Turnabout Is Fair Play

One careless moment, and I got transmigrated into a tearjerker novel.

The System said that once the heartbreak meter was full, I could go back to my own world.

I nodded thoughtfully.

Nathan Sterling was about to ask for the emerald bracelet my mother left me, so he could lend it to his childhood sweetheart to show off in. I spoke first.

"Lucas came over today and accidentally broke the wishing jar in the master bedroom."

"He didn't mean to, so don't make a big deal out of it. He's the boy next door I grew up with, after all."

"He felt so bad about it that I gave him the box of fountain pens from the study, so he wouldn't feel awkward."

That wishing jar was Nathan's gift for my twentieth birthday—which also happened to be our second anniversary.

Inside were 999 folded paper stars. He'd stayed up every night for a whole month to fold them.

And that box of fountain pens was the custom Montblanc set I'd ordered for him as a wedding anniversary present.

Nathan's face went white as paper. His eyes were full of shock and disbelief.

The System was shrieking at me to stop running my mouth when it saw the heartbreak meter tick up a notch.

System: ?

I smiled.

"You never said it had to be the heroine's heart that broke. Come on—breaking the scumbag's works just as well, doesn't it?"

Chapter One

Nathan's lips parted. His voice came out hoarse. "Why was Lucas at our house? Why was he in the master bedroom?"

I shrugged it off. "He flew back from Vienna today. I picked him up at JFK and invited him over for a bit. Gave him a tour. We grew up next door to each other. That's normal, isn't it?"

"But what he broke was the gift I gave you!" He was barely holding his temper in.

I rubbed my ear, annoyed. "I know. Why are you yelling? It's a glass jar. It broke, so it broke. If you really care that much, I'll buy you another one."

Nathan's fingers curled into fists. "You think this is about the jar? There were 999 stars in there. I folded every single one by hand, and every single one had something I wanted to tell you written inside! It means nothing to you?"

"And you gave our anniversary present to him. What exactly is going on between you two? Blair, do I even exist to you?"

Oh? Upset, are we?

Funny how you never thought I'd be upset when you wanted to hand my mother's emerald bracelet over to your little childhood sweetheart.

Tsk, tsk.

I gave him a disapproving look. "Okay, don't be so petty. I already told you, he's just my neighbor."

"I think of him like a brother. If anything was going to happen between us, it would've happened already. You think I'd have married you?"

The second those words left my mouth, satisfaction ran through me from head to toe.

That line—the classic line from every tearjerker—and I finally got to be the one to say it!

So good.

Scolding done, I immediately switched to a soft, tender face. "Babe, don't overthink it. You know you're the only one in my heart. Stop it now, be good. I'm a little tired, so I'm going to bed."

I didn't care in the slightest how awful he looked. I got up to go to the bedroom.

A hand closed around my wrist.

Nathan was frowning at me, like he was trying to read something in my face.

I let him look. My face was perfectly calm.

After a long moment, he let out a breath and spoke, keeping a lid on it. "Fine. Just be more careful from now on."

"Sienna's walking the red carpet at a charity gala tomorrow night. The emerald bracelet your mom left you—lend it to her for the night. She needs something to make an impression."

Here it comes.

The scumbag has spoken.

"The bracelet? Oh no, why didn't you say something sooner!" I gasped.

"What do you mean?"

"Tomorrow night is Lucas's first solo recital at Carnegie Hall since he got back, and Mrs. Lowell is going too. She's doing an interview with him. She didn't have any decent jewelry, so I lent it to her."

Nathan froze. "You lent it out?"

"Yeah."

"That was your mother's! And you just lent it to some outsider?!"

See? He knew perfectly well it was my mother's.

And he still told me to lend it to his little childhood sweetheart without even asking.

You will never understand how the scumbag in a tearjerker thinks.

"How can you say that? Mrs. Lowell isn't an outsider. She was my mom's best friend. Is it wrong for me to lend it to her? Besides, she's Lucas's mother. Lucas asked, and I didn't feel right saying no."

Nathan's face had gone gray. He looked at me like he didn't recognize me.

"Lucas again. Again, you did it for him…"

He was about to say more when his phone rang. He glanced down at it, pressed his lips together, then looked up at me twice, hard, and turned and went out onto the balcony.

Looked like the little sweetheart was calling to check on her mission.

Too bad that mission was doomed.

I flipped my hair and went back to the bedroom.