The news of Jared Foley and me breaking up completely stuns our social groups.

After all, we've been together for ten whole years. Even the invitations to our wedding are printed.

When faced against our friends' doubts and questions, I merely reply, "We broke up over a joke."

At a classmates' reunion on the day before, the drunken Chuck Garner, the class president, suddenly asks Jared a question.

"Heather's your fiancee, whereas Paige is your first love. Who would you rescue if both of them fall into the sea at the same time?"

Jared doesn't even bother glancing at me as he answers immediately, "Paige, of course!"

For a moment, the atmosphere in the private room becomes awkward. Soon, someone quickly eases the tension.

"Have you all forgotten that Heather used to be the swimming champion back then? She doesn't need Jared to save her!"

Jared shoots it down immediately. "Nah. It's because Heather talks too much."

A pause later, Chuck bursts out laughing.

"It's been ten years! To think that the top scorer has picked up a sense of humor!"

Everyone else joins in on the laughter except for me. After all, I know that Jared is speaking the truth.

He's already sick and tired of me rambling on and on when I share every little detail that happens in my life with him every day. That's why he mutes my chatbox on WhatsApp.

I've always thought that this is a part of Jared's personality. That is, until I accidentally stumble upon the chat history between Jared and Paige.

He even makes sure to take photos of what he has for breakfast and sends them to Paige every morning.

Only then do I realize that Jared isn't cold and aloof by nature. He's just cold and aloof toward me.

In that case, why should I stubbornly cling to the ray of light that has never illuminated my life?

Shortly after I posted on Instagram, my best friend, Tara Starr, called me.

"Heather, did Jared cheat on you? I'll buy a ticket back to Lunaton right now and help you settle the score with him!"

I was slightly taken aback by her intensity.

Cheating? It probably hadn't reached that point yet.

But cheating wasn't the only reason to break up with Jared Foley.

Ever since I saw those long, elaborate messages Jared sent to Paige Sherwood—while all I ever got from him were replies like "Okay," "Oh," or "Got it,"—I had come to realize something painful. When it came to matters of the heart, one could give it one's all, but it wouldn't make a difference if the feelings weren't mutual.

Since that was the case, why should I keep holding on?

With that thought, I replied, "No, Jared didn't cheat on me. I just suddenly realized that he and I have nothing left to say to each other. By the way, I've already found a job in Southville. I won't be coming back to Lunaton anymore. We'll talk more when I get back."

After hanging up, I started packing my clothes.

My phone rang again. This time, the name flashing on the screen was Jared.

I stared at it for three seconds before pressing the answer button.

"Hello?" His voice was as bland and indifferent as always. "I'll be away on business for a few more days. Just handle the wedding stuff however you see fit."

It took me a few seconds to process his words.

Jared thought I talked too much, so he had long ago muted my Instagram posts. Naturally, he hadn't seen what I had just uploaded.

Before I could speak, he continued, "Oh, by the way, Paige said she wants to be your bridesmaid, and I already agreed on your behalf."

I froze. "What did you just say?"

"I know you've already finalized all four of your bridesmaids, but Paige means well. It's no big deal for you to swap one out now," he replied matter-of-factly, as if it were the most ordinary request in the world.

I almost laughed out of sheer disbelief. "Jared, you do know she's your ex-girlfriend, right?"

Impatience crept into his voice. "That's all in the past. Why do you care so much? She means well. She just said she wants to give you a special wedding gift."

I suddenly laughed. "What kind of gift?"

"I don't know. Paige didn't tell me." Jared paused, then added, "But she said you'll definitely love it."

I leaned against the wardrobe, gripping my phone.

"Fine, she can be my bridesmaid."

There was a moment of silence on the other end, as if he hadn't expected me to agree so readily.

"I'll let her know then."

He was about to hang up, but I stopped him. "Jared."

"Yeah?"

"Did you mute me on Instagram?"

He went quiet for a few seconds. "I've been really busy lately, so I haven't had the time to look at my phone."

Hearing that, I sneered inwardly. He had used that excuse a thousand times. But I didn't bother arguing. Instead, I just hung up.

I opened Instagram. My latest post from yesterday stared back at me.

"I ended things with Jared. Ten years, and this is where it ends."

The comments section had exploded, but I didn't reply to anyone.

I tapped into my direct messages. Paige had just sent me two photos. One was a picture of a pair of pearl earrings, and the other was a screenshot of her chat with Jared.

"I'm getting these earrings for Heather. Quick, tell me if they're pretty!"

"Anything you pick is bound to be pretty."

"So, does this count as a gift I helped you choose?"

"Yep. Tell me one time in the past ten years you didn't help me pick out every single gift I've ever given her."

Seeing this, I suddenly felt utterly pathetic.

All those gifts I thought Jared had put genuine thought into were just another woman doing the choosing for him. It was Paige who told him the things I thought he'd remembered about me. It was Paige who reminded him of the little details I thought he'd quietly noticed on his own.

Ten years together, and it turned out I was just a joke from start to finish.

Seeing that I hadn't replied, Paige sent another message.

"Do you like your wedding gift?"

I thought for a moment, then typed back, "I have a gift for the two of you as well."

After sending it, I deleted the chat. Then, I opened my contacts and found Austin Hubbard's name.

"You free? Let me take you out to eat."

He replied instantly, "You?"

"Yeah, me."

"That's a surprise. Aren't you supposed to be getting married?"

"We broke up."

I compiled all of Jared and Paige's chat logs and handed them over to Austin. He was a computer whiz, and there were some things only he could do.

It was nearly 11:00 pm by the time I finished dinner with Austin. He walked me back, but we unexpectedly ran into Jared—who had apparently come back early from his business trip—downstairs by my apartment building.

When he saw Austin behind me, Jared frowned slightly. "What are you doing with him?"

"We had dinner together."

Jared pressed his lips together, remaining silent as he took my hand and led me upstairs. The moment we stepped inside, he dropped my hand and demanded in a hostile tone, "What's the meaning of your Instagram post?"

Oh. So he only rushed back because he finally saw my Instagram post.

I shrugged, entirely indifferent. "It means exactly what it says."

"All because Paige wants to be your bridesmaid? I already told you she means well."

Instead of arguing, I turned and walked into the bedroom.

When I came back out, Jared was no longer in the living room; the sound of running water echoed from the bathroom. His suitcase sat wide open in the middle of the living room, haphazardly stuffed with clothes, documents, and several exquisitely wrapped gift boxes.

I opened the first one. It was a set of high-end skincare products.

I opened the second gift box; it was a Hermès silk scarf in a very eye-catching color. The third gift held a pair of cufflinks, and the fourth was a perfume gift set.

Inside the fifth gift box were the pearl earrings from the photo Paige had sent me. They had looked exquisite in the picture, but in reality, they were completely ordinary—small, with a mediocre luster. They were clearly the kind of ten-dollar cheap goods one would find at a flea market.

Then, I opened the last box. Inside lay a classic Tiffany necklace. There was also a small card tucked inside. I opened it.

Written in Jared's unmistakable handwriting were the words, "For my dearest Paige."

My fingers trembled slightly.

Then, as if something had suddenly occurred to me, I flipped through the shopping bags from the other boxes. Every single bag had a handwritten label.

The skincare set was for his mother, Nadine Boyd. The scarf was for his paternal aunt, Ingrid Foley. The cufflinks were for his father, Warren Foley. The perfume was for his cousin, Maxine Ritter.

The pearl earrings were, of course, for me. And the necklace was for Paige.

After reading through them all, I actually laughed out loud.

"Why are you sitting on the floor?" Jared had walked over at some point without me noticing.

When he saw that I had opened all the gift boxes, his expression darkened abruptly. "Heather, who gave you permission to go through my things without asking? This is an invasion of my privacy!"

I looked up at him, entirely calmly. "If I hadn't looked, how would I have known that the person my fiance loves the most is his ex-girlfriend?"

A flicker of guilt flashed through Jared's eyes, but he immediately blustered to cover it up. "It's just a joke between friends! Must you make such a big deal out of it? I swear, you're getting more and more unreasonable every day!"

With that, he haphazardly stuffed the gift boxes back into his suitcase, picked it up, and stormed off to the guest room.

All that was left was that cheap pair of pearl earrings lying alone on the floor.

To no one's surprise, Jared slept in the guest room that night. I wasn't sad about it at all, because the moment I posted that breakup announcement on Instagram, everything between us was over for good.

But later that night, my phone buzzed with a TikTok notification.

In the video, Jared—dressed in a white suit—was down on one knee, holding a ring box. In front of him stood Paige in a white dress.

His eyes were red-rimmed, his voice choked with emotion. "Paige, I've rehearsed this proposal in my head over and over again for ten whole years. So, whether you say yes or no today, I'll have no regrets left."

All around them, a crowd of onlookers cheered, "Say yes! Say yes!"

Paige smiled and extended her hand. Jared slipped the ring onto her ring finger, and the two embraced.

The video's caption read, "An epic love story that spanned ten years. Even if they don't end up marrying each other, at least in this moment, they truly love each other."

A single tear slipped from the corner of my eye, carrying with it the last trace of feeling I had for Jared, and shattered on the floor.

The next morning, when Jared came out of the guest room and saw me eating breakfast, his gaze flickered. He walked over and sat down across from me.

"I won't hold what happened last night against you," he said icily. "But you'd better delete that Instagram post."

"Whether I delete it or not is my choice," I retorted without even bothering to look up.

He slammed his fork down heavily on the dining table. "Heather Donahue, can you stop being so childish? We're about to get married—what will people think if they see that?"