Chapter 1

Ever since I was little, I've been able to hear the thoughts of people who love me.

When I'm three, Mom and Dad hold me up in the air, both thinking that I'll always be their little princess.

When I'm 18, Aaron Searle blushes as he hands me a love letter, silently promising to love me in this life and the next.

We've been together for seven years, five of them long-distance. Now, Aaron has come all the way to my city to propose.

He drops to one knee, his gaze warm. "Marry me, Mia."

Tears fill my eyes. Joy floods Mom's thoughts and Dad's alike as I hold out a trembling hand.

Just as Aaron is about to slide the ring onto my finger, his thoughts vanish, replaced by fuzzy static.

I freeze and look up at him.

"What's wrong, Mia?" my best friend asks beside me.

I say nothing. When I listen for her thoughts, I hear the exact same static.

I draw my hand back.

Over the past seven years, I've heard Aaron's thoughts nearly 30,000 times. But this time, all I want is silence.

Chapter 1

Aaron Searle's grip on the ring faltered.

"I'm not marrying you," I said.

I took half a step back and looked at Olivia Scott. "That ring is for someone else."

Olivia looked startled, then nervous.

Aaron instinctively stepped in front of her. "Mia, don't do this. You said we'd get married when we were finally done with long distance, remember?"

At the mention of our old promise, I faltered. "What about you, Aaron? Do you really want to marry me?"

He hesitated for a split second before glancing at Olivia. "I want to marry you, Mia."

He sounded like he meant it, but his thoughts were still nothing but static.

"Go home, Aaron."

I turned away and stumbled back to my apartment.

A message from Olivia popped up on my phone. "Mia, Aaron and I are waiting downstairs."

I didn't reply.

Ten minutes later, she sent me a photo. Her eyes were red, and angry purple marks covered her wrist where she had pinched herself.

Olivia had been doing this for ten years, ever since she was 18. Whenever we argued, she would hurt herself to make me feel sorry for her.

I hesitated, then ran downstairs in my pajamas.

Aaron and Olivia stood side by side beneath a streetlight. It was a cold, overcast night, and I hunched my shoulders against the chill.

Normally, Aaron would have taken off his jacket and offered it to me. Tonight, the jacket he had worn to propose was draped over Olivia's shoulders.

He pulled me into his arms. "Why didn't you put on something warmer?"

I twisted out of his embrace and pushed him away. "Why did you ask me down here?"

Olivia gave Aaron a nudge. "Aaron, the ring."

He took out an elegant ring box.

Olivia quickly explained, "Mia, is this because you didn't like the ring Aaron proposed with earlier? We had this one made especially for you, and we had them rush it."

"I don't want it," I said flatly.

Olivia burst into tears. Aaron scrambled for a tissue and dabbed at her tears.

He sighed. "Why are you throwing another fit, Mia?"

My eyes ached, still swollen from crying. I turned away without a word.

Olivia sobbed and thumped Aaron with both fists. "This is all your fault, Aaron. Now Mia's mad at me too. Go apologize to her."

She gave him a petulant glare, then turned and clung tightly to my arm.

Amusement lit Aaron's eyes. "Okay, okay. My fault."

I pulled my thin pajama top tighter around me and watched them in silence.

"Mia, I was wrong," he said softly as he placed the ring box in my hand.

I closed my eyes and listened for his thoughts, but all I heard was the same static.

Cold rain splashed against the back of my hand.

I tried to hand the ring back, but Olivia stopped me. "It's raining, Mia. Aaron and I will walk you up."

They insisted on walking me all the way upstairs.

Before leaving, Aaron gently kissed my forehead, the way he had when we first started dating seven years ago. But I knew there was no going back.

I tossed the ring box aside. The diamond ring tumbled out and rolled across the carpet.

I bent down and picked it up. It was a custom piece from a well-known jewelry brand. The light caught the initials "O.S." and the date "06.01" engraved inside the band.

"Olivia Scott," I whispered.

June 1st was Olivia's birthday.

I sat there numb, unable to stop my hands from shaking. The silver bracelet Aaron had given me seven years ago suddenly stung against my wrist.

I looked down at its outdated design and decided it was time to replace it.

Chapter 2

I hadn't slept all night. As soon as the sun came up, I went to Aaron's house with the ring.

I exchanged polite greetings with his parents.

One of them said, "Mia, Aaron went out first thing this morning. He won't be back anytime soon. Why don't you come back this afternoon?"

For a split second, they both looked panicked.

As I turned to leave, I heard Olivia's voice upstairs. She was carrying a glass of water and wearing Aaron's clothes. When she saw me, she froze.

I ran upstairs and found Aaron lying in bed, pale and visibly weak.

Olivia rushed after me. She stammered, "Mia, Aaron got soaked in the rain last night and came down with a fever. I stayed here all night to take care of him."

I took out the ring and held it out to her.

Her face went white.

"How long has this been going on?" I asked evenly.

"Mia, it's not what you think."

Olivia knew exactly where to look. She opened the second drawer of Aaron's desk and took out a ring. It was a small, understated wedding band, nothing special.

"This is your wedding ring. He was in such a hurry to make it up to you last night that he grabbed the wrong one. The ring you have is a birthday present he designed especially for me."

I swayed on my feet, my fingers tensing.

In the five years Aaron and I were long-distance, I made the trip to his city 300 times.

On my 301st visit, I snuggled into his arms. "Aaron, a new jewelry studio for couples just opened near me. My birthday is next week. Will you come make a ring with me?"

"Work's been crazy, Mia. I can't get away. Besides, making a ring is too much trouble. I'm not into that kind of thing."

Aaron sent me some money and ran a hand over my hair. "Just buy whatever you want."

So he hadn't been too busy to get away, and it wasn't that he disliked making rings. He simply hadn't wanted to make one with me.

A dull ache settled in my chest.

I went downstairs and handed the ring right back to Aaron's mother, Rachel Torres.

"Mia, what are you doing?"

Rachel pressed it back into my hand with a sigh.

"We've seen your relationship from the beginning. Aaron and Olivia are only friends, so don't read too much into it."

"Olivia and I really are just friends," Aaron said.

He made his way downstairs, unsteady on his feet. He sat beside me, took my hand, and held it tightly.

I gave a humorless laugh. "So it's normal for a friend to stay the night and receive a custom diamond ring?"

"He's only looking out for Olivia because she's your friend. Don't be so petty, Mia," Rachel said.

Olivia sat nearby with her head down and never once looked at me.

Rachel lowered her voice. "You've been with Aaron for seven years. If you leave him now, who else is going to marry you? Men are allowed to have close female friends. Let it go, Mia. You can't afford to start over now."

Her words cut deep.

I looked at Aaron. "Do you feel the same way?"

He shifted uncomfortably and looked away instead of answering.

Then I turned to Olivia. All I saw in her eyes was guilt.

I pushed the ring back.

"I'm not marrying Aaron," I said flatly.

Rachel raised her voice. "Mia, why do you have to be so stubborn?"

Aaron's face tightened with worry. "Mia, can you please stop this?"

"Then cut Olivia out of your life."

Aaron froze, looking torn.

Olivia's voice wavered. "Mia, this is all my fault."

She ducked behind Aaron, her eyes red-rimmed, as if I were some villain trying to tear them apart.

I strained to make out their thoughts, but all I heard was a piercing rush of static. I stood and left the Searles' without looking back.

I'd already given Aaron seven years. Life was too short to give him seven more.

Chapter 3

My high fever wouldn't break after I got home, so I ended up in the hospital.

After three days on an IV, Aaron came to see me. He lifted a spoonful of soup and gently blew on it to cool it.

"Here, Mia. Open up."

I took a sip and stopped there.

Aaron frowned. "You don't like it?"

I shook my head.

"Aaron, there's something I need to tell you. I can hear what people who love me are thinking."

His grip shifted, tipping the spoon sideways.

"Mia, you've got to be joking."

He pressed his palm to my forehead. "Has the fever gone to your head?"

Hot soup spilled onto the back of my hand, stinging my skin. I swallowed hard against the bitterness in my throat.

"I'm serious."

"Mia, stop this."

Aaron gripped my hand and fixed me with a serious look. "All I want right now is for you to get better. Then we can get married."

"Aaron."

I took a deep breath.

"When you first told me you loved me at 18, I heard you thinking that you'd love me in this life and the next. When we went long-distance at 20, I heard you thinking that you'd marry me once we could finally be together again."

Aaron's face grew paler with every word.

"But now I can't make out your thoughts at all."

I looked at him, and my sadness must have shown. He said nothing for several minutes.

"Mia, you're the only one."

He handed me his phone. "Check for yourself."

Out of habit, I entered my birthday as the passcode, but it didn't work. After the third failed attempt, I entered Olivia's birthday instead. The phone unlocked.

I opened their message thread. The screen was filled with updates about their everyday lives.

They shared every little detail of their day, from what they ate and drank to a kitten they spotted by the road. Olivia even asked Aaron which body wash she should use before showering.

My hands wouldn't stop shaking. Aaron had never shared these ordinary moments with me.

He brushed it off. "Mia, Olivia and I barely talked."

I held up his phone. "Then what do you call all this?"

He barely glanced at the screen. "It's just everyday stuff."

"But you never tell me about your day."

"Mia, we've been together for years. Do we really need to share every little thing?"

I sat there, numb. I had so much I wanted to say, but none of it would come out.

"If that's what you want, I'll start sharing the little things with you every day."

Aaron reached over and gently pinched my cheek.

I lowered my gaze so he wouldn't see my reaction. "Don't bother."

My answer caught him off guard. He rubbed wearily between his brows, then got up and paced the room.

Neither of us said another word.

I was done looking through his phone.

Just as I was about to turn off the screen, it lit up with a promotional message from an online store. "Get closer than ever, Mr. Searle. It's been 60 days since your last order of Air Ultra-Thin condoms…"

But it had been three months since Aaron and I last slept together at a hotel.

I bit down on my lip until the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth. My fingers tensed as I opened his order history.

Then his phone rang. I recognized the ringtone he had assigned to Olivia.

Aaron snatched the phone from me and answered without putting the call on speaker.

He hung up five minutes later, looking uneasy. "Mia, Olivia isn't feeling well. I need to go with her to get checked out."

He hurried away before I could respond.

I got out of bed and followed him.

Olivia went into the room for a transvaginal ultrasound, one hand resting on her stomach.

Aaron waited outside, visibly anxious. A nurse handed him several boxes of medication, but I was too far away to tell what they were.

I stopped a nurse as she passed and pointed toward Aaron. "Excuse me, can I get that medication too?"

"Sure. Have you signed up for prenatal care yet? Once you're in the system, you can get free folic acid."

I went cold all over.

I walked back to my hospital room in a daze, numb with shock and barely holding myself together.

Chapter 4

Two days later, I was discharged from the hospital. Aaron and Olivia came to pick me up.

When I opened the front passenger door, Aaron was fastening Olivia's seat belt for her. That was where I always sat because I got carsick.

Olivia greeted me with a bright smile. "Feeling any better, Mia?"

I nodded. "Much better."

Aaron looked up at me. "Mia, Olivia gets carsick."

I said nothing. I closed the door and climbed into the back seat.

By the time the car pulled up outside my house, I was fighting the urge to throw up. I got out, and Olivia followed me inside.

She gave me a hesitant look. "Mia, I need to tell you something."

"Go ahead."

"I'm pregnant."

She took an ultrasound report from her bag.

"Who's the father?"

"Aaron."

I had expected that answer, but my heart still skipped a beat.

"When?"

"Back when you and Aaron were living apart."

Olivia looked down, avoiding my eyes. "We slept together plenty of times, but we only forgot to use protection once, when we'd had too much to drink."

"What are you going to do?"

Tears streamed down Olivia's face. "I told Aaron. He said I should get an abortion, but I don't want to. Mia, please help me."

She clutched my hand, sobbing quietly.

The request was so absurd I almost laughed. "You're pregnant with my boyfriend's baby, and you're asking me for help?"

"Please, Mia. I just need you to leave Aaron for a while."

Olivia dropped to her knees in front of me, stroking her stomach as she broke down in sobs. When I showed no reaction, she began slapping herself.

"Mia, don't forget that I saved you from drowning when you were 19. You owe me your life."

The photo on the table, the one of all three of us, had begun to fade.

"Alright. I'll help you."

After Olivia left, I booked the next flight north.

The next day, I grabbed my luggage and took a cab to the airport.

About 1,000 feet from the terminal, I got out and ran through the blazing heat, worried the traffic would make me miss my flight. My blood sugar crashed, and everything went black.

When I came to, I was in the hospital. My phone showed dozens of missed calls from Aaron.

He burst into my room, frantic. "Mia, Olivia is hemorrhaging. She needs a blood transfusion, and you're the only compatible donor."

He was terrified, but not for me.

"I don't feel well, Aaron," I said weakly.

"Mia, are you really going to let her die? Once this is all over, we'll get married."

He sounded completely sincere, but when I closed my eyes and listened, I heard nothing. I thought I had gone numb, but a dull ache still throbbed in my chest.

Three hours after giving Olivia the blood she needed, I slipped into a coma and remained unconscious for a long time. When I finally woke, Mom and Dad were beside my bed.

"Mia, you're awake."

Mom burst into tears as Dad called for a nurse.

"Mom. Dad," I rasped.

"Mia, thank God you're okay."

Mom clutched my hand, and I noticed several new lines on her face.

Dad sighed heavily. "Mia, you need to end things with Aaron for good. Olivia miscarried and suffered severe bleeding a week ago, and he forced you to donate blood to her."

Mom covered her face and began to cry. "You've been in a coma for a week, and he hasn't visited once. Olivia is only one floor down, but he still couldn't be bothered to come up and see you."

Mom and Dad looked as though they had aged years. All I could hear in their thoughts was how worried they were about me.

The memory of Aaron choosing Olivia over me a week earlier was still painfully clear.

I held Mom's hands. "Mom, Dad, I want to transfer to another hospital. I don't want to see him again."

The hospital processed my discharge quickly.

Just as we were about to leave for the new hospital, Aaron sent me a message. "Mia, I'll explain everything once Olivia recovers."

I muted him. This time, I didn't want to hear his explanation.