My Childhood Sweetheart Sabotaged My Ivy League Dream

Synopsis

After the SATs, Remy casually mentioned he'd bombed his score and suggested we apply to a smaller college in Chicago together. I fibbed to my parents, claiming I’d messed up my college preferences. But at the party, he had his arm draped around the prom queen and dropped the bombshell. 'Alessandra and I both got into the University of Virginia in Charlottesville—it’s the only prestigious university there,' he announced. Someone piped up, 'What about Luisa?' Remy shot me a teasing grin. 'Luisa, I was just kidding. You didn’t take it seriously, did you? If you want to go to the same school, just retake the exams. You’re the academic star, after all.' Later, when I skipped the summer prep class, he seemed uneasy. 'Luisa, you’re not into going to the same school as me anymore?' --- The day I got my acceptance letter, Remy called me out of the blue. 'You’re coming to the dinner tonight, right? I’ve got a surprise for you. You’ll be there?' A warm flutter filled my chest. 'Yeah, should we go together?' I couldn’t help but hope he’d finally confess. Everyone had always assumed we’d end up together. We’d been childhood friends, after all, and for three years, we’d worked tirelessly to get into the same school. It felt like the whole world was rooting for us. Dinner was set for 7 p.m., but I was at the meeting spot by 6:40. I watched the clock nervously until 7:20 rolled around. Then, Remy’s voice echoed outside the private dining room. I stood up instinctively, only to freeze when he walked in, hand in hand with Alessandra. My thigh hit the chair, my body stiffened, but no