Chapter 1

After receiving my year-end bonus, I spent every last dollar on a ring for my boyfriend, Simon Sawyer.

However, the very next day, I saw that ring on the hand of a coworker named Julia Garrett.

She looked at me with a smug smile. "Mandy, you've got great taste. I really love this ring."

For a second, I froze.

Simon hurried to explain, "I'm not into this kind of stuff anyway. I heard Julia liked it, so I gave it to her."

I clenched my fists and said nothing.

His smile suddenly vanished. "It's only a ring. Why are you making such a big deal out of it? Can you stop overreacting?"

I shook off his hand and reached for the ring, trying to take it back.

In the middle of the struggle, Simon slapped me across the face.

Then he froze.

When that slap landed, everything went quiet.

Simon's hand came at me fast, slicing through the air.

A loud smack exploded, and my head whipped sideways.

I tasted blood in my mouth, and my ears rang like crazy.

I stumbled and caught myself on the desk, my fingers shaking. My cheek went numb at first, then started burning like it had been scorched.

When I looked up, Simon's hand was still frozen in the air.

There it was. The guy I grew up with and was supposed to marry had taken his secretary's side and slapped me in public.

Simon seemed to realize what he had done, his expression stiffening for a split second before anger and impatience took over. "Mandy, can you stop causing trouble?"

Someone in the office let out a low snicker, and the rest stood there, watching like it was entertainment.

Julia's brown curls shone under the lights. She took off the ring and leaned against Simon, smiling. "Simon, don't be so harsh. It's only a ring. Look at her. She's about to cry."

Simon's jaw tightened, his anger still burning in his eyes. "Mandy, this is the office, not your home. Are you done?"

He sounded indifferent, and quiet laughter started spreading around the office.

I wiped at my mouth and felt something wet. I was not sure if it was blood or tears.

For eighteen years, I'd seen all his bad moods, but I never knew getting hit by him could hurt like this.

Shame, hurt, and anger tangled inside me, and my nails pressed hard into my palm.

Simon was about to say something else, but I didn't want to hear it anymore.

I snatched my bag and ran through the door, and I heard someone whisper behind me, "Poor thing. If I were her, I'd be too ashamed to ever come back."

I had no idea where to go, but I didn't want to work anymore. I definitely didn't want to stay and face everyone there.

Simon had never really been patient with me, but this was the first time he'd ever hit me.

And it was the first time anyone had ever slapped me.

When I was six, and we moved into our new place, Simon was squatting in the hallway, playing with a toy car.

Sunlight streamed in from the window at the end of the hallway, stretching his shadow long enough to reach mine.

We lived right next door, and our families shared a tiny garden. My mom always said Simon and I were childhood friends and that we should stick together as we grew up.

He'd always been the stronger one, growing faster than me, so all these years, I had been the one trying to catch up to him.

There was a time when we trusted each other without thinking.

When I was in second grade, the winter was brutally cold. Holden, the kid sitting behind me, stuck his chewed gum onto my hair, and the whole classroom burst into loud laughter.

I started crying, and my teacher tried to brush it off. "Boys pick on you because you're pretty. He only wants to play with you, so it's no big deal."

What she said felt more disgusting than the gum stuck in my hair.

After school, I cried all the way home.

When Nolan, Simon's father, found out, he called Simon over while he was doing his homework. "Go check on it tomorrow."

*****

The next day, during lunch break, Simon kicked open the back door of our classroom, and I remembered that moment for the next fifteen years.

He lunged at Holden like a wild animal, his fist slamming down on his desk with a heavy thud.

"Listen up," Simon said, grabbing Holden by the collar, his voice still carrying a childish tone. "Mandy is my sister. If you ever mess with her again, I'll make you pay."

As he left, he gave me a reassuring pat on the head with a smile.

From then on, I stuck to Simon like a shadow.

In middle school, after playing soccer, he'd usually want to grab ice cream with his teammates.

I'd sit by the side of the field with my backpack, waiting until the sun went down.

He'd grumble as he hauled me up. "Mandy, are you glued to me or what?"

Still, he shared his strawberry ice cream with me.

He hated it when people said he always had someone following him around.

One time when we were playing street games, his buddies started teasing, "Simon brought his girlfriend along."

He got so annoyed that he threw all his stuff straight down the drain.

The next day, I had a fever and stayed home. He skipped school, climbed over the wall, and came to my house, throwing me notes through the window with messy jokes on them.

Later, we went to high school. I caught Simon sneaking glances at me more times than I could count.

When I was doing math and chewing my pen, or fixing my hair, or napping on my desk, I'd sometimes catch his eyes brushing past me.

"Simon." I suddenly turned and caught him before he could look away. "I need your help with this one."

His pen dropped onto the desk. Sunlight came through the window, making his ears look bright red and almost see-through.

He scrambled to pick up his pen, his hair brushing against my hand. "Put this X into the equation and—"

His voice got quieter and finally turned into a mumble.

I propped my chin up and stared at him.

It turned out the guy who used to fight for me without blinking could get nervous when I got close.

Petals fell onto his open textbook.

That night, our parents talked about an engagement, and he dragged me into the stairwell. The light kept flickering, and he grabbed me tightly with sweaty hands.

"Are you sure about this?" His voice was tense. "You're still young. What if someday you meet someone better in the future?"

I stood on tiptoe and put a finger on his lips. "You're the best man in the world, Simon."

He trembled, then suddenly pressed me against the wall and kissed me.

In the dark, I felt the scar on his neck from when he blocked something falling for me in middle school.

Moonlight came through the windows and fell on us. I thought we were in love.