Chapter 1

The night before I was supposed to spend my twenty-third birthday alone, my boyfriend, Sean, suddenly tagged me in our five-person group chat.

"Come home for your birthday. Don't be mad anymore. We all miss you."

My eyes filled with tears the moment I read it.

I'd left because they always took my cousin Mandy's side. This was the first time any of them had reached out to make peace.

I went back, full of hope. But when I arrived at the apartment building, my key card wouldn't activate the elevator in the lobby.

I called over and over. No one answered.

I had asthma, and it took me two hours to climb all twenty-five flights of stairs.

When I finally reached their floor, I came face-to-face with Mandy as she stepped out of the elevator, holding her cat.

Sean immediately stepped in front of her and gave me an awkward smile.

"Mandy said she had cramps, so I was filling a hot-water bottle for her. I didn't notice my phone ringing."

Then he glanced at Mimi. "You'd been gone so long that we reassigned your key card to Mimi."

Mimi was the cat in Mandy's arms.

Fighting through the discomfort, I silently turned and walked into the apartment.

Emmett, a friend I'd grown up with, smiled and handed me a sleeping bag as soon as I stepped inside.

"We just redid the sunroom. You can sleep in there tonight."

I looked up. A massive cat tree and a cat bed now occupied my old room.

When my brother, Taylor, saw me staring, he explained, "Mimi needs room to play. Just put up with it. Be generous for once."

"You've been sulking long enough. We've already forgiven you. It's not like we're enemies."

Tears slid down my cheeks.

Taylor hurried me along. "Go make dinner. It's Mimi's birthday, and she loves your cooking."

Then the four of them gathered around the table again, laughing and chatting as they played cards.

I looked at the group photo on the wall and slowly wiped my tears away.

So that was where I stood. Even Mandy's cat mattered more than I did.

If they had no room for me in their hearts, there was no reason to spend my birthday with people who didn't care about me.

...

"Oh, Mimi's stomach has been acting up these past couple of days. Make sure her meal is nutritionally balanced."

Sean said it casually, his eyes on his cards.

I stood in the middle of the living room, painfully aware of the state I was in.

"Sean, I spent fifteen hours on a train. Then I climbed twenty-five flights of stairs."

The room fell silent for two seconds.

Mandy looked at me and slowly lowered her cards. Her voice caught.

"I'm sorry, Nora. Mimi and I should just leave."

Taylor gave me an accusing look.

"Nora, you know we don't have much space. You've kept this fight going for ages, and nobody here has held it against you."

"Do you have to start something the second you get home?"

Emmett threw his cards onto the table.

"Mimi's a Maine Coon. If she gets sick because of a room or a meal, are you going to cover the vet bills?"

I looked at him.

When we were eighteen, Emmett had gotten sick while his parents were fighting over a divorce.

I'd emptied my savings for him. My parents had accused me of stealing and beaten me until I was covered in bruises, but I hadn't said a word.

I'd paid his medical bills. After he recovered, he'd looked at my injuries and cried.

"Nora, I'll never let anyone hurt you again. I'll remember what you paid for me for the rest of my life."

Now he was one of the people hurting me.

When I didn't respond, Sean sighed.

"All right, Nora. You don't have to cook. Just stay in the sunroom for a couple of days."

He shoved my luggage into it.

The sunroom was barely sixty-five square feet, crammed with cat beds, clutter, my suitcase, and the sleeping bag.

Then Sean brought a cupcake out from behind his back.

I froze. Thinking he'd remembered my birthday, I felt my eyes fill again.

I took a small bite. It tasted a little strange, but it was still sweet.

Then he said, "Don't hold this against Mandy. Consider this my apology on her behalf."

I looked at him, suddenly struck by how ridiculous I'd been.

The sweetness in my mouth turned bitter.

He hadn't remembered. He was only apologizing for Mandy so I wouldn't resent her.

Sean looked as though he wanted to say something else, but a meow came from the living room.

He turned and left without another glance at me.

I took out my phone and found an email I'd received two weeks earlier.

My company had asked whether I would be willing to interview with its overseas headquarters.

I'd turned it down because Sean had said he didn't want a long-distance relationship, and my brother had said we couldn't be separated.

Everyone had told me that we were only complete when all five of us lived together.

Now, standing in the chilly sunroom, I opened the email again.

[I'd like to accept the overseas interview.]

The reply came quickly.

[Your interview will take place tomorrow afternoon. If successful, you'll be expected to report for work the following day.]

[Understood.]