Chapter 1

My boyfriend, Ethan Carter, had a childhood sweetheart, Jenny Lawson, who'd had a crush on him forever.

At first, we just laughed about it. Well, she was only eleven or twelve back then. What could a kid that age possibly know about love?

But ten years later, she was still there, lingering between us. And over time, I noticed the way Ethan looked at her change—from helpless annoyance to something gentler, almost affectionate. That was when I realized how wrong I'd been.

Once, we were arguing about her again. Ethan finally snapped, "She's just a little girl. What's your problem?"

I couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh.

"A twenty-year-old 'little girl'? Oh, please. Even you've got to hear how ridiculous that sounds," I sneered.

*****

After ten years together, on the day of our engagement, my boyfriend Ethan got a call from a girl.

On the other end of the line, she was crying so hard I thought she might pass out.

She sobbed, "Ethan, can you come see me? My heart hurts so much. I feel like I'm dying."

The second I heard her voice, I knew exactly who it was.

Jenny—my high school neighbor's daughter—had been chasing after Ethan for years.

Ethan's expression flickered, but when he saw the look on my face, he hesitated.

"Hey, Jenny, listen—today's really important. Can I come by later?" he said, trying to sound calm.

"No, Ethan, I feel awful. Don't you care about me anymore? You're the only one I have," Jenny sobbed.

The living room full of relatives fell into hushed whispers.

"Wait, is that Ethan's little sister? How come I've never heard about her?" someone muttered.

"No, he's an only child," another whispered back.

"Then who the hell was that?" someone else whispered.

Ethan's parents didn't look too happy either. They kept shooting him looks, trying to get his attention, but he was completely oblivious. All his focus was on the sobbing coming from the phone. He just kept murmuring reassurances to Jenny like she was the only person in the world.

The murmurs grew louder. I snatched the phone from his hand and hung up, leaning in close. "Do you realize what today is? Don't humiliate me like this."

Ethan nodded, his face tense. "I know what I'm doing. Trust me."

I took a deep breath and turned back to our guests, forcing a smile.

But the moment I turned around, Ethan had already slipped away.

All I got was a frantic voice message.

"Jenny's in the hospital. She has no one else. I can't just leave her like this." Ethan's anxious voice came through.

My stomach dropped and I brought myself to hold back any curses.

"Is she dying? Or is this just another one of her emergencies that can't wait one damn day?" I shot back.

His reply came fast. "Can you stop overreacting? She's just a little girl, and she's alone. Grace, you always do this. It's exhausting."

I stared at my phone, too drained to even be angry anymore.

I waited for two hours, but he never came back.

After that phone call, everyone knew what was going on. The room had filled with hushed whispers and pitying glances.

Ethan's parents, mortified, made some flimsy excuse and slipped out.

After seeing off all the guests, I took a cab to Ethan's apartment.

The moment I opened the door, I locked eyes with Jenny.

There she was, curling up on the couch in his hoodie, looking up at me with this shy little smile. "Hey Grace, you're here."

She couldn't even hide the smugness in her eyes, the way her mouth twitched like she'd won something.

I didn't bother responding. My gaze slid past her, landing on Ethan.

He stepped out of the bathroom—towel slung low on his hips, hair damp, completely oblivious to me standing there.

"You know Grace just blew up at me because of you?" he said bluntly, rubbing his hair dry. "After everything I've done for you, how are you gonna make it up to me?"

"Oh, I don't know," I drawled from the doorway and leaned against the wall. "Maybe she could marry you instead?"

Ethan didn't even register it was me at first.

He just snorted, "Please, you're not my type—"

Then his head snapped up. His face went dark.

"You couldn't have called first?" he snapped. "And why the hell are you looking at me like that? Like I did something wrong? I've told you a thousand times—Jenny's just a kid to me. Stop twisting everything with your dirty mind."

I didn't say a word and just stared at him.

The room fell silent.

Finally, Ethan sighed like he was the one put upon and reached for my hand, forcing a tired smile.

"Alright, fine. You win. Guess I'm stuck with you forever, huh?" he smiled.

He covered my eyes with his other hand, his voice dropping to something almost pleading. "Don't look at me like that. Like you're about to walk out for good."

I gave a wry smile and pulled his hand away. "Yeah. Let's break up."

His expression twisted. "I thought I'd made myself clearly before. Except for breakup, you can ask for anything," he growled.

From day one, Ethan had one rule: no throwing around "breakup" in fights. So for ten years, I never did. Even when Jenny's drama pushed us to the edge, I'd just say we needed space.

But this wasn't some heat-of-the-moment threat. I'd thought about it on the way here, really.

I was done living like this—watching some "friendship" constantly hijack my relationship and forever waiting for the next time he'd drop everything and run to her.

But to Ethan, my worries were completely ridiculous.

Jenny would always be his "little sister"—forever innocent and forever needing him. And I was just the paranoid girlfriend who couldn't take a joke.