Chapter 1

I was a two-hundred-pound plus-size girl, hopelessly in love with the effortlessly handsome Julian.

I had confessed my feelings to him ninety-nine times.

Every single time, he told me he wasn't ready for a relationship and asked me to wait.

It hurt, but I agreed anyway.

One evening, I dialed my best friend's number, needing a shoulder to cry on.

To my shock, the voice that answered belonged to Julian—ten years in the future.

"Julian? Are we together ten years from now? Do you still hate me as much as you do today?"

A heavy silence lingered on the other end of the line.

When he finally spoke, his voice cracked with tears:

"No... I loved you for ten years. I stood there and watched you marry another man and have kids. You were the one who walked away from me..."

His voice was thick with accusation, as if I were the heartbreaker.

I froze on the spot, my ears ringing.

Yet when I walked back to the beach bonfire, I overheard Chloe asking Julian:

"Summer has confessed to you so many times. Don't you feel anything for her at all?"

Julian let out a scornful scoff.

"A fat girl like her really thinks she deserves my love?"

The sneer on his face clashed violently with the broken, trembling voice from the call.

In that single instant, every ounce of my obsession with him completely vanished.

Julian leaned in closer, deliberately asking Chloe:

"Forget about Summer for a second. What about you? There's no way you don't know how I feel about you."

Chloe playfully pushed his chest away, her cheeks blushing.

"I just can't shake the feeling you don't really like me. You and Summer have known each other for years, and I only just showed up. How much of your heart can I actually trust?"

It was a scene I knew all too well.

Just like the countless times I poured my heart out to Julian, only to be cold-shouldered.

Our circle always saw us as an open secret of a love triangle.

I loved him, but he loved her.

Julian sighed, looking annoyed.

"Look at her, and then look at yourself. Why does everyone assume that just because the chubby girl likes me, I'm obligated to like her back?"

Chloe was the neighborhood's undisputed beauty queen.

And me? I weighed two hundred pounds. "Pretty" was a word no one ever used to describe me.

Back then, I misread Julian's intentions. Whenever he ruffled my hair, grinning and telling me how adorable I was, I genuinely thought he liked me back.

So, I gathered all my courage and confessed to him.

He had been surrounded by his friends, all of them wearing teasing smirks:

"Hey, Julian, your favorite chubby girl is laying her heart out. Hurry up and say yes!"

"Sure, you two look mismatched, but love is love, right guys?"

I watched the initial spark of joy in Julian's eyes instantly die.

His expression turned deeply embarrassed. His lips parted, hesitating, before he finally forced out:

"I'm sorry, Summer. You're just not my type."

He turned and walked away without looking back once.

He had never done that before. He used to match my pace side by side, or walk right behind me, his eyes gleaming as he said:

"There are only two ways this goes for us: we walk together, or I stay right behind you so you'll see me the second you turn around."

Back then, life felt so gentle and full of promise.

I truly believed we had a future together.

I never anticipated Chloe would enter his life.

Nor did I ever imagine that, deep down, this was how Julian truly viewed me.

Chloe blushed, playing hard to get.

"Summer just confessed to you. If I say yes right now, wouldn't that make me awful? Give me a little more time, Julian. Maybe this is just a rush of adrenaline because of how I look. I want you to love me for who I actually am..."

She pushed him away and ran back inside the bar.

Julian lit a cigarette, staring after her silhouette, looking utterly dejected.

When he turned around and caught sight of me, his face shifted from shock to irritation.

"How long have you been eavesdropping? Why do you always think you know what's best for me? Why do you always have to humiliate me in front of everyone?"

He took out the frustration of his failed confession entirely on me.

His words felt like jagged glass ripping through my chest.

"Is being loved by me really that humiliating to you?"

My eyes burned with tears.

He had no idea how much thought and courage went into every single confession I gave him.

When my parents went through their ugly divorce, he was the one who stayed by my side.

He had gripped my hand tightly, promising:

"Don't be scared. I'll always be here with you."

Through my tears, I had asked him:

"How? Will you really stay with me forever?"

Julian had nodded earnestly.

How could I have guessed that years later, he would stare at me with absolute disgust and say:

"Yes. Just having you around me is an absolute embarrassment."

He threw those words in my face and stormed off.

I stood there alone, feeling as though a bucket of ice water had been dumped over my head, chilling me to the bone.

The Julian from ten years in the future had told me:

"I've always loved you. I was just too obsessed with my pride back then, too cowardly to face my real feelings. Summer, please don't give up on me so easily. If you can just take one more step toward me, maybe I'll finally find the courage to face the world."

Yet in this moment, every shred of my dignity had been obliterated. I didn't have a drop of courage left to love him.

With trembling fingers, I dialed a long-distance number:

"When are you flying back? I'm ready. Let's be together."