Chapter 1

Everyone knows that campus heartthrob Kelvin Underwood never dates anyone for more than three months.

Yet, he's been with me for nearly nine months.

People call me the love of his life.

That is until a viral thread hits the campus forums. It claims that his first love, Tamara Wesson, is back, and he'll be dumping me any day now.

I find it hilarious and want to show it to him. But instead of laughing, he pretends to be asleep, rolling over and subtly putting as much distance between us as possible.

I assume he's sulking because I added another guy on social media. Like always, I throw myself onto him and let my hands roam all over his body, teasing him playfully. As I watch him close his eyes tightly and purse his lips in pure restraint, my pulse starts to race. I lean in to kiss him.

Suddenly, floating comments flash into view.

[The male lead is practically dying of disgust, and this second female lead is still touching him so shamelessly? No wonder she ends up getting bullied to death.]

[Stephanie doesn't actually think Kelvin sees her as his true love, does she? The only reason he broke his three-month rule and stayed with her for nine months is that he found out Tamara's lucky number is nine, and so he's just doing it to get under her skin.]

[Exactly! The moment our precious Tamara heard that he's been dating someone for that long, she immediately panicked and came back to win him over. Our sweet endgame couple is about to make their grand entrance!]

Chapter 1

I quietly scooted back to my side of the bed, putting even more distance between Kelvin Underwood and me.

A moment later, however, he opened his eyes and studied me for a long moment.

"What's wrong?"

His deep, velvety voice almost melted away my bad mood. I was about to inch closer again when the comments flashed before my eyes again.

[LOL! The male lead is doing everything he can to find an excuse to break up with her. The second female lead doesn't think he's trying to make her happy, does she?]

"It's nothing," I replied. "I'm sleepy."

I edged a little farther toward the edge of the bed again.

Kelvin lay flat on his back, though it looked like he'd shifted a little in my direction.

"Going to bed this early?"

I turned on my phone screen. It was only 10:00 pm. Normally, at this hour, I'd be all over him. The more reserved and reluctant he acted, the more excited I'd become.

Just like right now—the warmth radiating from his body was enough to pull my mind into the gutter.

Also, where had these ridiculous floating comments even come from anyway? And what did they know? They might not even be truthful at all.

If Kelvin didn't like me, would he really share the same bed with me for so long? What kind of decent guy would seduce someone like that? This was clearly him playing hard to get and pushing me away just to pull me closer.

He clearly couldn't resist me.

I chuckled inwardly.

Slowly, I reached my naughty hands toward him.

[There Stephanie goes again. Can't she see that Kelvin finally managed to relax for once? Why does she have to gross him out again?]

[If it weren't to make Tamara jealous, there's no way Kelvin would actually share a bed with her. She'd better not delude herself into thinking he actually likes her.]

[Stephanie seriously can't take a hint. Can't she tell that every time Kelvin lies next to her, he's practically hanging off the edge of the bed? No wonder she ends up dying such a miserable death…]

The dirty thoughts in my brain vanished instantly, and I quietly pulled my hands back.

I squeezed my eyes shut, but those obnoxious comments kept appearing, one after another.

Kelvin cleared his throat softly. When he sensed no reaction from me, he closed the gap between us even further.

"Tomorrow's Thursday. I don't have any morning classes. What about you?"

In the past, I would've taken those words as a special invitation, but now…

[Our precious Tamara comes back tomorrow! Kelvin definitely said that just so Stephanie would cling to him, and when Tamara sees it, she'll be overcome with jealousy. This man really knows what he's doing.]

[The chemistry between our two main characters is so delicious. I'm obsessed!]

[Too bad Stephanie still has the title of girlfriend. It's honestly just sickening.]

[Don't worry. She doesn't have many good days left ahead. As much as she disgusts Kelvin now, it'll all come back to bite her in the ass later.]

The comments made my chest tighten.

Kelvin was still waiting for an answer.

"Stephie?"

Hearing that nickname made my heart ache. He only ever called me that when we were in the heat of the moment. And even then, it was only because I'd begged him to. Any other time, getting him to say it was like pulling teeth.

I used to think he was just shy about showing affection. But today, he was able to say it so naturally, so easily—and while his head was completely clear—just to provoke Tamara Wesson, his first love.

The next second, his body pressed against mine. His warm breath brushed the back of my ear, his voice low and husky.

"Stephie…"

Would he really go to such lengths for another woman?

It felt like there was something lodged inside my chest. I turned away to avoid him.

"I'm busy tomorrow," I mumbled.

Kelvin stiffened for a second before replying, "Then, get some rest."

Chapter 2

Sometime around midnight, my phone started chiming nonstop with notifications. I groggily unlocked it, but the second I saw what was on the screen, I was wide awake.

A post on the campus forum speculating that Kelvin would dump me as soon as Tamara returned had shot back up to the top of the trending news.

The catalyst was that one of Kelvin's closest friends had liked the post, and then Tamara herself had stepped in to clarify that she was only back to take care of some personal matters and that it had nothing to do with "a certain someone".

But instead of quelling the gossip, it only whipped the online crowd into a frenzy.

The floating comments were just as riled up.

[Tamara is obviously back to win Kelvin back. She only posted that to make him mad and get back at him for dating someone else for such a long time.]

[This kind of relationship is the juiciest! They can't give in to their love for each other, yet they can't bear to hate each other either. The main characters have to keep pushing and pulling and constantly think of each other. The only problem is that Stephanie has too much screen time and is getting in the way.]

[It's alright. Seeing all that will definitely start Stephanie on her villain arc. Once she starts throwing tantrums and demanding answers from Kelvin, he'll grow sick of her. The more she talks, the more he'll hear about Tamara, and the more he'll realize that the person he loves is actually the latter.]

[Looking at it that way, I guess Stephanie serves a purpose after all. I guess I can tolerate her for a few more chapters.]

[It's okay. The more you hate her now, the more satisfying it'll be later when she gets put in her place after throwing absolutely irrational fits. You could even call this a feel-good story!]

[Seeing everyone isolate and bully Stephanie actually makes me a little worried for her. To be honest, she hasn't really done anything unforgivable, has she?]

My heart lurched.

I knew that ever since I started dating Kelvin, plenty of people had been talking behind my back, claiming that I wasn't good enough for him.

Whenever someone dared to say it to my face, I'd lash out at them until they wished the ground would swallow them whole. And Kelvin would always let me.

But now that I thought about it, wasn't his silence just another form of tacit agreement? And it would be entirely possible that he allowed others to gang up on me in the future—or even joined in on it for the sake of his first love.

In that instance, a chill ran down my spine.

Sure, I liked Kelvin, but there was no way I was going to allow myself to end up stuck in a tragic ending like that.

"Why are you awake? Did I make too much noise?" Kelvin asked as he walked out of the bathroom, bringing a wave of cold air with him.

A bath towel hung loosely around his waist, and droplets of water trickled down the lines of his toned body before disappearing into the fabric.

"Stephanie?"

His voice was rough. The moment he leaned closer, the lingering chill radiating off his skin snapped me back to reality.

"Did you touch my phone?"

His phone screen had lit up at some point, displaying a notification from a contact called "Tammy".

"Stephanie?"

There it was—my full name again, yet his first love had a sweet nickname.

As it turned out, despite being together for so long, Kelvin really had never liked me at all.

Whatever. We were going to break up anyway.

"I didn't touch it," I muttered.

Kelvin seemed to quietly breathe a sigh of relief before moving a little closer to me.

His mind was so very clearly on someone else, so was it really necessary for him to put his body through the motions? Was he really that worried that I wouldn't be able to play my role properly and fail to push their romance along?

Feeling a suffocating tightness in my chest, I shuffled even farther to the side.

Sensing my movement, Kelvin let out a soft sigh.

"You… Forget it. Get some sleep."

Great. Now he couldn't even be bothered to placate me.

Biting back my tears, I unlocked my phone and immediately booked a moving service for the next day.

Chapter 3

The next morning, I was shaken awake by Kelvin.

"Didn't you say you had things to do today? It's almost 10:00 am. Are you going to be able to make it? I'm going to campus as well. Come with me?"

Kelvin was already dressed and ready.

On the table sat a fresh breakfast burrito. It was clear he'd waited in line at the diner downstairs to get it for me. The gloom weighing on my chest since last night instantly thawed at the sight of the steam curling from the food.

I glanced at the laundry hanging tangled together out on the balcony and at the cabinet stocked with all the colorful drinks I loved interspersed with the red wine and coffee beans he liked. All this time we'd been together, Kelvin had actually been genuinely good to me.

He was the one who took care of me in our daily lives, handling the cleaning, the laundry, and the cooking.

If…

[Kelvin is just too nice. He just has to pull the tiniest stunt, and Stephanie is already so moved. LOL! I swear she's about to cry. She's so gullible!]

[Kelvin's main goal was to pick up a gift—the heirloom bracelet—for Tamara. After all, Stephanie still technically holds the girlfriend title. Then he grabbed the breakfast burrito on the way back. Just some scraps of attention, and Stephanie is already reacting like this. As expected of our main character!]

[No wonder he's so excited today! Turns out he went to get his family heirloom for his soon-to-be-wifey. Watching this ice prince turn into a clingy little puppy will be amazing. I can't wait for all the sweet fluff coming up later!]

[Don't be ungrateful, Stephanie! Just quietly follow him back to campus. With how much of a drama queen you are, you don't have many real friends anyway. When the time comes, you're going to end up lurking in a dark corner, and then you'll just hurt Tamara and get punished for it.]

Seeing the cynical comments killed my urge to stroll down memory lane.

I sized Kelvin up from head to toe. Instead of flinching like he usually did, he leaned his face closer to mine, as if trying to entice me.

"What? You're over your little temper tantrum from last night now? You want a kiss? But… it has to be a quick one."

As he spoke, he reached out and gently held my chin.

The moment our breaths mingled, I caught a glimpse of his other hand hidden behind his back. Sure enough, he was holding a carefully wrapped box.

He was taking advantage of me while thinking about getting back with his first love!

I shoved him away, unable to stop the curses from flying out of my mouth. "You scumbag! Get off me!"

He blinked, looking utterly innocent. "What now, my princess? You've been acting weird since last night. What have I done wrong? You have to tell me so I can fix it, right?"

I was about to say something when his phone suddenly rang. Kelvin shot me a quick glance before stepping out onto the balcony to answer it.

I moved a little closer and faintly heard a sweet, syrupy voice on the other end.

[Our beloved Tamara is back! Sure enough, the second Kelvin sees the caller ID, he can't even be bothered with Stephanie anymore. I'm dying from laughter just seeing the livid expression on her face!]

[Look at how whipped Kelvin is! He'll probably run right back to Tamara the moment she crooks her finger at him.]

[I'll bet a pack of gum that Kelvin is going to see Tamara right away. Stephanie, get ready to be put in your place!]

[If you want a free pack of gum, just say so.]

[But to be honest, I feel like Stephanie hasn't really done anything wrong so far…]

[What are you even saying? Don't you know that the main couple is everything? Stephanie is literally just a plot device.]

[If you don't like it, leave. Don't mess with us main-couple shippers.]

"Let's go. We can head back to campus together."

Kelvin's voice pulled me back from the floating comments.

I stared straight into his eyes. "Why are you going to campus today?"

He blinked and avoided answering the question directly. Instead, he reached out to take my bag. "I'm just taking care of some stuff."

I gripped my bag tightly. "Why can't you tell me? And what's that thing you're holding behind your back?"

He pressed his lips together and stayed silent.

Suddenly, another ringtone sounded. This time, he didn't step away from me to answer it, but he didn't wait for the other person to speak either.

"I'll be right there," he interjected quickly.

As he turned to leave, I said in a low voice, "If you walk out of that door today, we're breaking up."

Kelvin froze in place. When he turned around again, his expression was dark.

"Stephanie Ward, I've told you before—you can do whatever you want, but don't throw the word 'breakup' around so lightly.

"I'm going to campus because I have something to take care of. You'll understand later."

Chapter 4

It felt like my heart had sunk into an icy pit.

This time, I didn't need the comments to tell me that Kelvin was going to take the heirloom bracelet to go find the woman he loved.

He didn't want to break up with me because he still needed me to help him get together with Tamara.

Whatever. There was only one semester left until graduation, and graduation season was breakup season anyway.

I used to think that Kelvin and I would be the exception, but now, it seemed that no matter how sweet the journey had been, the ending would still inevitably be the same.

The moving company arrived right on schedule.

My parents had always been reluctant to see me get married anyway, and my older brother, Marcus Ward, had also warned me against shaping my future around a man. When they heard that I was breaking up and moving out, they immediately booked the most expensive moving service available and rented a studio apartment for me near campus.

In less than an hour, every single belonging of mine had been neatly packed up. I stood there, dumbfounded by their neck-breaking pace.

Looking around the now-empty apartment that had once held so many memories, I suddenly felt a pang of reluctance.

The moving company's manager thought I was checking their work.

"Don't worry, ma'am," he said with a smile. "We often get clients who are moving out after a breakup. We're professionals. We won't leave a single item of yours behind, and we won't touch anything that belongs to the other party.

"Rest assured. After today, there won't be a single loose end tying you two together. He won't have any reason to bother you ever again."

I nodded blankly.

Right then, Zander Patkins, an upperclassman of mine, sent me the finalized details for a two-month study-abroad exchange program.

It was something I'd really wanted to do before, but after dating Kelvin, I'd somehow lost sight of my own ambitions.

[Stephanie is definitely going to reject it. There's no way she could possibly bear to leave such a handsome, talented boyfriend behind to go abroad. That would be like asking her to jump off a cliff!]

[It's better if she doesn't go. I'm excited to see how tragic her ending will be!]

A heavy, suffocating weight settled in my chest, making it hard to breathe.

…

"This is a very rare opportunity. If you don't go this time, there won't be a next time. Make sure you think it through carefully," Zander said.

He slid the application form in front of me while serving me some food with the other hand.

Just then, a crowd suddenly gathered nearby, and standing right in the center were none other than Kelvin and Tamara. They were wrapped in a tight embrace while the surrounding crowd cheered and hollered.

Kelvin's best friend, Rob Jones, watched them with a big, satisfied grin, his excitement practically overflowing.

"I've always said it—Tammy and Kelvin are the true soulmates! That Stephanie was just a rebound."

As he spoke, he happened to turn around, and his gaze landed on me. His expression froze right then.

Behind him, Tamara—still locked in a sweet embrace with Kelvin—shot a subtle smile in my direction. And when she smugly arched an eyebrow, I knew that she had seen me. It was a deliberate provocation.

"Isn't that your…" Zander started, before trailing off hesitantly.

Unable to take it anymore, I grabbed his hand and fled the scene. Once we were a safe distance away, I pulled out a pen and decisively signed my name on the exchange program application.

Then, when I returned to my new apartment, I blocked all the channels Kelvin could use to contact me.

…

Over the next two days, I threw myself into preparing for the exchange program, and that filled the empty space left behind by Kelvin's absence.

By the time he managed to contact me again, I was already at the airport.

He had called from Rob's phone. Guessing that it was him on the other end, I answered anyway.

"Where are you?" he demanded. "I'm coming to find you."

Hearing his voice again made the ache in my chest rise straight to my throat. The suffocating feeling was unbearable. If I let it fester, I was afraid I'd lose my composure right in front of everyone, so I did everything I could to shove it down.

"Kelvin Underwood, I saw you two hugging the other day. I know you've always had feelings for Tamara. I won't stand in your way, and I won't go around badmouthing you either. Don't worry. Goodbye forever."

With that, I hung up.

The stifling weight in my heart finally lifted. A new journey was already waiting ahead of me.

…

Kelvin looked around at the empty apartment and stared at the phone that could no longer get through to me. He sank to the floor in defeat, his voice breaking as he muttered, "Why?"

What did I mean when I said I saw them hugging the other day? What did I mean by "goodbye forever"?

I could be emotional sometimes, but I wasn't someone who made reckless decisions in matters like these.

Something must have happened.

Kelvin unlocked his phone and pulled up the apartment's security camera footage.