Chapter 6

I lay on the couch all night, hair still wet, staring at the ceiling until dawn.

One memory kept replaying in my head.

That trip to Aspen.

The day we climbed all the way to the top.

Chloe shouted into the wind,

“Alexander Thorne, you'd better love Isabella Vance for the rest of your life!”

Alexander glanced at her, then shouted too,

“Chloe Ryder and Isabella Vance, best friends forever!”

At 8 a.m., my alarm went off right on time.

I sent Alexander a message.

“Alexander, let’s break up.”

The smart lock clicked open.

And Chloe's voice came in first, snapping at Alexander like he was hers to boss around.

“This is your fault. You woke up late, and now we couldn’t get Bella’s favorite French croissants.”

“You’re the one who took forever,” Alexander shot back. “You had to put on makeup just to come see Bella.”

“That's because you kept me up all night—”

They walked into the living room carrying several different kinds of breakfast, both of them smiling like nothing had happened.

The second they saw me lying on the couch, their voices died.

What they had just been talking about was obvious.

Alexander calmly set the breakfast on the table, then gave a soft laugh.

“Oh — special alert from my princess. Let me see what she sent.”

He looked down at his phone.

Then his face went pale.

Chloe leaned in beside him.

Their faces were so close.

Then her eyes moved to me, who was sitting there with no expression.

There was a hint of amusement in her voice.

“Bella, come on. Just because Alexander didn't come home last night?”

“I should be mad at you. I fell by accident, and you didn’t even call once to check on me.”

“And I still got up early to buy you breakfast.”

All the little things I used to ignore suddenly stood out.

Since when were croissants from that bakery across town my favorite?

Chloe was the one who loved them.

Alexander lined up for them every single time, no matter how much trouble it was.

And after a while, I became the one who “loved” them.

I looked at Chloe, my voice perfectly calm, without a ripple.

“Didn't you fake that fall just to lure him back to that little apartment of yours?”

“Chloe, I heard that little laugh before you hung up.”

“And I saw the hickeys. On both of you.”

Chloe instinctively pulled her collar higher.