Chapter 4

The second I stepped outside, I completely broke down. The tears came fast and ugly.

I'd known Ethan for thirteen years and been with him for ten. He wasn't just my first love—he was my whole world for a decade. Of course it hurt. How could it not?

I still remember how he confessed to me. That nervous, fumbling boy in the middle of a crowd, clutching a bouquet like it was a lifeline, his voice barely audible: "Will you be my girlfriend?" When I said yes, his eyes lit up.

Back then, he loved me so fiercely he'd panic…