Chapter 1

My girlfriend, Winona Menzie, just landed a job at a Fortune 500 company.

I joked with her, saying I probably wasn't good enough for her now that she had such a promising future, since I was buried in debt.

Winona just nodded and dumped me on the spot.

Before I could say another word, she deleted me and blocked me.

However, what I actually said was assets, instead of debts.

While scrolling through my feed, I saw a post from Winona.

It was a photo of her internship offer from a listed company.

It was just a branch office, but landing this gig meant her future was looking seriously bright.

Her caption read: [Ready for my internship.]

The comments section was flooded with praise and hype.

A person wrote: [Winona, you're killing it!]

Another wrote: [Can you even sleep at night with a future this bright?]

Someone else commented: [Winona, you're just too awesome. Your boyfriend doesn't deserve you anymore!]

I froze, my finger hovering over the screen.

That comment stung me.

As her boyfriend, I only found out about something this big from her feed.

She'd been busy job hunting these days. Whenever I asked, she'd just brush me off, saying, "Don't get in my way. I'm handling it my own way.

"Gotta keep it under wraps for now.

"I am not telling you."

I held back everything I wanted to say, trying to respect her wishes and be supportive.

The more I thought about it, the more it bugged me.

I wondered if she was hoping I'd reach out first.

I texted Winona right away. [Babe, you nailed the interview? My girl is just unstoppable.

[Time to kick back and celebrate. Let me take you out for a fancy dinner tomorrow. You can pick anywhere you want.]

But after I sent the message, there was no reply from her at all.

Scrolled down my feed, I saw her chatting away in the comments with everyone else.

She wrote: [Thanks. Love you!]

She was all smiles and hearts with everyone but me.

After more than half an hour, Winona finally replied: [Nope.]

I blanked out for a moment, then shot her a question mark.

I wrote: [Are you feeling down? Do you need me to come get you right now?]

But she never replied to me after that.

Right then, my advisor started bugging me about my thesis, so I just dropped it and moved on.

By the time I picked up my phone again, it was already eight at night.

There was still no response from Winona.

The longer I sat there, the more uneasy I felt. That little spark of worry inside me just kept growing.

After another half hour, I was gripping my phone so hard my knuckles turned white. I couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh.

I wondered why I was still putting myself out there for someone who was just giving me the cold shoulder.

I couldn't hold it in anymore. I fired off a message, my tone sharp and biting.

I wrote: [Well, look at that. You got the offer, right? Congrats.

[Funny how I had to find out about something this big from your social media, just like everyone else.]

Right then, my phone lit up. Winona was calling.

Clenching my teeth, I tried to sound calm.

I began, "So you finally..."

But before I could even get the words out, the call was drowned out by a blast of noise from her side.

I could hear glasses clinking, people laughing and joking around, and someone either singing or just shouting at the top of their lungs.

I said, trying to keep my cool, "Winona, where are you? What's with all the noise?"

All I could hear was her faint breathing and the sharp, rowdy cheers of her friends.

One of her friends said, "Winona, what are you waiting for? Just say it!"

Another said, "Yeah, like he could ever hold you back from a better future!"

Someone else said, "If you don't say it, we will!"

They were Winona's besties.

My heart dropped, and I thought back to how cold she'd been to me all day.

I felt that she was doing this on purpose.

Finally, she spoke up, her tone cold as ice. "Neil, if I'm not mistaken, you said your family was drowning in debt, didn't you?"