Chapter 1
Three years into my secret relationship with Andrew Lane, paparazzi snapped him and Sophie Hart heading back to his apartment together.
To protect her, Andrew went public, claiming Sophie was his girlfriend.
My boyfriend handed over my title as his girlfriend to my best friend, right in front of everyone.
Overnight, I went from being Andrew's real girlfriend to the homewrecker everyone wanted to tear apart.
Later, I went back home for an arranged marriage, and it so happened that Andrew was throwing a lavish birthday party for Sophie.
A friend asked him, "Aren't you worried Lily might lose it and dump you?"
Andrew smirked, utterly sure of himself. "She won't."
He was correct. That Lily Grant, who had loved him so much that she couldn't bring herself to confront him, certainly wouldn't do that.
But he had no idea. I had made my own choice about the marriage, and I had picked my own path, the one that would take me as far from him as possible.
This time, I was done with him. From now on, we'd each go our own way, and there would be nothing between us anymore.
*****
Three years into my secret relationship with Andrew, paparazzi snapped him and Sophie Hart heading back to his apartment together.
At 2:30 a.m., I called Andrew.
It rang for ages before he finally picked up, his voice groggy and annoyed from being woken up. "Lily? Do you know what time it is?"
I sat by the hotel's floor-to-ceiling window, clutching my phone.
My laptop screen was still lit up with the trending search, showing a photo of Andrew with his arm around Sophie as they walked into the apartment's underground garage together.
"Are you going to explain that photo that's trending?" I asked.
"What photo?" Andrew paused for a moment, sounding like he was waking up.
"She was drunk, so I took her home."
"Then why did you take her back to your place?"
"She lives far away."
I stared out at the city lights, my throat tightening.
"Andrew, is it that hard for you to post something and say she's not your girlfriend?" I asked.
There was a brief silence on the other end.
"You were the one who said we had to keep it a secret, afraid it would ruin your shot at Best Actress," Andrew said. His voice turned cold.
He added, "Now you want me to make a statement. Have you ever thought about what that means for me?"
I parted my lips, but no words could come out.
"Enough. We'll talk tomorrow. I'm tired," he said. The call ended.
I opened up that trending post again.
The comments section was flooded with: [They're so cute together,] [Mr. Lane is so sweet,] and [Camping out for the official announcement.]
Then I opened Sophie's account.
Her latest post was from tonight. It was a selfie in the elevator mirror. She was leaning against the elevator wall, wearing that soft yellow jacket I'd spotted in Andrew's entryway last month.
The caption read: [Finished work at dawn, someone came to pick me up.]
I kept scrolling.
A few days ago, she posted a pic in front of a hot pot restaurant, tagged right by Andrew's company.
The caption said: [Someone's midnight hangout.]
Scrolling further, I saw her show off a paper bag with the edge of a deep blue cashmere scarf sticking out.
I knew that scarf. It was the one I'd given Andrew for his birthday last year.
Scrolling further, I saw her post a shot of the street from inside a car. On the passenger side was Andrew's old black lighter, the one he'd had for years.
The caption read: [Passenger seat view.]
Taken one at a time, each photo had an innocent explanation.
But when I looked at them all together, I could tell she was already a regular part of Andrew's life.
I called Sophie.
It rang for ages before she finally picked up, her voice soft and sleepy. "Lily? Why are you calling so late?"
"What's with all those posts you've been putting up lately?" I asked.
She was caught off guard for a moment. "Which one do you mean? The elevator selfie? I took it on a whim and didn't think about it. Are you upset? Want me to take it down?"
I closed my eyes briefly.
"Sophie, you know he has a girlfriend, but you're still acting like there's something between you two," I said.
There was a brief silence on the other end.
Then Sophie spoke in a small voice, "Lily, what are you saying? How could I ever flirt with him? He's a friend to me, and that's all.
"Did those photos make you think something was going on? I'm sorry, I swear I didn't mean for it to look that way...
"If anything I did made you uncomfortable, let me know and I'll stop."
Her voice started to sound like she was about to cry. "Lily, you're not seriously doubting me over a couple of pictures, are you?"