Chapter 2 When my hearing cleared, I caught Kai's loud announcement: "Starting today, everyone better like our couple photos. Hit a thousand likes, and I'll dump Lia and marry Olivia tomorrow." With that, he grabbed Olivia's hand and stormed out without looking back. Right before leaving the private room, Olivia shot me a smug, triumphant look. After they bounced, people started clearing out. Some were straight-up gloating: "Girl thought she could act all high and mighty. Well, look how that worked out. Karma's a bitch, right?" Others tried playing advisor: "Look, swallow your pride and just apologize. You really want him to actually marry his assistant?" knew this whole social media stunt was just Kai's way of forcing me to crawl back and beg. But this time? Fuck that. I'd rather die than grovel again. he room that had been buzzing with birthday energy was now just me and empty champagne glasses. grabbed the leftover bourbon and knocked it back. The burn hit my throat and chest, making my eyes water. wo decades of history, and this is how we end? Honestly, it's not as devastating as I thought it'd be. Moving clear across the country to Seattle for the Vanderbilt arrangement-at least Kai won't be able to mess with my head anymore. hough I have no idea why tears are streaming down my face right now. Back home, I started throwing stuff into suitcases. tai and I went way back-like, sandbox and juice box back. We'd spent most of our lives attached at the hip. hat kind of history meant I had a shit-ton of memories to sort through. his little red paper flower was from kindergarten-Kai's first gold star. He ran over with his gap-toothed grin to give it to me. can still hear five-year-old him saying: "I wanna give Lia all the best stuff ever." his photo was from my traumatic first period experience. Kai secretly took a picture of my horror-movie-level panic face. Thirteen-year-old me, who completely zoned out during health class, was convinced I was dying. I dramatically told him to live his best life after I was gone. le could get a girlfriend, I said, just not one prettier than me. Poor guy was totally lost until he realized I'd just gotten my period. He sprinted to CVS for pads, then we spent an hour watching YouTube tutorials on how periods work. He roasted me for not paying attention in sex ed. I got so embarrassed I chomped down on his arm. Years later, he told me that bite didn't hurt at all-but it was the moment he stopped seeing me as just his annoying little neighbor. We became official after that, but different colleges meant four years of FaceTime dates and Greyhound bus trips. Our entire relationship became a collection of boarding passes and gas receipts. Four years straight, 120,000 miles-that's how far we'd travel just for weekend visits. Back then, I was his entire world. He never bitched about those brutal eight-hour drives. Chapter 2 My fingers found the small velvet box with our promise rings inside. I moved back to Silicon Valley right after graduation, just for him. The day I got back, he dragged me to this fancy jeweler in Palo Alto. I still remember what he said sliding that ring onto my finger: "Lia, once this ring goes on, you're stuck with me forever. You're never getting away." rurns out, he'd be the one running away in the end. Discover our latest featured short drama reel. Watch now and enjoy the story!