Chapter 1

On the fifth anniversary of our relationship, Adrian bailed on me at the last minute, claiming there was a sudden safety incident at his company.

Seeing how crushed I was, my best friend Joss and my younger sister Mia offered to take me to the amusement park.

All day long, they were unusually attentive—buying me cotton candy, standing in line with me for the roller coaster.

I thought they were just worried about me being upset.

Until I went to buy a bottle of water and overheard them whispering in a quiet corner.

Joss lowered her voice. "Adrian ditched Nora on their fifth anniversary just to take Celeste to see the northern lights."

Mia shrugged it off. "So he's helping his first love cross something off her bucket list. He's still going to marry my sister when he gets back."

Joss gave a soft laugh. "We just have to keep Nora busy until tonight so she doesn't find out."

Standing behind the vending machine, all I felt was a bitter kind of absurdity.

So the comfort I thought I'd been receiving was really just the two people I trusted most covering for Adrian.

I tossed the water into the trash, turned around, and walked out of the park. Then I sent Adrian one last message:

"You watch the northern lights with her. Give her the rest of your life while you're at it."

I blocked him, then left every group chat I shared with my best friend and my sister.

This whole performance—one that everyone closest to me was in on, except for me—I was done playing along.

...

I hadn't been out of the park ten minutes when Mia came running after me.

She grabbed my wrist. There wasn't a trace of guilt in her voice—only complaint.

"Nora, how could you just leave? Joss stood in line for an hour to get those fireworks tickets."

Joss caught up too, stuffing her phone back into her bag.

"We were just chatting. Why would you only listen to half of what we said?"

I looked at them.

"What was the other half?"

Mia stumbled, then frowned. "Celeste has been dealing with psychological trauma ever since the avalanche two years ago. Her doctor said going back to the aurora observation site would help her recovery. What's wrong with Adrian going with her?"

"So there was no safety incident at the company," I said.

"Adrian was just worried you'd overthink it." Joss softened her tone. "Nora, he's going to propose the moment he gets back. Why ruin five years of love over something this small?"

I actually laughed.

They'd planned out my entire day for me—right down to when I should eat, when I should watch the fireworks.

The only thing they hadn't planned for was me hearing the truth early.

My phone buzzed in my palm.

Adrian was calling from an unfamiliar number.

The moment I picked up, his first words were, "Take me off the blocked list."

There was howling wind in the background.

And Celeste's voice.

"Adrian, come quick—I think the sky's lighting up."

Adrian muffled the receiver. His voice grew distant for a moment, then came back just as calm.

"There really was a safety incident. I just came along with her afterward, on the way."

"Manhattan to Iceland is on the way?"

There was a two-second silence on the other end.

"Nora, don't fixate on one line."

"I'm not fixating. I've already let it go."

"I saw your message." His tone cooled. "You can be disappointed. You can be angry. But don't test me by threatening a breakup."

Joss immediately jumped in. "Nora, let him finish Celeste's treatment. Whatever you want to say, save it for when he comes back."

Mia chimed in beside her. "If Adrian actually liked Celeste, do you think you'd have gotten to keep him for five years?"

The words hit my eardrum like a needle.

Adrian must have heard, because his tone softened a fraction.

"I'll be back in three days. The Aurora system launch is that same day. Get the final presentation ready."

The Aurora system was the risk-prediction program I'd spent four years building.

At the hardest stretch, I slept at the office for three months straight.

Adrian had once set an aurora snow globe on my desk—one that could record audio—and told me: When the Aurora system officially launches, I'll take you to see the real northern lights.

Now the system was about to launch, and he'd already gone to see them with someone else.

"Adrian, we've already broken up."

He let out a low sigh.

"You're just angry. Nora, don't make me come home and clean up your emotions."

The call ended.

Mia rubbed her nose, reached out to loop her arm through mine.

"There, Adrian explained. Come on, the fireworks are about to start."

I stepped away from her hand and took a car home alone.

Adrian's wedding shoes from two months ago were still sitting in the entryway. Underneath the box was a travel brochure for Iceland.

I used to think it was a hint about the proposal.

Now I knew—it was just a page that had slipped out of Celeste's itinerary.

The computer in the study was still on.

Adrian hadn't logged out of his company account. An itinerary confirmation email sat open on the screen.

The ticket had been booked half a month ago.

The hotel: an aurora-view suite.

Registered guests: Adrian and Celeste.

The so-called last-minute incident had been a lie prepared for me from the very beginning.

I was about to close the page when a new email popped up.

Sender: Joss.

Subject: PR Contingency Plan Regarding Ms. Nora's Withdrawal from the Aurora Project.

Sent three days ago.

I opened the attachment.

The first line read:

If Nora discovers the Iceland trip, sister Mia will handle appeasement; Joss will stall for time.

And on the last page, two words scrawled in Adrian's own handwriting as approval:

Proceed.