Chapter 1

As soon as I got in the car, my boyfriend's smart assistant blared a shrill alarm. Alert, "You let another girl sit in the front seat. Notifying Lila right away."

His assistant hung up the call and grinned. "I'm keeping an eye on Mr. Shaw for you."

Still caught off guard, I was shoved into the back seat by my boyfriend. "Lila always sits up front. Let's not waste time. Rehearsal's waiting."

After his assistant entered the destination, the smart assistant switched to a cutesy tone. "Lila, I noticed you have taken this lovers' route three times already last month. Do you want to change the location?"

The car went quiet. My boyfriend gave an awkward laugh. "I'm dropping by to see a client. Don't overthink it," he said.

I glanced up and saw the destination's signature heart-shaped lock charm.

Two years ago, I'd asked him to go there with me, hoping we could check in together. "They say if you get a lock there, you'll stay together forever."

But he stared at his phone, not even bothering to look up. "I'm busy. Stop making me waste time on these childish things."

So much for being busy. I guess he had plenty of time to waste on the same thing three times in a month.

I suddenly felt drained, like I was tired of everything.

We'd been together for seven years, engaged for six months.

And in the car I gave him, he never even bothered to add my office address to the GPS.

If this car is meant for someone else, then I'll let it go.

*****

I asked to get out, but Jason Reed sped up instead. "I chose this place to make you happy, and now you're acting like this? Is this how you repay me?"

Lila Carter gave a pitiful blink, her voice softening with grievance. "Emily Shaw, you're not upset with me, are you?"

The smart assistant suddenly chimed in. "Detected Lila is feeling down. Playing the lovers' comfort playlist now."

The screen popped up, showing they'd been listening together for 1052 days.

Three years ago, Jason suddenly unlinked our couple account.

He said it as if it didn't matter at all. "It's childish. I don't have time to listen to music anymore."

After that, every playlist I shared with him was left on read. He never replied.

But ten minutes earlier, he and Lila were busy liking each other's posts.

Lila quickly told the assistant to stop the music.

The smart assistant kept asking. "Lila, you are not feeling this playlist? Want me to play your favorite instead?"

The next second, the screen popped up with an audio message Jason had recorded.

I felt like ice was running through my veins.

After sticking by him through four years of his startup, the thing Jason said to me most was, "Will you stop bugging me already?"

Even when I was pulling all-nighters with a raging fever of 104°F, to cover our debts.

He was still cold as ice. "Do I really have to babysit you to make you take your medicine? I'm exhausted too, you know."

Jason's face turned ugly as he reached to turn off the screen.

But fumbling in his flustered state, he ended up playing the next voice message instead.

"Marriage is such a drag. Every time I see her, it's this endless pressure. I don't even want to go home anymore," Jason's voice spilled out from the speakers.

"Honestly, being with you is the only time I actually feel comfortable," he confessed. My heart sank like a stone.

So this is why Jason was always working late and never coming home?

The screen kept scrolling. "If I'd met you earlier, do you think things would've been different?" Jason's voice filled the car.