Chapter 1
On my way to work, I was scrolling through my feed and suddenly saw a hot post, [Northside High School's Unresolved Ship.]
Even after all these years, Ethan Sterling and Vera Rhodes were still the most shipped couple.
The top comment said: [Breaking news! Vera's back in town. All shippers, assemble—it's time to get them together!]
My hand slipped, and my phone fell into the gap between the seat and the center console.
Ethan muttered under his breath.
"Seriously, watch it," he said.
I picked up my phone and, to my surprise, found a receipt stuck in the crack.
It was for a diamond ring, priced at 40 thousand dollars, and the payment was made a month ago.
I thought that once I coaxed him into getting the marriage certificate, he'd be mine for good.
But now, it seems our hidden marriage is finally coming to an end.
*****
The car slowly pulled over to the side of the road.
Ethan said casually, "Who are you texting with that has you so fired up?"
"Just a colleague," I replied.
He stared at me, but I turned my head toward the window.
He was silent for a few seconds, and the tension in the car grew heavier.
"Get out," he said.
"Huh?" I replied.
He kept his eyes on the road, not looking at me.
That's when I realized we were parked at the intersection near the office.
Ethan and I worked at the same company—he was the CTO, while I was just another nobody in the crowd.
So my coworkers wouldn't spot me, I usually had him drop me off a block before the office.
It was a bit overcast when I left home this morning.
But halfway there, it started pouring.
I suddenly regretted wearing my white sneakers.
I took my time putting my phone away and dug out my umbrella from my bag.
Ethan finally relented and said, "Alright, the rain's coming down too hard. I'll drop you off at work."
"There aren't many people in the parking garage. It's not like we'll bump into anyone we know," he went on.
"And even if we do, we'll just say we ran into each other on the way, and I gave you a lift. No one's going to think twice about it."
He muttered to himself, quickly justifying it.
"No need, I'll just use my umbrella," I said.
I opened the door, and the roar of the rain drowned out whatever Ethan was saying.
I couldn't make out his words—maybe it was just a quick goodbye.
The moment I closed the door, I stepped straight into a puddle.
My clean white sneakers were instantly splashed with muddy water.
Ethan's car slowly pulled away, and for a moment, his cold expression softened.
It looked like he was in a pretty good mood.
Maybe he was remembering that rainy day when he turned eighteen.
That day, his face was plastered all over every billboard in Riversend.
I heard Vera dropped 230 thousand dollars on those ads, just to let him know how she felt—all in just half a day.
That kind of passionate love—even the most aloof valedictorian couldn't say no to it.
Before long, Vera stopped riding in her Bentley after school and started hopping on the back of Ethan's bike instead.
But that grand confession on the billboards eventually caught the attention of Vera's parents overseas.
As soon as the college entrance exams were over, she was whisked away to another country.
Their relationship came to an abrupt end.
By the time I got back to my desk, I realized my shoes and pants were soaked through.
I couldn't help but click on the post again, and to my surprise, the shippers had a whole group chat going.
I quietly slipped into the group.
A new message popped up right away.
[Hey, new member! Are you a shipper too? What year did you graduate from Northside High School?]
My cheeks felt hot. I had no clue what to say back.
Thankfully, everyone was too busy gossiping, and the chat moved on in no time.
[Vera really did come back, but I heard her family went bankrupt. She had to come back before she could even finish school.]
[Yeah, that's true. I saw her at Grand Ocean Mall working at the LA MER counter. I almost didn't recognize her.]
[But she owned it. She said her family ran into trouble, and as long as she can work and make money, that's good enough for her. Honestly, I kind of respect her for that.]
Without thinking, I glanced up—Ethan's office door was tightly shut.
But right then, I suddenly remembered—about two weeks ago, when I had dinner at his mother's place, there was a full set of LA MER skincare sitting on the coffee table.
Ethan's mother, Julia, had always worked at a university and lived a simple life.
A skincare set worth over ten grand just wasn't her style.
That sounded more like something Ethan would do.
So, they must have met already.
I absentmindedly carried my cup to the break room to get some water.
The admin coworkers were hanging out in the break room, talking about this year's company badminton tournament.
"Lena, do you know how to play badminton?" one of them asked.
I shook my head, joking that I'm hopeless when it comes to sports.
One of the admin girls grabbed my wrist with a big grin.
"Perfect! You'll be Mr. Sterling's partner this year!" she said.
"Last year in the mixed doubles finals, Mr. Sterling won 11–0. It really killed everyone's motivation!" another girl chimed in.
"You're just the person to hold him back," she added with a laugh.
Ethan barely says a word to me at work, just to avoid any gossip.
He'd totally hate being my doubles partner.
I hurriedly waved my hands.
"Come on, guys, cut me some slack! I really don't want to team up with that devil," I said.
The admin girl kept holding onto me, refusing to let go.
"Seriously, you're the perfect choice. There's not a single girl here who's worse at badminton than you," she teased.
Never thought my main role in life would be to drag Ethan down.