wasn't that he forgot. He never thought he needed to take anything from me. He knew I'd put it away for him, like I always did these past two years.
I pulled out my phone and scrolled through his IG.
The latest post was a group photo from a drinking party three days ago.
In the corner, I could see the silhouette of a woman with long hair, her slender wrist resting against the rim of a wine glass. A striking jade bracelet with floral patterns caught the eye.
Evelyn had already come back three days ago.
He said it was last week, but that was a lie.
I set the ring on the coffee table, turned off the lights, and sat on the couch all night.
*****
I'd been with James for two years.
To be honest, it was more like I'd been around him for two years.
He'd never told anyone I was his girlfriend.
I was the one who made the first move.
At the company party, he got wasted, and I took him home.
The next morning, he woke up to see me. "You can stay if you want."
No sweet talk, no promises, nothing official.
I moved into his apartment, used his washing machine, soaked in his bathtub, wore the silk pajamas he tossed me, and waited for him to come home.
I was like an accessory, something that needed no name or place in his life.
My mom asked if I was seeing someone, and I said yes.
She asked what he was like, and I said he was great.
She asked when I'd bring him home to meet them.
I didn't know what to say.
Two years, and he never took a single photo with me.
I was not in his phone, not in his socials, not in front of his friends.
And that ring had been on his finger since the first day I met him.
I asked about it once.
He said it was some old thing.
Turns out, that old ring was engraved with his ex's initials.
James came back the next day around noon.
He spotted the ring on the coffee table while changing his shoes. He picked it up and slipped it right back onto his ring finger.
He didn't look at me the whole time.
I stood in the kitchen doorway, holding my coffee. "Your friend said whoever found the ring would get to ride shotgun with you and spend the night with you."
He lounged on the couch, scrolling through his phone, not bothering to look up.
"Alex was talking nonsense," he explained.
"So, how are you planning to thank me?" I asked.
He finally looked up, giving me a quick glance.
That look made me feel like I was asking for a handout.
"I have dinner with friends tonight. If you want, you can come with me," he said.
It was the first time in two years he'd ever offered to take me to an occasion like that.
I was supposed to be happy. But deep down, I knew he wasn't going to introduce me to his friends as his girlfriend.
It was only because Evelyn would be there.
He needed me there as a placeholder, so things wouldn't get awkward.
I set my coffee cup down. "Alright. What time?"
"We leave at 7:30 PM," he said, going back to his phone.
As I turned away, I caught a glimpse of a chat window flashing across his screen.
The other person's WhatsApp contact name was a white gardenia emoji.
But the person messaging him wasn't me.
My name in his phone was always Chloe Gardner.