Chapter 1

A week before the wedding, my fiancé Ethan's friends invited us on a camping trip and said we'd draw lots for the tents.

I drew the single tent. Ethan drew the same one as Chloe, his childhood best friend.

I looked at Ethan, waiting for him to offer to switch. Instead, he said:

"It's just one night with Chloe. Don't read too much into it. I've already agreed to marry you—are you really going to make a fuss about this too?"

So now, as the bride-to-be, even minding my fiancé spending the night with another woman made me ungrateful.

Then, in the middle of the night, my tent started leaking. I went to the car for a dry towel.

Through the half-open car door, I heard Chloe's voice from inside.

"If I hadn't left that year, would you have ended up with her?"

Ethan was silent for a long time. His voice, when it came, was low and hoarse.

"Why couldn't you have come back sooner?"

My hand froze on its way to the door handle. I almost thought I'd misheard.

The next second, my phone buzzed.

A message popped up in the camping group chat and was immediately retracted.

But I'd already seen it clearly.

*She's been sitting in Chloe's spot for way too long. A little rain will do her good.*

The sender was Ethan's best friend.

I tightened my grip on the phone and glanced again at the half-open car door.

So in their eyes, I—the woman about to marry him—was the one who didn't belong.

...

"What are you doing out there?"

The door cracked open. Ethan's voice drifted out through the rain.

I was clutching the dry towel I'd just pulled from the trunk.

"The tent's leaking. I came to get a towel."

Two seconds of silence inside the car.

"Get back quick, then. Don't stand out there in the wind."

Ethan's tone was steady.

"Chloe just fell asleep. Don't wake her."

I bowed my head and tugged at the corner of my mouth.

"Sure."

As I turned, I heard Chloe Whitmore roll over in the car.

She mumbled something.

Ethan's voice went instantly tender.

"It's okay. I'm right here."

The rain came down harder. My single tent was pitched at the farthest edge of the campsite, and the zipper was half-broken.

Water seeped in through the gap. My sleeping bag was already soaked through.

I sat on the groundsheet and toweled off my hair.

My phone screen was still on the group chat. The message now read: *This message has been deleted.*

I didn't cry. I didn't rage.

I just felt a little cold.

I opened the private campsite's reservation app and found my order page.

I checked off the remaining four days of supplies, equipment rentals, and campsite booking, confirmed the cancellation fee, and tapped *Cancel Order*.

The system responded: *Upon cancellation, the campsite will retrieve all rental equipment by 2:00 PM today. This booking will be terminated.*

The rain didn't stop all night.

It wasn't until daybreak that it finally began to taper off.

The campsite started stirring.

Ethan's friends Ryan Brooks and Jason Miller were the first to crawl out of their tents.

"Hey, Emily, you're up early."

Ryan stretched, his eyes landing on my soaked pant legs.

"Rain was pretty rough last night. Your tent hold up okay?"

"It was fine."

I stood up and rolled up the sodden sleeping bag.

Ethan and Chloe climbed out of the car.

Chloe was draped in Ethan's black shell jacket.

Catching a few gossipy glances, Chloe cleared her throat.

"The tent was too cold last night. Ethan said the car heater was nice and warm."

"So we just moved into the car for the night."

Then she finally noticed me.

Seeing my soaked pants, her face went wide with surprise.

"Emily, why didn't you come squeeze into the car with us last night?"

Ethan walked over and handed me a freshly poured cup of hot coffee, his brow slightly furrowed.

"Didn't you grab a towel last night? How did you still end up like this?"

I ignored him and turned to pack up the groundsheet.

Ethan set the coffee on the folding table, his tone edged with resignation.

"The drawing was everyone's decision. You pulled the single tent—there wasn't anything I could do."