Chapter 1

I followed my husband's message to the hotel to pick him up, but when I pushed open the door to the private room, I realized it was a class reunion.

My ex-husband, Alex Carter, was sitting at the head of the table, raising his glass, looking like the star of the show with everyone hanging on his every word.

The air froze for three seconds.

One girl who once chased Alex fired first. “Well, Emma Lane? Wrong room? We’re all top-university folks. As a second-tier grad, you shouldn’t crash our party. Or did you show up to make a scene, ex-wife?"

I met her gaze calmly. "I'm here to pick up my husband."

As soon as the words left my mouth, every eye in the room snapped to me, like I'd lost my mind.

Ryan Brooks, my old friend, lit a cigarette, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Seriously, have you no shame? Divorced and still trying to get something out of Alex.

"I've never seen anyone so eager to throw herself at someone to be the side chick."

Alex shot me a hesitant look, like he wanted to say something but held back. "Emma, we've been divorced for a long time."

Of course I know that.

But the husband I meant wasn't him.

Ryan was about to keep running his mouth, but Alex pressed his lips together and snapped at him coldly.

"That's enough," Alex said.

Ryan took a drag from his cigarette, looking pissed off. "Am I wrong? What does an idiot like Emma have to offer compared to someone smart like Sophia Reed?

"You were the only one who ever thought she was worth anything, and she held you back for years."

Alex looked me in the eye and said quietly, "Emma's not dumb."

Hearing that from someone as brilliant as Alex sounded almost comically out of place.

Back when I was sixteen, I really believed him.

After middle school, my mom married Alex's dad, and our families merged. We became step-siblings.

We went to the same high school, and were even in the same class.

He was always dead last in the rankings, while I floated somewhere in the middle.

Alex couldn't stand me and never talked to me unless he had to.

I'd always see him getting into fights, then getting written up by the school.

Then my mom would get called to school, sitting there with her head bowed, taking the teacher's scolding.

One night, I went out for a glass of water and found my mom sitting alone in the living room, wiping away tears.

"Emma, what does Alex need to finally accept me?" she asked.

I didn't have an answer.

But from that night on, whatever peace was left between Alex and me was gone for good.

I started mixing mustard into his water, pouring dirty water all over his backpack, and sneaking laxatives into his lunchbox.

He snapped back, "What else you got, Emma? You can't take me down. Sooner or later, I'll make your mom pay for it."

We kept up that war for almost a year.

I really thought I'd hate him for the rest of my life.

But everything changed after a violent night at home.

Alex's dad beat my mom so badly, he sent her straight to the hospital.

As they loaded my mom into the ambulance, that man was still cursing her out. "I spent two years chasing you, and all you have is that face. What else are you good for?"

My mom was nearly forty, and after being spoiled by my dad her whole life, she honestly didn't know how to do anything.

At that moment, Alex's usual cold indifference shattered. He looked at me, shocked, whispering almost in disbelief. "Wasn't your mom the one who seduced my dad?"

He always blamed her for tearing his family apart and making his mom leave.

But at that point, none of it mattered.

Because now, I didn't have a mom either.

The day she was supposed to be discharged, I brought her favorite white freesias to the hospital, only to find out she'd already left.

She left everything behind, including me.

I didn't have a home anymore.

I was wandering the streets late at night when Alex found me.

His eyes were red, burning with anger.

I thought he was going to hit me, so I shrank back, terrified.

But instead, he wrapped his arms around me, holding me tight.

It was the first time I'd ever heard him speak with such tenderness.

"Emma, come home with me," Alex said softly, "From now on, I'm your whole world."

I gripped his hand tightly, clinging to him like he was the only thing keeping me from falling apart.

Ever since I turned sixteen, Alex became my entire world.

After my mom left, Alex's dad got even more short-tempered.

Alex was afraid I'd get hurt, so he moved out with me.

Life went on, but we were both different now.

I stopped messing around, and the hostility in his eyes faded bit by bit.

He started spending hours buried in books, and I couldn't help but ask, "Didn't you used to hate all this studying?"

He looked at me, his eyes more serious than I'd ever seen, and with a gentle, almost resigned smile, he reached out and pinched my cheek. "Emma, I want you to have a better life."

Noticing how his ears turned a little red, I nodded eagerly, feeling my heart race.

I didn't want to drag Alex down.

So I threw myself into studying too, but even when he went from the bottom of the class to the very top, I was still an average student, struggling to keep up.

Every night, he'd tutor me until midnight, and I'd be so tired my eyes kept drooping as I stared at the math problems.

He'd sigh, "Emma, why are you so clueless?"

Then he'd laugh softly, "But honestly, it's pretty cute when you're a little clueless."

I was so sleepy I could barely hold my pen, mumbling, "Alex, slow down, I'm gonna fall behind"

Back then, he told me I'd never have to chase after him. He'd always wait for me.

But he broke his promise.

Later on, what annoyed him most was my awkwardness and lack of smarts.

Ryan laughed, "Not stupid? You spent all that time tutoring her, and she still barely made it into some average college."