Chapter1

The junior-year Economics department rankings were posted.

William, my boyfriend of three years, took the first position again.

I lowered my score on purpose just to stay right below him.

I wanted to find him and share the good news.

Suddenly, a sharp slap echoed from inside the TA lounge.

Then, Maddie, my roommate and best friend, yelled through her tears, "That is enough, William!"

Her voice shook. "Last life, you dragged her into an academic plagiarism scandal! She jumped off the thirty-eighth floor because of us! We owe her. We have to make it up to her in this life, not make the same mistake all over again!"

William’s voice cut through the heavy air. Cold. Certain.

"If she wasn't constantly breathing down my neck, I wouldn't have had to choose. Last life, you aborted our baby because of your guilt over her! Why can't you think about us for once?"

"I'm securing that Cambridge exchange spot for you. I love you. I'm never letting you go again."

The draft pushed the door open another inch.

Through the gap, I saw William crush his mouth against hers. His restless hands wandered down her body.

My blood stopped moving.

For three years, I poured my whole heart into them. I believed affection was mutual.

Instead, they betrayed me. They killed me.

My fingers went slack. The printed ranking list slipped from my grip.

My chest hollowed out.

That night, I pulled up the independent Cambridge exchange application and signed my name.

William Ashford, I’ll let you have your way.

The next morning, his family's Lincoln waited outside the campus gates.

For three years, the seat next to him was my exclusive spot.

Today, someone else was sitting there.

Maddie offered a shaky, awkward smile. "I caught a bad chill last night, Ev. William was nice enough to offer me a ride."

She started to shift, pretending to make room.

William instantly grabbed her wrist.

"The heated seat is better for your stomach, Maddie," he said. He didn't look at me. "You don't mind taking the far seat, right, Evie?"

He didn't care if I minded. He was already pulling her closer.

I slid into the far seat and pulled the door shut.

"Keep it. I like the quiet."

The car stayed silent.

From the front seat, the family driver glanced at the rearview mirror.

"Funny coincidence," the driver chuckled. "You both had a fever two days ago, Mr. Ashford. Anyone would think you two caught the same cold."

Maddie’s face burned scarlet. She stared down at her lap.

William’s jaw tightened. He shot a dark, warning look at the mirror.

I just watched the cursor blink on my iPad.

Two days ago, I texted him that it was pouring and I had no umbrella.

He told me he was too busy at the library to pick me up.

But he was getting sick in the rain with my roommate.

Ten minutes before the macro seminar, Maddie tapped my shoulder.

"Ev," she whispered, looking pale. "My period just started... Do you have a tampon?"

Before I could unzip my bag, William walked down the aisle.

He draped his heavy coat over Maddie’s shoulders.

Then, he dropped a plastic CVS bag on her desk.

The bag was filled with all sorts of menstrual supplies.

"Is it the cramps again?" he asked, his voice low.

Maddie flinched. She shoved the bag toward me.

"What are you doing?" she forced a laugh. "You remembered Evie was getting her period and bought this for her, right?"

William stared at her. His eyes held a dark, unspoken frustration.

"I bought it for you," he muttered.

My period started yesterday. I texted him that I was in pain. He left me on read.

Yet he was willing to wake up early just to buy it for her.

I was supposed to be his girlfriend. What were all those years we spent together even for?

"He's just terrible with words," Maddie said, turning to me with wide, innocent eyes.

"Don't worry. He only cares about you, Evie. Didn't you guys promise to go to the Cambridge exchange program together?"

The Cambridge exchange.

Going there was supposed to be our secret.

William’s father was a massive legacy donor who controlled every breath his son took in Boston.

William once held me and cried, saying the UK was his only escape.

He just wanted to fly far away from his family's suffocating shadow and finally be free.

So I purposely held back my own grades.

I spent three years helping him just to pave his way to freedom.

I looked at the CVS bag. I looked at the heavy coat drowning Maddie’s frame.

Before today, I would have demanded an explanation. I would have cried.

Now, I just slowly said, "If he bought it for you, keep it."

I stood up and grabbed my laptop.

"No need to explain. Excuse me."

I walked out without looking back.