"Lia, I like you. Will you be my girlfriend?" Nicholas asked.

The crowd was screaming and cheering, and even the professors were leading the applause.

Back then, no one would've guessed that our relationship would come to an end in just three years.

The party wrapped up around midnight.

I was a little tipsy, so after a quick shower, I collapsed onto my bed and started scrolling through my phone. Just then, one of Madeline's Instagram posts popped up.

She had tagged me specifically.

"Huge thanks to Nicholas for helping out with the play. Supper's on me!"

The photo showed a table overflowing with barbecue. Nicholas sat beside Madeline, his head lowered as he carefully cut the steak for her.

I knew right then that the visit he promised me tonight wasn't happening.

I closed the app, opened my laptop, and checked my inbox.

My application to that top-tier university abroad had been accepted. I replied to confirm I'd be there on time and booked a flight abroad for two days later.

…

The next morning, I headed to the academic building to drop off my printed leave of absence.

As soon as I stepped out of the dorm, I ran into Nicholas.

He marched toward me, looking pretty irritated. "Aurelia Quinn, why didn't you pick up your phone yesterday?"

I blinked, then checked my call logs and realized he had called me nearly 50 times.

"It was on silent. I didn't notice," I said.

Nicholas didn't look like he bought it, but he kept talking anyway.

"Look, the concert ended so late that we just got a hotel room nearby. It's not like I stood you up on purpose. You don't need to throw a temper tantrum over…"

His voice trailed off when he noticed the application form in my hand.

"What's that?" Nicholas asked.

"It's a report for my academic advisor," I said simply.

Nicholas blinked, visibly relaxing. "Is it for a competition? The Math Olympiad is coming up soon…"

As he was talking, another girl walked out of the dorm. She headed straight for Nicholas and handed him a coat. "You must be Nicholas. Here's the coat Madeline wanted."

I watched him take the coat with the kind of practiced ease that told me this wasn't his first rodeo.

"Lia, Madeline's clothes were soaked, and she's waiting for me to bring her this coat. I'll come find you later tonight."

I watched him rush off. It finally clicked that he hadn't shown up here to wait for me at all. He was just running an errand for Madeline.

But that didn't matter anymore.

After I got the final signature from my academic advisor and headed back to my room, my best friend, Sienna Blake, came storming in, looking absolutely livid.

"Lia, did you know Nicholas is taking Madeline out for her birthday? He wouldn't even clear his schedule for your birthday last month! What is he doing celebrating hers?"

I didn't say a word as I unlocked my phone.

Sure enough, Madeline had just posted a new update, wearing the exact coat Nicholas had come to pick up that morning, as a birthday cake sat between them.

Her left wrist was adorned with a brand-new bracelet—the same one I had once pointed out and said was beautiful.

Now, it was her birthday present.

Sienna was fuming. "What is this girl's problem? Does she not realize Nicholas is taken? And what the hell is he even doing?"

"He won't be taken for much longer," I said quietly.

Sienna stopped mid-rant. "Wait, what did you say?"

"Sienna, I'm going abroad," I explained. "My flight leaves tomorrow."

She stood frozen for a long moment before finally saying, "But… you love Nicholas more than anything. Did Madeline do something? Talk to me, Lia. I'll go hash it out with them right now!"

Shaking my head, I held up my phone to show her Madeline's Instagram post.

Nicholas had just liked it and left a comment a few seconds ago.

"Happy 21st birthday. Hope you're always this happy."

Sienna stared at that comment and went quiet. After a while, her eyes started to well up. "So… what are you going to do?"

I looked down at the stack of application forms and gave her a small smile. "I'll be fine once I leave."

"Is he not going to try and stop you?"

I tucked my phone away. "He doesn't even know."

And honestly, I didn't think he'd care.

I took one last look at Madeline's post. After a moment of thought, I hit the "like" button. I decided it would be my blessing to them before I left.

I ended up sleeping until 8:00 pm, and when I finally opened my eyes, my roommate told me Nicholas was waiting downstairs.

After briefly freshening up, I went down and found him standing at the entrance with Madeline beside him.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

Nicholas held out a cake box. "I said I'd bring you one yesterday."

I froze for a second, having completely forgotten about his offer to buy me dessert. I honestly hadn't expected him to remember.

But a moment later, Nicholas cleared his throat, his tone shifting into something cautious, almost like he was trying to negotiate.

"Lia, about the spot in this year's competition, could you—"

"Give it to Madeline?" I finished for him.

He looked a bit sheepish, clearly not expecting me to be so blunt. "Madeline is up for a scholarship right now and really needs this award on her résumé. But you've already won it several times…"

Madeline added with a smile, "Aurelia, this is from one of my favorite bakeries. We happened to be passing by, so I thought I'd grab one for you to try."

I looked at the defiant glint in her eyes and the way the two of them stood shoulder-to-shoulder.

It was clear that this casual gift had come with a hidden price tag.

When I didn't answer, Madeline continued, "Come on, Aurelia. Just let me have the spot. It's not like you need another trophy, but this is a huge deal for me!"

I looked at her, then at the cake in Nicholas' hand.

With a faint smile, I agreed, "Okay."

Nicholas seemed taken aback by that answer. "Wait... you're actually okay with that?"

I didn't bother answering him. I simply turned to leave.

There was no reason not to agree.

Anything Madeline wanted to take from me, whether it was a scholarship or Nicholas himself, simply didn't matter to me anymore.

But I hadn't gotten far when a hand clamped around my wrist.

Nicholas had caught up to me, looking a little awkward as he spoke. "Lia, I bought the camera. We're definitely going to the concert tomorrow."

I looked at him silently.

He seemed to remember something and pulled out his phone. "Right, I need to register the ticket info. What's your Social Security number?"

I had begged him 99 times to take me to that concert, and after all that, he didn't even have my Social Security number saved in his phone.

I smiled and was about to tell him not to bother because I had no intention of going to the concert with him anymore. Just then, Madeline let out a sudden gasp.

"Nicholas, something came up at the club. I need to go over there right away. Can you give me a ride? It's really far…"

Nicholas instinctively turned to me, hesitation written all over his face.

"Go ahead," I said.

He looked relieved and placed the cake box in my hand.

"Lia, remember to send me your Social Security number. I'll be here at ten tomorrow morning to pick you up. I promise I won't be late this time."

Their figures vanished further and further into the distance.

I looked down at the mango cake in my hand, a flavor I had never liked. Without a second thought, I tossed it into the trash can nearby.

…

At 9:10 am the next morning, I finished packing the last of my things and said my final goodbyes to my roommates.

By 9:30 am, I still hadn't received any confirmation for the concert tickets.

30 minutes later, I hauled my suitcase downstairs, only to realize that the entrance to the girls' dorm was empty.

I hailed a cab and headed to the airport.

Outside the car window, the campus blurred by like a series of fading film frames—the library, the track, and the path Nicholas and I had walked countless times.

I didn't look back once.

Social media was already blowing up with leaked clips from the concert venue. The theme this year was "Love", and couples from all over the country were flocking to the show.

My phone, however, stayed dead quiet the entire trip.

There were no texts or calls.

At 3:00 pm, after I had picked up my boarding pass and was about to board the plane, Nicholas finally texted me.

Two messages popped up in quick succession.

"Lia, Madeline got hurt while moving some props. I need to take her to the hospital, so I don't think I can make the concert today."

"Let's just wait for the next one. I heard they're playing in Jeston later this year. I'll get us front-row seats. I promise I won't stand you up again."

I wasn't the least bit surprised.

For the 101st time, he still hadn't shown up.

Calmly, I typed out my response.

"Don't bother, Nicholas. I'm moving abroad for studies. After today, we won't have anything to do with each other anymore."

After sending that final message, I was about to turn my phone off.

But the next second, the screen lit up.

A familiar string of numbers flashed across the screen, ringing and ringing in a frantic loop.