Chapter 3

Blake hurriedly shoved his champagne glass into a teammate's hand, adjusted his tie, and walked straight toward me.

His eyes were filled with pure admiration.

We had been in an online relationship for ten months, yet he had never once agreed to a FaceTime call.

Instead, relying on school rumors and a few old photos of me from junior year, he had painted a malicious picture of me in his mind.

He didn't recognize me at all.

"Hey," Blake said, stopping right in front of me and blocking my path.

He flashed his signature charming smile, his voice smooth and polite.

"I’m Blake. I’m pretty sure I’d remember if someone like you went to our school. Whose date are you?"

"Or did a movie star accidentally wander into our prom?"

I stopped walking but didn't say a word.

"Don't have a date to walk the carpet with?"

Seeing my silence, he took half a step closer, subtly flexing his broad shoulders.

"If you don't mind, I could—"

"Blake, that 7XL pink dress you bought me? The fabric was incredibly cheap, and the glitter kept falling off."

"I was worried it would ruin my carpets, so I threw it straight into the trash."

Blake’s smile completely froze.

The surrounding crowd, which had been whispering excitedly, went dead silent.

Blake’s pupils contracted violently, and the muscles around his eyes twitched uncontrollably.

"Stella?"

His voice cracked, filled with sheer disbelief.

The football players standing behind him dropped their jaws.

The guy holding the GoPro shook so hard that the camera slipped from his grip, clattering loudly onto the concrete.

"No way... That's impossible!"

Blake instinctively took a step back, his eyes frantically scanning me from my face down to my waist, and then back to my face.

"What? Disappointed?"

I tilted my chin up, enjoying the sight of his face crumbling.

"Sorry you didn't get to see your hot air balloon. Guess your GoPro won't be getting those views after all."

Chloe quickly stepped forward at that moment.

When she saw me, her sweet, perfect smile wavered.

"Stella! Oh my god, you lost so much weight!"

She reached out, trying to grab my arm.

"If you got this pretty, why didn't you tell Blake sooner?"

"He spent so much time picking out that dress as a surprise for you, you know."

"Keeping it a secret like this... you really embarrassed him."

I brushed her hand off.

"Spent a lot of time?"

"As in, spending time finding which party city sold the best clown costumes?"

"Chloe, since you care so much about his feelings, next time he buys a dress like that, feel free to wear it yourself."

Chloe’s face turned pale. She bit her lower lip and stepped back.

Blake finally snapped out of his shock.

But his surprise quickly morphed into a strange, obsessive excitement.

"Stella."

He suddenly grabbed my wrist. "Let me explain. That was just a joke between the guys, I—"

I ripped my hand away from his grip, walked right past him, and headed straight into the main hall.