Chapter 1 I was out here serving main character energy in a giant mascot suit , sweating my ass off while handing out flyers , when this bougie Maybach rolled up like something straight out of a " rich people problems " TikTok Dylan Carter stepped out with his pick - me childhood sweetheart , giving me major " I'm about to ruin your day " vibes as I stood there literally melting in this cursed furry costume : " You've been clutch these past two years . Name your price for compensation - I'm feeling generous . " Translation : We're done here , bestie . Thanks for playing . [ ] I was about to open my mouth when his little princess decided to serve some unsolicited main character syndrome : Oop - please don't tell me you're about to pull some I want to be your girlfriend ' delulu moment . Babe , that's giving desperate energy and we're not here for it . " ] Watching him give her the soft launch boyfriend treatment - fingers intertwined and everything - I said " bet " to whatever simp confession was about to leave my mouth and switched up real quick : [ ] " Three hundred K. Vento me and we're good . " Homeboy's cocky smirk literally glitched like a broken NPC , staring at me in pure disbelief . Plot twist incoming … …0 When the Carter family went bankrupt , I swooped in and somehow became his girlfriend . [ ] Worked four jobs to keep him afloat for two whole years , gave him everything I had , let him take whatever he needed . ] The day his family's frozen assets got released , I was still out here in this darn costume trying to scrape together his college ruition . Dylan's always been this ice - cold type - never shows what he's really thinking . This was literally the first time I'd ever seen him look genuinely pissed . ] Maybe my three hundred K was chump change - not even worth a second glance to some rich kid from the Upper East Side Or maybe I was asking for way too much ? I mean , keeping Dylan wasn't exactly breaking the bank . Including tuition , it was maybe seventy grand total ] But that was everything I had - every sleepless night slinging coffee , handing out flyers , busing tables . I gave him my whole damn world Classic Dylan Carter move - by the time I blinked , he'd already pulled himself together . [ ] Even through this stupid costume , I could feel his ice cold stare boring right through me . And of course the sweat was stinging my eyes , making them burn . Making me want to cry like some pathetic loser . " Three hundred thousand ? Jesus , you've got some serious balls … " Cherry Winters let out this nasty laugh and kept going : ] " Everyone always said you were a total airhead , but damn , when it comes to asking for cash , you're sharp as hell " ] Everyone ? Had to be Dylan . [ ] He always thought I was stupid- " airhead " and " no brain cells were basically his favorite phrases when talking about me . It's not like I wanted to be this way . A bad fever when I was little left my brain working a bit slower than everyone else's Like right now - I couldn't I even th think of a single comeback to throw at her . Dylan waved his hand , and his driver immediately pulled a briefcase out of the trunk . [ ] He grabbed it and basically hurled the thing at me with enough force to knock me over. " Five hundred thousand . That enough for you ? " So he'd already had it ready . Five hundred K - guess I was worth more than I thought . I nodded . " Yeah , that works . " ] Dylan squinted at me , his voice sharp : " That's really it ? No other demands ? Speak up , maybe I'll actually … " ] I cut him off , mumbling under my breath : " Nope , we're good . " ] But honestly ? There was something else . ] I'd originally planned to ask him to stay with me forever . [ ] But seeing him with his fingers laced through Cherry's like that just knocked all the fight right out of me . [ ] In two whole years , he'd never once held my hand - except for those times I basically forced him to . [ ] Hell , when I tripped over curbs and shit , he wouldn't even help me up . ] You don't have to be smart , but you should at least know when you're not wanted . ] with me - I took myself to the Just like when my parents died in that accident and all my relatives started playing hot potato w group home before they could dump me there . This time . I was choosing to walk away first too . Dylan's lips pressed into this tight line , and he let out this bitter laugh : " Perfect . Just fucking perfect . " ] " Anna Wells , you really are a complete idiot . " ] Even at the end , all I got was his contempt . He turned and walked off with Cherry , leaving me choking on hot exhaust fumes . I yanked off the costume head and wiped my face hard . ] Sweat mixed with tears , leaving my hand all sticky and gross . ] I suddenly remembered that suffocating summer two years ago , right after a rainstorm , when I found him collapsed on the sidewalk . He'd looked so helpless and broken - just like I was as a kid . ]