Chapter 1

On my way home from work, I bought some oranges for twenty-two dollars.

I was in the middle of asking the vendor if he could knock off two bucks when my boyfriend Ethan suddenly slapped me across the face.

"God, you're embarrassing. Making a scene over two dollars."

"Looks like Rena was right about you all along. You really did let her mom die just because you were short a dollar on her medication."

"If I'd known what kind of person you were, I would've chosen Rena when the kidnappers gave me a choice. I should've saved her, not you."

He grabbed the bag of oranges out of my hands and threw them on the ground.

Then he walked away without looking back.

I stood there watching him go.

The vendor didn't know what to do. He quickly scooped up another bag of oranges and held them out to me.

I shook my head.

I didn't want the oranges.

I didn't want him either.

Ethan didn't come home all night.

I sat staring at the oranges scattered across the table, feeling a hollow kind of sadness settle in my chest.

The scene this afternoon had been loud enough to attract a crowd.

Someone had filmed it and posted it to social media.

"She's a gold digger, plain and simple."

"Spent all his money and now she's pinching pennies over a few oranges. Pathetic."

"Can't blame the guy. Anyone would lose it."

The comments piled on, one after another.

The video spread fast.

I told myself it didn't matter.

Just gossip. It would pass.

Then I saw Ethan's account.

He had liked every single comment attacking me.

My heart skipped a beat.

For a moment, I couldn't process it.

So that's what he really thinks of me.

Seven years together. Seven years of watching every dollar, cutting every corner.

If Ethan hadn't crashed his business and buried us in debt, I never would have haggled over two dollars in the first place.

Everything I did, I did for him.

And somehow, in the end, he decided I was the villain.

My eyes filled with tears before I could stop them.

Everything blurred. And without meaning to, my mind drifted back through all the years with Ethan.

This morning he had pressed a soft kiss to my forehead before he left.

At lunch he had gotten annoyed that I'd ordered cheap takeout, then turned around and cooked a proper meal and brought it to my office himself.

And then, just a few hours later, he became someone I didn't recognize.

My cheek still throbbed where he'd hit me.

I couldn't make sense of it.

That was when my phone rang.

It was my best friend, Lily.

I wiped my face fast and swallowed hard, trying to keep my voice steady.

She'd probably seen the post. And the likes.

I was going to tell her I was fine.

But she spoke first.

"I just saw Ethan walk into a club with a woman."

"I think it's... Rena."

The name hit me like cold water.

I made her repeat it. Asked again and again, until I heard the certainty in her voice.

"That can't be right. Rena moved abroad years ago."

"And Ethan deleted all her contacts right in front of me. He even changed his phone number. He did it himself..."

My voice trailed off without me noticing.

I was running through every detail in my head, desperate to prove that Ethan and Rena had truly cut ties.

But I couldn't lie to myself.

Lily had gone to school with Rena. She wouldn't mistake her.

When the truth finally landed, the strength went out of my legs. I slid down to the floor.

Breathing became difficult.

I forced myself up and stumbled toward Ethan's home office.

Ethan had always been particular about that room. From the day we moved in together, he'd made one thing clear: I was never to go inside.

Looking back now, that terrified me.

I didn't care about his rules anymore. I tore through the entire room.

I found it at the back of a cabinet.

A box.

My hands were shaking when I opened it.

Inside were letters. All from Rena. Packed in so tight there was barely room for another.

The dates were recent. The most recent one from just a week ago.

"Ethan, I can't take it anymore. I'm coming home."

The paper was stained with dried tears.

Standing there reading it, I started to laugh.

I couldn't help it.

Their love was so intense they had gone back to handwritten letters just to express it.

No wonder Ethan had always been so quick to hand me his phone to check. No wonder he'd always kept me updated on his schedule without being asked.

No wonder he spent entire afternoons locked in this room, then came out smiling.

It all made sense now.

Including the slap.

We were supposed to celebrate our seven-year anniversary today.

He hadn't been upset about the oranges.

He was upset because Rena had come back.