Chapter 1

I spent ten years trying to win over Alex Pierce. And he still fell for Grace Lane the second he laid eyes on her.

At my own birthday party, Grace "accidentally" spilled her drink all over me.

Before I could even say a word, Alex jumped in to play peacemaker.

"Nina, she didn't mean it. I saw it. Her foot just slipped."

I looked at Alex, then at Grace, cowering behind him with that innocent little look on her face.

Without missing a beat, I threw my mug of hot, sweet drink right in Alex's face.

"My hand slipped, too."

Of course, I could tell Grace didn't do it on purpose. She'd never have the guts.

Honestly, even if she had, I was not petty anyway.

Alex's reaction was kind of unnecessary, to be honest.

Alex froze for a moment, sweet drink dripping down his face, before finally blurting out in disbelief.

"Nina?" he stammered, confusion and disbelief all over his face.

Seeing that look, it hit me. I'd been letting him walk all over me for years.

No wonder he thought I was just some docile pushover.

I just gave him a cold glance and didn't bother replying.

I turned to my friends, apologized for the scene, and told them to eat, drink, and have fun.

Then I left the party early.

The drink splashed right onto my stomach, and since I was on my period, the thin summer fabric clinging to my skin made the dull ache in my belly even worse.

I'd been extra careful tonight, switching out wine for a sweet drink to avoid any period pain, but I still couldn't dodge Grace's messy, over-the-top spill.

I walked out of the banquet hall on my own, and after a bit, I heard footsteps behind me—someone was following.

A smirk crept onto my lips. I figured it had to be Alex; guess all those years of scheming weren't for nothing.

At the hotel entrance, I stopped.

I turned around, about to say something.

But just as I started to say "Alex," I realized it wasn't him.

"Evan?" I said, surprised.

Evan Lee smiled, quickened his pace, and fell in step beside me.

He grinned, "What, are you disappointed?"

I glanced at the traffic outside, and then it hit me—I'd actually arrived here in Alex's car tonight.

After a moment, I finally remembered to answer his question.

"Disappointed? Maybe. But when you've been let down enough times, you just stop feeling disappointed," I said.

Evan arched his brow, like he hadn't expected me to respond.

"Come on, I'll give you a ride home," he said.

I just nodded. "Sure."

I had Evan take me straight to my place.

Halfway there, we both realized something was off.

"Evan, paparazzi are tailing us. Ugh, if I'd known, I wouldn't have let you drive me," I complained.

I could feel my period leaking like crazy—damn, I just needed to get home and swap out my pad!

"Sorry, I'll take a detour and lose them," Evan said.

What should've been a ten-minute drive turned into a half-hour chase thanks to his flashy detours.

By the time we finally pulled up, my face was ghostly pale. Cramps plus motion sickness—a double whammy. Honestly, not passing out was pretty impressive.

We finally made it to my place, and Evan finally caught on that something was off with me.

"Nina, why do you look so bad?"

I rolled my eyes, with zero energy.

"I need to get out," I said weakly.

Evan quickly unlocked the car and jumped out to help me.

As soon as I got home, I rushed straight to the bathroom in my bedroom, dropped onto the toilet, and pulled the trash can in front of me.

My stomach went wild—vomiting and diarrhea hit me all at once.

After half an hour, I finally felt a little better. I got up, took a shower, pulled on my night-time period pants, wrapped myself in a towel, and headed out.

As I stepped out of my room to grab some water, I spotted Evan sitting upright on the couch.

Was he seriously reading my romance novel?

"Why are you still here?" I asked.

Caught reading my novel, Evan glanced at me, his ears turning red with embarrassment.

"I... I was worried about you, so I hung around a bit longer. Now that you're alright, I'll get going," he said.

With that, he got up and walked toward the door, walking a bit awkwardly.

I didn't think much of it, just poured myself some water and plopped down on the couch.

Before Evan could even reach the door, it swung open from the outside.

It was Alex.