Chapter 1

To celebrate our fifth anniversary, my fiancé, Ethan Carter, planned a weekend at Lake Tahoe for the six of us.

Before we set out, he gently lifted the sun hat from my head.

"The trail ahead is completely exposed, and your skin is already acting up. Why don't you wait for us at the café?"

My sister slipped an arm through mine. "He's only worried about you, Claire. We'll take the photographer with us now, then come back and get some gorgeous shots of you later."

It was nearly sunset when the photographer sent a link to the edited previews.

In one photo, my sister stood beneath a stand of golden aspens by the lake, wearing a white dress identical to mine. My fiancé held her tenderly in his arms.

Our friends crowded around them, laughing and waving signs printed with an inside joke Ethan and Anna had shared when they first dated ten years ago.

Then someone accidentally posted a voice message in the group chat.

"Ethan and Anna still look perfect together. Getting rid of the little tagalong even made the air feel better."

Ethan replied, "Watch what you say. I'll bring her a bubble tea later. That'll smooth things over."

The wind chimes outside the café whipped in the wind, each bright note landing like a slap.

So all their considerate little lies had only been a polite way of throwing me out.

...

The café's glass door swung open, and the bell above it gave a dull clang.

Ethan strode inside carrying an oolong bubble tea. He stopped in front of me and pressed the cup against my cheek with the easy affection he had perfected over the years.

"You must've been bored waiting. The wind picked up, and Anna got a headache after two pictures, so we wrapped early."

Anna came in behind him holding the sun hat that had belonged to me. A vivid brick-red lipstick stain marked the edge of the brim.

The others filed in after her. Their laughter died the moment they saw me.

An awkward silence settled over the room, the kind people created when they were all pretending nothing had happened.

I looked into Ethan's eyes. They were calm and open, as if the cruel voice message and the photograph of him embracing my sister did not exist.

I lowered my gaze and recorded the chat, saving the audio, the photos, and his message about buying me off with bubble tea. Then I moved everything into a hidden album labeled Exit Plan.

"Why aren't you drinking it?" Ethan pulled out the chair beside me, pushed in the straw, and held the cup to my lips. "Oolong with no ice, just how you like it. I walked two blocks out of my way for this."

I glanced at the bottom of the clear cup. A layer of golden mango popping pearls had settled there.

Three years earlier, a delivery driver had brought me the wrong drink, one made with mango. Ethan had driven across town after midnight to find allergy medication for me.

Now he had forgotten that mango could send me into anaphylaxis.

"There's mango in it," I said.

He blinked, looked down, and frowned. "The barista must've messed up." He moved the cup away, irritation creeping into his voice. "It's barely any fruit syrup. Can't you just take out the pearls? We're on vacation. Do you have to make this into a whole thing?"

Zach Miller gave an uncomfortable laugh. "Come on, Claire. Ethan stood in line forever for that. Don't be so high-maintenance."

Anna chose that moment to place the stained hat on the table in front of me.

"Don't blame Ethan. He was so busy looking after me that he probably didn't notice." She smiled sweetly and reached for my arm. "Here's your hat. The sun was awful, and Ethan insisted I wear it because I burn so easily."

I moved out of reach and stared at the hat.

Ethan had brought it home from a business trip to Italy the month before. He had said the weave reminded him of me, strong but soft.

Now it was just another offering he had laid at another woman's feet.

"It's dirty," I said.

Anna froze. "What?"

"The hat is dirty." I pointed to the lipstick. "I don't want something after somebody else has claimed it."

Ethan's expression darkened. He snatched up the hat and tossed it onto an empty chair.

"Are you done, Claire?" His lowered voice carried a warning. "Anna is your sister. She wore your hat for an hour. Was it really worth embarrassing her in front of everyone?"

"Am I humiliating her, or are all of you treating me like an idiot?"

Something flickered in his eyes. He knew I had seen the photo, but his guilt quickly hardened into indignation.

"The photographer asked us to pose that way. Everyone else was just messing around."

He reached behind my neck and rubbed it with just enough pressure to remind me that he expected obedience.

"Let it go. When we get back to the hotel, I'll order you a new one. Okay?"

Looking at the face I had loved for five years, I suddenly felt sick.

"Okay." I lowered my eyes to hide the ice in them.

Satisfied, Ethan released me and turned to pull out Anna's chair.

I opened the airline app on my phone and quietly studied the ticket I had booked to Frankfurt.