Chapter 2

In my past life, it took him three minutes to spin a story about "being drunk and Amber helping me to a room to rest." I had sobbed then, and eventually chose to believe him.

Now I just stood there quietly, watching him put on his show.

"Lily, I can explain—" he finally said, panic creeping into his voice.

"Was it Amber?" I cut him off.

My voice was so calm it sounded like a stranger's. Noah froze, clearly not expecting such a direct question.

He opened and closed his mouth like a fish, then finally nodded.

Then his eyes filled with tears.

"It was a mistake," his voice started shaking. "I was drunk, I didn't know what I was doing..."

Actual tears rolled down his cheeks. If this were my past life, I would've melted by now.

"We're done," I said, sliding my engagement ring off and placing it next to the photos.

The diamond ring spun once on the table, making a soft clink before going still.

Noah's face went white as a sheet.

"Lily, please!" He lunged forward to grab my hand. "I love you! She meant nothing!"

I stepped back, dodging his reach. The movement left him frozen mid-grab, hurt flashing across his face.

But I knew it was all an act.

"If I meant something to you," I looked him straight in the eye, "you wouldn't have slept with her. Get out."

"Lily—"

"I said get out."

I turned toward the window, giving him my back. I didn't want to see his crocodile tears or hear his bullshit excuses. I'd sat through that performance once already; I didn't need a repeat.

Behind me, I heard a chair scrape back, then footsteps. Noah paused at the door.

"You'll regret this," his voice turned ice-cold. "We were perfect together."

I glanced back at him one last time.

"We were never perfect, Noah. I just chose to be blind."

The door clicked shut, but the sound echoed in the silent studio. I listened to his footsteps fade away, then heard his car engine start, and finally, everything went quiet.

I sank onto the couch, staring at the ring for what felt like hours. The diamond caught the light, sparkling; once it had been everything I wanted.

Now it was just a pretty rock.

The next morning, I started canceling all the wedding plans.

Mrs. Garcia, the florist, went quiet for a long moment on the phone. "Oh honey... I'm so sorry."

"It's fine," I said. "I'm okay."

After hanging up, I took a shaky breath. Still had to call the venue, the photographer, the band... each call was another announcement that my fairy tale was over.

The hardest part was returning things to Noah's clinic.

He'd given me a family heirloom necklace, claimed it belonged to his grandmother. In my past life, I wore it until the day I died. This time, I didn't want anything that tied me to him.

The receptionist was a young nurse I'd met before. When she saw me, surprise flickered across her face, followed by pity, and then barely hidden excitement.

"Dr. Noah's not in," she said, but her eyes were glued to the jewelry box in my hands. "Want me to give that to him?"

"Please," I set the box on the counter.

As I walked away, I caught whispers behind me. I knew that sound all too well; in my past life, it had haunted me for months.

Outside the clinic, Main Street was drowning in sunshine. I'd walked this street a thousand times; every shopkeeper knew my name.

"Lily!"

Mrs. Henderson burst out of the coffee shop across the street, worry plastered all over her face. She was Dad's old friend and the town's biggest gossip.

"Oh sweetie, I heard..." she dropped her voice to a whisper, "about you and Noah."

"I'm fine, thanks for asking," I managed a smile.

But I knew the rumors were already flying. Right now, in every corner of Cliffside Point, people were talking about poor Lily Hart getting dumped.

At least this time, I'd walked away with my head held high.

When I got home, I knew trouble was waiting.

My stepmother Sandra's car sat in the driveway, with Amber's red convertible parked beside it. They were camped out in the living room like they'd been there for hours.

Sandra jumped up the second she saw me. "Lily, Noah just talked to your father, said you two broke up?"

Her tone made it sound like I'd committed a crime.

Amber was curled up on the couch in a low-cut top, her big doe eyes red and puffy like she'd been crying for hours.

"Lily," she said in that sickeningly sweet voice, "what happened? You two seemed so happy together."

She always made her voice extra sugary when she said my name. In my past life, I thought it meant she cared; now I heard the poison underneath.

I stared straight into Amber's eyes. "You know exactly what happened."

Amber blinked those innocent eyes. "I have no idea what you mean..."

"Lily!"

Dad appeared at the top of the stairs, his face thunderous. He was in his bathrobe, hair sticking up everywhere—clearly Sandra had dragged him out of bed for this intervention.

"Noah says you've got the wrong idea about something," he said, coming down the stairs. "You kids are always jumping to conclusions..."

I'd heard this speech before. In my past life, he'd said the exact same thing, then spent an hour trying to convince me to give Noah another chance.

I took a deep breath. "Dad, Noah cheated on me. With Amber."

Sandra gasped like I'd slapped her, and Amber's crying kicked into overdrive.

"Lily, how can you say something so horrible?" she wailed. "I've always loved you like a real sister!"

Dad's frown deepened as he looked between me and Amber. I knew exactly what he was thinking—Amber was his precious princess with Sandra, spoiled rotten since birth, forever his little girl.

"Lily, do you have any proof?" he asked.

Those words hit me like a punch to the gut.

Same question as last time. Nobody believed me; everyone took Amber's side.

But this time, I didn't need their approval.

"I don't need proof to dump a cheating bastard," I said evenly. "Excuse me."

I headed upstairs, leaving them to debate my "rash decisions" and "stubborn streak."

By the following day, my phone was buzzing like crazy.

Someone had posted a photo in the Cliffside Point community Facebook group: Noah and Amber making out at Harbor Bar.

The picture was grainy, but you could definitely tell who it was. The caption read: "Guess we know the real story now?"

The comments were going wild.

Some people said I had it coming, others called Noah scum, and a few were already placing bets on how long Noah and Amber had been sneaking around.

I turned off my phone and made myself coffee.

Outside, it was another gorgeous day. I knew what came next—more gossip, more stares, more people either pitying me or blaming me.

But I didn't care anymore. I was ready for whatever they threw at me.