It is the final day for the high school students to submit their university application forms, and I find out that someone has swapped out my and Ned Nicholson's application forms for Jafferton College instead.

In a panic, I hurry off to find Ned to tell him about it, but I end up overhearing a conversation between him and one of his friends instead.

"Ned, you promised Miranda Montez that you would both apply for Hale University together. Why did you secretly swap out both your application forms for Jafferton College instead? Aren't you worried that Miranda's going to make a huge fuss about it?"

Ned sounds confident as he replies, "She won't. She'll listen to whatever I say. She'll be fine with it as long as she's still in the same college as I am."

He pauses for a while before continuing in an impatient voice. "Scarlett Jordan can't get into Hale University. It's beyond her. She's going to be really scared if she has to go to Westward to study on her own, so I promised her that I'd go to the same college she was going to.

"I mean, Jafferton College isn't that bad. Miranda wouldn't mind it at all."

I stay silent for a long while before leaving quietly, pretending that I never heard a thing.

I withdrew my application form for Jafferton College and submitted a new form for Dayward University instead.

We made a promise to each other that we would start dating after getting into university. But since he's breaking his promise for someone else's sake, I decide to leave him quietly and go after my own dreams instead.

Getting into Hale University was a dream that both Ned Nicholson and I shared.

To qualify for the extra adjustment points that would also be taken into consideration during the application process, I joined the cheerleading squad and went through vigorous training, learning all the difficult moves and tumbling and getting myself bruised and battered every day during practice.

After coming back from practice, I would then stay up with Ned, helping with gathering his debate resources and practicing with him. I would also go through his points after the practice and slowly dissect the practice rounds before important debate championships, well into the dead of the night.

When he was told that he had gathered enough adjustment points to qualify for Hale University's intake, Ned was so happy that he hugged me and gave me a twirl a couple of times. He was also crying tears of joy.

However, he had gone and swapped out our application forms for a different college just for the sake of another person who wasn't me.

…

I could hear Ned and his friends' voices coming from inside the room. One of them, Troy Keller, asked curiously, "Today's the last submission day for the university application forms. You won't be able to change it anymore after today. Are you sure that you won't regret it?"

Ned shook his head and grinned in amusement.

"I won't. Miranda isn't the kind to hold grudges against me. Once the intake is confirmed, even if she's mad or unhappy about the situation, it won't be an issue once I coax her otherwise. She's a good girl like that."

Troy was indignant and said, "And how sure are you that Miranda will really follow you to Jafferton College? That's so far away from home—it's in a whole other country!"

Ned just smiled confidently and said, "Miranda has always been with me ever since we were young. We've never been separated from each other for any longer than a week!

"Also, we've already made a promise to each other. We would start dating once we graduated from high school, and then we'd get married after college. So, who else could she even go to college with if it's not with me?"

Another one of his friends, Ryan Walters, disagreed with him. He chided Ned, querying, "Don't you think you're going overboard, Ned Nicholson? We all know how much Miranda wants to go to Hale! And now, you just swapped out her application form without even informing her about it?"

Ned rubbed his temples, feeling a little guilty.

"Well, Miranda was the main reason why Scarlett quit the Cheerleading Championship. Scarlett never got to win with the team because of her, and that's why Scarlett didn't manage to qualify for the adjustment points needed. And she can only go to Jafferton College."

Ned then sighed and continued. "It's sad to see Scarlett going to Westward all by herself for her studies. She's a pitiful little thing. She'll feel a lot more secure if I go to college with her."

…

I was standing outside the door, grabbing tightly at the doorknob. Tears were welling in my eyes, threatening to fall.

Back then, Ned had told me that Scarlett had just recovered from a grave illness and had a very weak body. He said that she had finally managed to get into the cheerleading squad after many tryouts, and told me to take good care of her.

Since Ned had asked nicely, I made sure to teach Scarlett as patiently as I could. When she cried and said that she couldn't keep up with our difficult and highly acrobatic routines, I made the routines less difficult so that it wouldn't crush her spirit.

However, after practicing for some time, Scarlett then said that she was too tired to practice and still chose to hang around instead during our practice.

So, even if I hadn't been on the team, Scarlett would still have never made it to the Cheerleading Championship.

Ned was well aware of everything that had happened, but he still blamed me for Scarlett's failure because I'd "stolen" the gold medal from her and "destroyed" her dream.

As I heard more laughter coming from the room, I gradually released my hold on the door handle and left silently.

I didn't let my tears fall until after I got back to my own room. Then, the water dam broke.

I couldn't forget Ned's confident smile when he was acing the International Debating Championship and his determination to pull all-nighters just to solve a few more problems and score higher during the exam crunch.

We had both been advancing toward the same goal. We'd promised our futures to each other.

So, how could Ned forget about his promise to me just because of Scarlett?

We've worked so hard in the past. All his efforts finally came to fruition after he won the Top Presenter Award during the championship, which gave him enough adjustment points to qualify for Hale University straight away.

And yet, he'd abandoned it all after promising to go to Jafferton College with Scarlett, and he didn't even care about my opinion on that, by swapping out my application form.

He had been so sure that I wouldn't reject him, hadn't he? That was why he never bothered discussing it with me. Did he really think that my feelings were unimportant to him?

I switched on my laptop and thought about it for a long, long while. I suppressed the reluctance I felt just from imagining being separated from him after high school and withdrew my enrollment application to Hale University.

Instead, I polished up my CV.

I had previously removed the fact that I'd won the gold medal in the Cheerleading Championship. Besides, I'd also left out some of my qualifications, such as the Chartered Financial Analyst qualification and Project Management Professional certification I'd obtained simply out of interest.

Then, I sent my polished CV and new enrollment application to Dayward University instead.

Actually, nobody knew that I longed to get into Dayward Business School the most.

I was the youngest daughter of the Montez clan, who were the mafia, and my dad, Vincenzo Montez, had always treated me like his precious little princess.

My family owned a myriad of businesses, and Dad was currently the one in charge of all of them.

He'd told me a long time ago that he wanted me to help him manage the family businesses once I'd graduated from university.

I'd once dreamed of applying for Dayward Business School, but I'd given up on that dream for Ned.

Ned had always dreamed of being an astronaut. When we were little, we often used to look up into the sky and dream about floating freely in outer space.

That was the main reason why I agreed to apply for the Astrophysics degree at Hale University with him.

But now, there was someone else he'd rather go to college with. And that meant that it was time for me to leave quietly as well.

Just as I'd sent out the email, Ned suddenly called me up.

I wanted to reject his call at first, but I hesitated for a while. What if he was calling to tell me about the swapped application form?

If he told me the truth now, I bet that I would still be sad and disappointed, but at the very least, I could still see myself forgiving him. After all, it had always been my dream to attend college or university with him.

"Miranda? Why aren't you here yet? Prom's about to begin. We're just missing you."

Our high school had decided to organize a dance night for us to celebrate our graduation in style, and they happened to be holding it in Ned's house tonight.

However, I didn't feel like attending anymore.

I'd just wanted to reject them when I suddenly heard Scarlett's laughter on the other end of the line.

"I came on time, didn't I? Has the party already started?"

A few guys next to her exclaimed excitedly, "No, you're just on time! Why don't you dance with Ned for the first dance of the night? Your dress matches Ned's so well. Ned, you wouldn't mind, would you?"

I couldn't stop myself from gripping my phone a little tighter. When I heard a soft, affirmative hum from Ned, I felt my heart breaking into pieces. It started to hurt.

Ned's dance partner had always been me. All of our friends knew that.

There had been a few other classmates who had a crush on him and asked him for a dance, but he had brutally rejected every single one of them.

Our friends said that he was cold and cruel to do that, but Ned had then proclaimed loudly, "I will only dance with one girl and one girl only, and that is Miranda Montez!"

But now, he had agreed to let someone else be his dance partner for the first dance of the night.

It was loud and noisy on the other end of the phone call. Things were seemingly starting to heat up. So, Ned just told me in a hurry, "Hurry up and come over. Even our teachers have already arrived."

I hung up, wiped my eyes with the back of my hand, and went to get dressed in my favorite gown. I was going to attend after all.

This was probably the last time I would ever see my teachers and classmates anyway.

It was loud and lively when I finally arrived there. Scarlett was dancing sultrily around Ned, her dance moves sexy and suggestive, and everyone else was hyping them up and cheering them on.

Both Ned and Scarlett were so engrossed in dancing with each other that they never even realized that I'd arrived.

I stopped walking toward them. Instead, I found my friend, Hazel Brooks, and stuck around by her side.

At the end of the dance, one of our teachers, Ms. Gabby Petras, went onstage and took the mic, reminding us to complete our forms and send them in by the end of the day.

"Alright, students, there's less than 12 hours left for the submission of your college application forms. Please make sure that you've filled in the correct address. And for those of you who need help filling them in, come and talk to any one of the teachers here in private, and they will help you."

I was concentrating so much on Ms. Petras' announcement that I didn't even notice Ned approaching me until he flicked me on the head.

"How could you be late, Miranda? I waited so long for you!"

The corners of my lips curved upward. He hadn't been waiting for me at all. Hadn't he already abandoned me as his dance partner and already found another?

However, I didn't expose his lie and just looked at him quietly.

"What's the matter with you? Who got you all upset like this?"

Ned seemed to have thought of something and reached up to rub his nose sheepishly.

"Oh, did you notice that your application form got swapped out? Actually, don't you think that it's better in Westward? The scenery there is a lot better. I know that you love the beach, and the campus is located right next to the sea! We can go and take all the photos you want then!"

Ned just continued babbling as if he was trying to convince me and hide his guilt with how quickly he was speaking.

"The student accommodation in Eastland is too old and creaky, and it's just a terrible environment overall. The infrastructure there is also outdated and can't compare to the newer student lodging on the new campus. Aren't you picky about your surroundings anyway? You'd never get used to those creaky old houses."

With how he put it, it was as if his decision to send my application to Jafferton College was all for my own good.

I listened to him in silence for a while. Finally, I couldn't stop myself and asked him, "Is there anything else you'd like to tell me, apart from this, Ned Nicholson?"

My voice was breaking.

Deep down, I was still hoping that Ned would tell me the truth and then apologize to me.

This was the final chance I was giving him to come clean to me. If he would admit it, then I would still forgive him.

Instead, Ned just froze for a few seconds before mumbling softly, "You already know everything anyway. There's nothing else to tell you. Are you seriously going to kick up a fuss with me over this?"

A short while later, however, Ned softened his tone again, saying, "Alright, alright. It's still a pretty decent college, and the degree is still something we like. It's the same whichever college or university we go to as long as we're together."

After staying silent for a long time, I finally nodded lightly, feeling my disappointment seeping into my heart.

Even now, he still refused to tell me the truth!

Ned smiled in relief when he saw me nodding at him.

"I knew that you would agree to it. I'm going to prepare a huge confession ceremony for you on the first day of college, and I promise that you'll definitely like it! What do you think? Are you looking forward to it?

"Oh, and by the way, didn't you say that you'd always wanted to go to the beach for a vacation? I heard that the beach next to Jafferton College is really fun! We'll go over a little earlier and play on the beach until it's time for our enrollment!"

Ned continued planning out the rest of our summer vacation with much anticipation, his voice tinged with obvious excitement.

I felt my heart softening a little. Even if we were to go to separate colleges and universities after this, I figured that I could still spend my final summer vacation with him. After all, we'd made that promise to each other quite a long time ago, too.

Although the beach vacation hadn't been part of the original plan, we could still have a lot of fun if we planned meticulously enough.

I was just about to agree to his proposition when Scarlett suddenly appeared behind him and planted her chin on his shoulder.

"Ned, I still haven't bought all the stuff I needed to go hiking. Why don't you come with me? We can go shopping for them now!"

Right after she said that, she suddenly covered her mouth and looked at me guiltily, as if she'd just done something horribly wrong.

"I'm sorry, Mimi, but Ned promised me that he'd go hiking with me. He hasn't told you, has he? Do you want to come along with us?"

My heart squeezed, and I instinctively glanced at Ned for his reaction.

He just smacked himself in the back of his head in frustration and tried explaining himself.

"Oh, by the way, Scarlett also enrolled in Jafferton College, and she's been wanting to go hiking in the woods there. That's why I agreed to go mountain hiking with her.

"Maybe we can go hiking first before we go to the beach when we're there. You're fine with that, right?"

Ned had already planned out everything in his head. It was obvious that he'd already thought it out beforehand. However, this wasn't like him. He used to hate planning out trips in advance, and I would always have to lay it out for him before he would finally agree to go anywhere.

I said nothing and just nodded again in silence.

He could plan everything according to how he envisioned it.

I had fully intended on fulfilling the promise we'd made to each other last time, to go on a vacation with him. But now, it seemed like he had someone else to go with, and he didn't need me anymore.

Ned was happy when he realized that I wasn't opposing him in any way. He then opened up his Notes app on his phone and started jotting down the things he'd need to buy to go hiking.

"Why don't you go home first, Mimi? I'll buy the stuff with Scarlett. We'll just meet at the airport right away tomorrow morning!"

As soon as he was done talking to me, he then immediately set off with Scarlett in tow.

Ned had abandoned me for someone else once more.

He'd promised me that he would be the most loyal knight in shining armor for me. But now, this knight had someone else to protect, and it wasn't me anymore.

…

The next morning, I was rudely awakened with a phone call from Ned.

"Mimi? Are you already at the airport?"

He sounded careful, sheepish almost. I could also hear Scarlett's faint sobbing on the other end of the line.

"I'm sorry, Mimi," she said, "but I wasn't able to buy your plane ticket because I didn't have your full details."

Ned said gently to her, "It's fine. I'll just go and buy the ticket now. If we really can't make this flight, we'll just catch the next one."

"But… But I've already modified the flight details once. We can't postpone it anymore!"

He remained silent. Scarlett then cried a little louder and said, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. It's all my fault…"

"It's fine," I said in a calm voice, interrupting her. I then flipped over in bed and added, "I fell sick. I won't be joining you guys after all."

Ned heaved a huge sigh of relief. Then, he quickly comforted me. "Oh, don't be sad. We'll still have plenty of chances to go on vacation once we've enrolled here! Take care of yourself these few days. I'll see you at the college admission office in a week!"

"Okay," I answered meekly.

Then, I hung up and immediately booked a flight ticket to Dayward University for the next week.