Chapter 1

I called Dad and told him that I'd finally agreed to go abroad.

Then, I headed over to my girlfriend Daphne Hogan's off-campus apartment and packed up every last bit of my stuff.

I couldn't help but think back to yesterday. She had promised to be my plus-one for my dorm's dinner party, only to completely ghost me.

At the restaurant, I dialed her number over and over again under the judgmental, mocking stares of my roommates.

"Hey Jenson, looks like your girlfriend doesn't care all that much about you after all," said a roommate who always loved pushing my buttons. He shot me a loaded, smirking look.

I bit my tongue and lied, claiming that Daphne had a sudden emergency.

They burst into laughter and pointed behind me.

I turned around, and the scene before me made my mind go completely blank.

Daphne was sitting by the window, right across from another guy. He was carefully feeding her a piece of steak on a fork.

"Thanks for helping me out so much, Daphne. I honestly don't know what I would've done without you."

Trembling with rage, I marched straight over to their table.

Daphne's expression instantly softened when she saw me. She grabbed my hand and offered a casual smile. "Nate messed up today and got chewed out by the drill leader. He was pretty bummed, so I brought him out for a nice dinner to cheer him up."

After explaining, she switched to her usual sweet tone to soothe me. "Come on, babe, it's just a dorm dinner. There'll be plenty more. I'll make it up to you next time."

It was always Nathan Baxter.

Ever since she became the freshman orientation advisor, that name had been on her lips constantly.

Without me even realizing it, he had gone from "that clueless freshman" to "Nathan", and now, to the cozy nickname of "Nate".

Before I could say anything through my gritted teeth, Nathan chimed in, grinning, "Hey there, Jenson. I'm just a slow learner, you know? Thank goodness Daphne is patient enough to walk me through everything."

Looking at his perfectly styled hair, practically plastered in gel despite us being in the middle of orientation training activities, I couldn't help but sneer.

"If you know you're slow, maybe spend less time on your hair and more time practicing. That way, you won't be the only freshman in the entire department who can't even remember the basic drills."

Nathan's grin instantly vanished, and his eyes welled with tears.

Daphne snapped at me. "Jenson, why do you have to be so mean? Apologize to Nate right now!"

I didn't give her the chance to berate me any further. I just turned and walked out.

That night, I curled up in my bed. My roommates' muffled jeers kept drifting through my bed curtains.

My tears silently soaked into my pillow.

Swallowing the bitterness, I stubbornly clutched my phone, waiting for Daphne to text and comfort me.

Since childhood, even when we argued, we never gave each other the silent treatment for more than an hour.

Daphne would always act cute to cheer me up until she made me laugh through my tears.

But this time, there was no text from her.

Instead, I saw an Instagram post from Nathan.

"Feeling totally spoiled by my senior! She's staying out super late to help me practice, and she even bought me drinks! She's the best!"

The attached photo showed Daphne's beautiful profile under the dim streetlights.

I stared at the picture for a few seconds. The anxiety that had been crushing my chest all night finally settled into a heavy ache.

It was a lingering, bitter taste of reality.