Chapter 1

Preston Bassett left the campsite without so much as a backward glance, probably because I'd broken up with him in front of everyone and bruised his ego.

Seeing he'd left his car keys on his chair, I bent down to grab them with a sigh. I went over to the campsite owner and asked if he could give Preston the keys for me.

The man glanced over my shoulder. "Isn't he right over there? Why don't you just give them to him yourself?"

Following his gaze, I saw Preston sitting around a table with a few of his friends. A cigarette rested between his fingers, and he was chatting away with them.

"Danielle seems really serious this time, Preston. You'd better take her seriously. A woman who's pretty, loyal, and comes from money doesn't come along every day."

"Yeah, just swallow your pride and apologize already. Don't wait until she's completely given up on you. By the time that happens, it'll be too late to do anything."

Preston glanced down at the lighter he was fiddling with before arching an eyebrow, looking completely unfazed.

"Relax," he said. "You think I don't know her by now? She was willing to fight with her family just to move to this city and be with me. I can bet that she'll come crawling back by tomorrow at the latest."

Ashley Rankin, who was sitting next to him, casually snatched his lighter and chimed in with a smirk, "Didn't know you were such an expert on women. Why do you always give me a hard time then? Aren't we friends?"

Everyone around the table burst into laughter.

"Still, you two can't keep doing this. How many times has it been now?"

"That's exactly why I'm not giving in first this time."

Preston leaned back in his chair, his tone light and casual. "She's just a sheltered rich girl who's been spoiled rotten her whole life. I need to teach her a lesson so that she won't go throwing around the word 'breakup' so lightly.

"Besides, there's no way I'm breaking up with someone that devoted. I'm just messing with her. Notice how she's been feeling way more insecure lately? I simply lent my cup to Ashley since she forgot hers. That's what friends do. Is that really worth making a fuss over?"

One of the guys spoke up. "Maybe she thinks there's something going on between you two. I mean, Danielle is used to having you all to herself. It's only natural that she wouldn't be comfortable having your childhood friend pop up out of nowhere and steal your attention.

"And let's be real, Ashley's got the looks and the body. It's no wonder your girlfriend feels threatened."

Ashley scoffed, slinging an arm over Preston's shoulder. "Please. We're as platonic as it gets. If anything were ever going to happen between us, it would've happened years ago. She wouldn't even be in the picture.

"But hey, if I'm really making things difficult for you, I'll disappear right now and won't be a problem for you guys."

"What are you even saying?" Preston frowned. "My friends are one thing, and my girlfriend is another. She doesn't get to tell me who I can't be friends with!

"Don't worry. I'll set her straight later. If she still has a problem with it, then getting back together is off the table. She literally ran away from home just to be with me. You really think I can't keep her in line?"

At that point, I didn't want to hear another word. After asking the campsite owner to make sure Preston got his car keys, I turned and walked away from the campsite.

When I got down the mountain, I started working on my resignation. I'd already handed over almost all of my work. The only thing left was to submit my resignation letter.

I called home to let them know about my resignation. The phone rang for a long time before someone finally picked up.

The background on the other end was so noisy that my mom's voice was practically drowned out. When she heard I was quitting, all she said was a hurried, "Stay safe. I'm busy right now, so let's talk another time."

She hung up before I could even respond. Then again, this was nothing new.