Chapter 1

My boyfriend, Ryan, loved watching me get jealous.

So he would deliberately bring other women home and praise them right in front of me, telling me how smart and beautiful they were.

He said I was terrible at hiding my feelings. The second I got jealous, it showed all over my face, and he found that hilarious.

Whenever he pushed me far enough to make my eyes turn red, he'd laugh and pull me into his arms.

“Silly. I was just messing with you.”

I believed him far too many times.

Until this time, when he brought his childhood best friend, Tessa Reed, to my birthday party.

The cake was Tessa's favorite—red velvet.

The gift was a necklace Tessa had already tried on.

When the cake came out, Ryan even cut the first slice and handed it to her.

“Haven't you been saying you wanted to try this place's cake?”

Everyone around them laughed and teased.

Meanwhile, I—the actual birthday girl—somehow ended up pushed to the edge of the crowd.

The candles were almost burned down when Tessa finally leaned toward Ryan and asked quietly,

“Don't you think you're taking this a little too far?”

Ryan didn't seem concerned in the slightest.

“She won't take it seriously. I'll sweet-talk her later, and she'll be fine.”

I looked down at the fork in my hand.

And suddenly, I realized I remembered everything.

Every time he was late.

Every time he brushed me off.

Every time he treated my sincerity like a joke.

He always thought I was easygoing, that once something was over, I would simply let it go.

What he didn't know was that once a heart shattered, it could never be put back together the same way again.

...

By the time the party ended, it was raining.

Ryan grabbed the coat draped over the back of his chair and casually placed it around Tessa's shoulders.

Then he turned to me.

“It's pouring out. Tessa lives pretty far away, so I'll take her home first. You can grab an Uber yourself, okay?”

Tessa pulled the coat tighter around herself and smiled at me.

“Ryan, I'm really fine. You can take Claire—”

“She'll be fine.”

Ryan cut her off, his eyes settling on my face with that familiar teasing look.

He was waiting for me to explode.

Waiting for me to do what I always did—tear the coat off Tessa's shoulders with tears in my eyes and demand an explanation.

I met his gaze and calmly nodded.

“Okay.”

Ryan raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised.

He stepped closer and lowered his head, studying my expression.

“Seriously? You're not mad?”

“No.”

I took half a step back, putting distance between us.

Ryan noticed.

He gave a soft laugh.

“Wow. Someone's developing a temper.”

He slipped his hands into his pockets.

“Fine. Wait here. I'll come back for you after I drop her off.”

“You don't have to. I can get home myself.”

“Suit yourself.”

He turned around and walked Tessa out into the rain, shielding her as they went.

I stood beneath the restaurant awning and watched his taillights disappear around the corner.

A cold gust of wind hit me, and I shivered.

I opened Uber on my phone.

Surge pricing had tripled the fare, and the closest driver was twenty minutes away.

Ryan knew I hated taking rides alone late at night.

And he still chose to drive Tessa home.

Because he thought making me jealous once in a while would only make me cling to him harder.

Forty minutes later, I finally got into a car.

By the time I reached our Upper East Side apartment, it was almost midnight.

The apartment was completely dark.

I switched on the entryway light, kicked off my rain-soaked shoes, and walked into the living room.

Then I sat down on the couch.

My phone lit up.

Two texts from Ryan.

“Tessa's having some plumbing trouble. I'm helping her check it out, so I might stay here tonight.”

“What do you want for breakfast tomorrow? I'll bring you something.”

I stared at the messages.

The dull ache in my chest had already gone numb.

Before, if he stayed out all night, I would've called over and over until he finally picked up.

And every time, he would respond in that helpless, irritated tone.

“Stop making a big deal out of nothing. I'm just helping someone.”

Then he'd brag to his friends like it was funny.

“What can I say? My girlfriend gets jealous.”

But this time, I simply turned my phone facedown on the coffee table.

I opened my laptop.

An email I'd received three days ago was still sitting quietly in my inbox.

Final Offer: Frankfurt International Assignment.

It was part of my company's global rotation program—a three-year position leading strategic analysis for the European fintech market.

The salary was excellent.

More importantly, it would be a huge step forward for my career.

Three days ago, I'd still been hesitating.

Because Ryan had once told me he could never do long-distance.

I took a deep breath and moved the cursor over the Accept button.

Click.

A confirmation appeared on the screen.

“You have accepted the Frankfurt assignment. A relocation specialist will contact you within 48 hours.”