Chapter 1

After my boyfriend Chase's hockey game, he threw a party with his friends to celebrate.

At the party, Chloe, the head cheerleader, pulled out a diary. With a mischievous smirk, she asked the crowd,

"Who wants to know Aria's little secret?"

Everyone gathered around.

"Aria? She's always so uptight. What kind of secret could she possibly have?"

"What else? It's obviously about how she threw herself at Chase, our hockey captain. That's a public secret by now."

Suddenly, all eyes turned to Chase.

He leaned back lazily on the couch, a smug grin plastered across his face.

I immediately stepped forward to stop her, telling Chloe to give the diary back.

But Chloe had already flipped it open and began reading out loud.

"I finally ran into Chase today. I confessed my feelings to him, but he pushed me away so rudely."

Everyone burst into laughter.

Chloe continued reading.

"Chase finally agreed to be my boyfriend. I'm so happy."

...

On the very last page.

"Year three with Chase, and I still can't see him as you."

I rolled my eyes.

Now, that was my real secret.

Everyone thought I was Chase's desperate, loyal dog. But to me, he was nothing but a cheap stand-in.

As the words fell, the room went dead silent.

Chase's face darkened instantly. He snatched the diary from Chloe's hands.

No one dared to breathe.

The crowd looked at me with mocking eyes, waiting for a dramatic showdown.

Chase looked angrier than anyone. His eyes burned with fury.

Seeing me standing there motionless, he stood up, grabbed my arm roughly, and dragged me into the stairwell.

"Aria, what the hell does the last sentence in this diary mean?"

"Who is 'he'?"

The dim light flickered across Chase's face. I froze for a second.

The face was so similar.

But no matter how much they looked alike, he wasn't him.

Perhaps my gaze was too blankly direct. Chase grew even angrier, slamming his fist against the wall right next to my head.

"Who the hell is the guy you love? Have you seriously been using me as a stand-in for someone else for the past three years?"

I snapped back to reality and asked him back,

"What about you? You're my boyfriend, yet you let another girl rummage through my private stuff and read my diary?"

Chase froze, a flash of guilt crossing his face.

Right then, Chloe ran out, pretending to play the peacemaker.

"Chase, how could Aria possibly have someone else in her heart? She probably just made up a guy in her diary to make you jealous."

"It's all fake. Remember all the crazy things Aria did to get your attention before?"

Chase finally calmed down. Maybe he remembered how I used to do everything to pursue him, even hanging out with other guys just to get a reaction out of him. His face returned to its usual look of disgust.

He stepped back from me, frowning.

"Aria, have you had enough drama? Only you could come up with something so childish."

"Aren't you tired of this? You always act so needy. Do you really need me to revolve around you twenty-four hours a day?"

Chloe chimed in.

"Aria, don't do this anymore. I'm keeping an eye on him for you anyway. You're the only girl around Chase."

I let out a cold laugh. The only girl? Then what are you doing right now?

At that moment, Chloe casually draped her arm over Chase's shoulder, acting incredibly close.

"Chase, let Aria calm down by herself. You can't keep spoiling her."

Chase looked at her, a doting smile on his face. One he probably didn't even realize he was wearing.

A dull ache throbbed in my chest.

Just like always, he would always spoil Chloe. No matter what she wanted, he would give it to her.

But to me, he only had cold words.

When Chloe had period cramps, a single call from her would make him abandon me and rush to her side to take care of her all night.

But when it was me, he would only say, "Every girl gets cramps. Just deal with it."

After being treated so coldly countless times, I didn't even feel hurt anymore. As long as I could look at that face, it was enough.

As I watched the two of them walk away laughing, a text message interrupted my thoughts.

I tapped the screen. It was from a number I knew by heart.

"I'm back."