Chapter 2

After my shift at the restaurant, I picked up a few delivery orders and kept going until eleven. Then I switched to driving rideshare until I finally called it a night.

I didn't get back to my apartment until one thirty in the morning.

I showered, crawled into bed, and checked my phone. My best friend, Emily Hart, had sent me a string of messages.

Emily wrote: [Charlie, happy birthday! I'm at Vivian's birthday party right now.]

[Not by choice, trust me. My dad's been doing business with the Linley Group lately, and the Linleys invited him. He dragged me along and told me to play nice with Vivian.]

[Like I'd ever talk to that girl. You have my word.]

A few minutes later, she sent: [Oh my God, babe. William's here. He just confessed his feelings to Vivian.]

[But I think he meant it for you.]

[Hang on, someone recorded it. Let me get the video.]

A video followed.

I hesitated for a moment before I tapped play.

In the video, an extravagant birthday party filled the screen. The decorations were lavish, and the room was packed with guests.

William stood in a tailored suit, microphone in hand, confessing his feelings as he walked toward Vivian.

William said, "You've been in my heart for as long as I can remember, and tonight, on your special night, I want to take this chance to tell you how I feel. The princess of the Linley family, will you be my girlfriend?"

His voice softened as he added, "I want to spend my life protecting you and giving you the best of everything I have."

The guests watched with touched expressions, their eyes full of envy as they waited for Vivian's answer.

Even Vivian's eyes lit up with warmth and joy as he drew closer, and it was obvious she was ready to say yes.

She smiled and gave a small nod, about to open her mouth and accept, but then everything changed.

William stopped and blurted out, "Who are you? Where's Charlotte?"

The entire room went dead silent, and Vivian's smile froze on her face.

Whispers erupted around her almost instantly.

One guest muttered, "Charlotte? Isn't she the fake heiress who got kicked out of the Linley family?"

Another whispered back, "That's William Carter, right? Does he actually want Vivian or Charlotte?"

The video ended there.

I closed the player and exited the chat window.

I put my phone away and stared blankly ahead. My heart ached so badly that tears spilled down my cheeks before I could stop them.

The truth was, after all those years together, how could I not love William?

William had been part of my world for as long as I could remember.

Our families ran in the same circles, so we always ended up at the same dinners and the same parties.

He would hold out a bag of candy and say, "Here, Lottie, these are for you."

Then he would grab my hand and grin. "Come on, let's go play over there."

He dragged me around everywhere, and I laughed the whole time, and so did he.

From elementary school through high school, we attended the same private academy.

The school belonged to the Carter family, and William insisted on being in my class, so of course, that was exactly what happened.

He always brought me snacks, and he got into more than a few fights to protect me.

But whenever it was just the two of us, I was the one who picked on him and smacked him around, and he took every bit of it without complaint.

In middle school, I bossed him around constantly, and our classmates teased him for being my little sidekick.

But he never got upset. He actually wore it like a badge of honor and shot back, "If Lottie needs something done, I'm happy to do it."

Throughout my teenage years, William saw the best and worst of me. I would act sweet and clingy with him one minute, then snap at him and push him away the next.

He teased me sometimes, too, and we bickered plenty, but our arguments never crossed a line. Every single time, he was the one who caved first and coaxed me back, and I always let him, and then everything went right back to normal.

We ended up at the same college, and everyone who knew us said the same things.

"William only has that kind of patience for Charlotte."

"He does whatever she tells him to. No questions asked."

"Those two are absolutely meant for each other."

Halfway through our sophomore year, William told me that his family wanted to send him abroad to study.

He looked at me and asked, "Lottie, I can't make up my mind. What do you think? Do you want me to go?"

I thought about it for a moment and told him, "Studying abroad is a great idea. You'd get to see the world, broaden your horizons, and pick up some real expertise. It'll make things a lot easier when you take over the family business."

William made up his mind right away. "Alright, I'll go."

But then he paused and asked me, "Do you want to come with me?"

I shook my head. "My parents and my grandpa would never let me go. They'd miss me too much, so it's probably not happening."

Back then, I was the apple of everyone's eye.

William nodded and said, "Okay, I'll just be gone for a few years and then I'll come back. Wait for me."

"I will," I promised.

That was our deal, but in the end, I was the one who broke it.