Chapter 2

Ethan’s eyes lit up as though he were thinking about her. “She’s important to me. Really important. She can open doors.”

“Love is just a little extra in a man’s life. A career is what gives him a future.”

“Chloe, I promise all my love will still belong to you. Is that enough?”

My lips moved for a long time before any sound came out. Tears slipped down my face again. My eyes burned. “No.”

I did love him.

But I also had morals. Values. Some sense of shame.

I would never knowingly become someone’s mistress.

Ethan’s eyes turned cold for a moment. Then his easy smile returned. He waved at someone in the distance and warned me under his breath, “Chloe Bennett, don’t make me hate you.”

With that, he hurried toward the crowd.

I turned, following him with my eyes.

Then I saw the girl running toward him, smiling just as brightly.

So he hadn’t come to pick me up after all. I almost laughed at my own stupidity.

She wore a pink coat, a pink scarf, and pink boots. Small and delicate, she looked like an adorable little bunny.

No wonder Ethan liked her.

She threw herself into his arms with a smile. His face softened in a way I had never seen. He wrapped his arms carefully around her, as though afraid she might slip in her excitement.

So he wasn’t careless.

He just hadn’t cared enough about me.

They kissed in the middle of the passing crowd, clinging to each other as if no one else existed.

I stood rooted to the spot, unable to calm down.

And it wasn’t just because Ethan disgusted me.

I knew that girl. We shared a dorm room.

She was Rachel Morgan, the Morgan family’s recently recovered, long-lost daughter.

Suddenly, everything Ethan had said made sense.

Getting together with Rachel really could save him decades of hard work.

The Morgans had only found her this semester.

But our feud had started freshman year.

As the only student in our class on financial aid, Rachel had perfected the art of guilt-tripping people.

Whenever I had something nice to eat or use, she would stare at it longingly and keep hinting that she wanted to try it.

Once, I finally snapped. “It’s mine. I barely even let myself use it. Why should I give it to you? If you want it, buy your own.”

Hatred flashed through her wide eyes. “I like using your stuff, Chloe. So what?”

Had she hooked up with Ethan to get back at me?

During Freshman Orientation Week, the girls in our room had gotten bored after lights-out and started sharing stories about our love lives.

Rachel knew exactly how much I loved Ethan.

But how had they gotten involved?

I racked my brain until I remembered something from two months earlier.

I had come back from washing fruit in the shared kitchen and found Rachel hurriedly hiding my phone behind her back.

She looked guilty.

I asked what she was doing with my phone.

She insisted my alarm had gone off and she had kindly turned it off for me.

But when I checked, I found four unsent-message notices in my chat with Ethan.

I demanded to know what she’d sent.

Her eyes reddened, and she accused me of throwing her kindness back in her face.

Annoyed, I complained to Ethan and asked whether he’d seen the messages.

His mouth twisted dismissively. “Who cares? It doesn’t matter.”

I closed my eyes, heartbroken. Suddenly, this man playing both sides felt like a stranger.