Chapter 1I'd been secretly dating Reed for five years. Then on my 24th birthday, he married his first love.
I stared at him, waiting for an explanation. Reed didn't even flinch.
"Cara has terminal cancer. She only has a month left."
"It's her dying wish. I can't let her leave this world with regrets."
Cara leaned against his shoulder, her eyes locked on mine. She looked almost smug.
"A wedding needs a celebration, right? Why wait? Let's celebrate tonight."
And just like that, my birthday party became their wedding celebration.
Everyone raised their glasses to the happy couple.
When it was my turn, I didn't cry. I didn't make a scene.
Reed shot me a warning look.
I raised my glass and smiled.
"Congratulations. May death not separate you two."
...
The room went dead silent.
Everyone turned to look at me.
Reed's grip tightened on his glass. He gestured to the empty seat beside him.
"Stop this. Come sit here, Hollis."
I ignored him and sat down next to my brother instead.
Reed's expression darkened.
My brother laughed.
"Reed, we all know you care about Hollis like a sister. But you're married now. You can't be so casual. Cara might get the wrong idea."
Cara wrapped her arms around Reed. She pressed herself against him.
Reed let out a short laugh.
"I just want Cara to leave this world in peace. When she's gone, the marriage ends. That's it. If I really wanted to marry her, why would I have waited this long?"
My brother's friends weren't convinced.
"Come on, man. When Cara left for Europe, you were a wreck for months."
"You're the most eligible bachelor in this city, and you never dated anyone. You just hung out with us."
"You kept saying you weren't interested in relationships. Then Cara comes back and suddenly you're married. Nobody's buying that you weren't waiting for her."
"Yeah, remember that night you got drunk? You said it yourself. You were waiting for Cara. Everyone here heard you."
The whole table nodded. They all remembered.
I kept drinking. My chest felt tight.
Reed and I started dating when I was eighteen.
At twenty-two, I wanted to go public.
He said no.
He was my brother's investor. If people knew about us, they'd think the worst. He said I was too young to handle that kind of scrutiny.
At twenty-three, he told me to wait one more year.
He promised we'd go public when I turned twenty-four.
Today I turned twenty-four.
And he married someone else.
Cara smiled at me.
"Hollis, Reed's been so generous with your birthday gifts over the years. Don't you think you should give us something? That necklace, for example. I really love it. Can I have it?"
My hand went to the chain automatically.
Reed gave me this necklace on my eighteenth birthday.
The same night he told me he loved me.
I'd worn it every day for five years.
My brother cleared his throat.
"Come on, Hollis. You know Reed's always loved Cara. They've already lost so much time. Just let them be happy."
I looked at Reed. He said nothing.
Not until Cara climbed onto his lap and pouted.
"Reed, please? I really want it. If I could have one just like it, I could die happy."
Reed glanced at me briefly. Then he pulled her closer.
"Don't talk like that. It's just a necklace. Nothing special."
He looked straight at me.
"Give it to her, Hollis."
I couldn't speak for a moment.
I'd been with him since I was eighteen.
No official relationship. No public acknowledgment. Just his secret.
Five years of hiding. Five years of doing whatever he wanted.
He liked me in dresses. I stopped wearing pants.
He wanted things kept quiet. I never complained.
But sitting there, watching him with her, I finally understood.
Five years of loving him.
And I'd never mattered at all.
Everyone started cheering.
Cara grabbed his face and kissed him.
I reached up and unclasped the necklace.
I set it on the table.
"You're right. It's nothing special. Take it."
Chapter 2
Reed stared at me. His hand was still on Cara's arm.
He squeezed harder without realizing it.
"Ow, Reed, you're hurting me."
He let go and forced a laugh.
"Cara. Since Hollis is being so generous, keep it."
Cara picked up the necklace.
She looked at it for maybe two seconds. Then she dropped it back onto the table.
"Actually, it's kind of ugly. Nothing like the stuff you buy me."
The necklace landed in leftover food.
My whole body felt cold.
Reed saw my face go pale.
Something crossed his expression. But it disappeared fast.
He raised his glass. "Tonight we're celebrating. Everyone drink."
I pushed back my chair. "I need to go. You guys have fun."
Reed's face went dark.
I didn't wait and left.
In the parking garage, I sat in my car and checked my phone.
Nothing. No calls. No texts.
He hadn't come after me. He hadn't explained anything.
But he'd posted something.
I opened the app.
There was a video.
Reed and Cara playing that game where you eat a cookie from opposite ends until you kiss.
Everyone was cheering.
Their lips met.
The comments were all about how tragic it was.
Five years apart. Finally back together.
Nobody said anything about me.
Nobody knew I'd been hidden for five years.
In the video, Cara's face was flushed.
She kissed his neck. Slow and deliberate.
Reed didn't stop her. His eyes had that look.
The same wild, hungry look he got in bed.
He wanted her.
Fine.
You made your choice, Reed.
I'll make mine.
I let out a hollow laugh.
I liked the post. Then I drove to his villa and started packing my things.
I used to beg him to go public.
I tried everything.
Pleading. Pouting.
Even in bed, half out of my mind, I'd ask him when we could tell people.
He always had a reason why we couldn't.
Then Cara came back.
He immediately introduced her to all his friends. They all called her his girlfriend.
He married her in front of everyone.
That's when I understood.
It wasn't that he didn't want to go public.
He just didn't want to go public with me.
When I got back to my apartment, my parents called.
"Honey, do you remember Evan? You two grew up together. He's back in the country now. Why don't you meet up with him?"
For years, my parents had been introducing me to good guys.
I'd said no every time.
But I was twenty-four now. It wasn't too late to start over.
My parents looked hopeful and nervous.
This time, I didn't refuse.
"Okay."
The next morning, I sent in my resignation.
I'd started at Reed's company right after college.
I helped him win contracts.
I stayed up all night running analysis, gathering data, writing proposals.
I lost ten pounds that year.
Reed said it killed him to see me like that.
He had his chef make my favorite dishes and bring them to the office.
Back then, even though we were secret, he never hid how he felt about me.
Now it didn't matter.
Twenty minutes after I sent the email, Reed called.
I answered. Neither of us said anything.
Usually I was the one who broke the silence.
Not this time.
I was about to hang up when Reed finally spoke. He sounded pissed.
"What are you doing? You liked my post and now you're quitting? What's this about?"
"Cara has one month left. One month. You can't even wait that long?"
"Are you seriously trying to force me to break up with you?"
I used to be terrified of losing him.
Because I loved him.
But I didn't love him anymore. So what was I afraid of?
"Reed. Let's break up."
Chapter 3
The day after I said we were done, my resignation went through.
HR called. Her voice was ice cold.
"Pack your things today. After that, you're not allowed back in the building."
I walked through the office to collect my stuff.
People didn't bother keeping their voices down.
"Mr. Reed only ever helped her because she's his partner's little sister. She actually thought she'd end up as his wife."
"Look at her now. Sneaking out like a kicked puppy."
"Who cares if he used to spoil her? She disrespected Mrs. Reed at that party. She had it coming."
I kept walking and didn't react. Finished signing the exit paperwork.
One more stamp and Reed and I would be nothing to each other.
"Hold on."
Reed's voice stopped me.
Cara was pressed against his side.
She looked at me and smiled.
"Someone leaked our bid information this morning. Funny thing is, you were handling those files."
I stared at Reed. "You think I did that?"
Reed didn't answer. His face gave nothing away.
Then he glanced at his assistant and nodded once.
"Pull up her computer."
Something broke inside me.
I laughed. It came out bitter and sharp.
I blinked hard to keep the tears back.
Reed wouldn't look at me.
He watched the IT guy sit down at my desk and start typing.
It felt like he'd hit me.
My face burned. My eyes stung.
I'd pulled all-nighters on those bid files. I'd done everything for him.
We'd been together for five years.
And he thought I betrayed him.
"Stop! Don't touch my computer!"
The IT guy was about to restore my deleted files.
If he did that, everything would come out.
All the photos of Reed and me.
I tried to move forward. Security grabbed my arms and held me back.
"Reed, stop them! I didn't leak anything!"
Reed walked over. His jaw was tight.
He grabbed my wrist hard and his eyes were bloodshot.
"Hollis."
People around us started talking louder.
"If she's innocent, why's she panicking?"
"Maybe she got rejected and snapped. Probably sold our info to a competitor. That's so messed up."
Reed's voice cut through the noise. "Shut the fuck up!"
"Mr. Reed, we got the files back!"
I looked at Reed. I was almost begging now.
"Don't open them... Please..."
His fingers dug into my wrist.
"Open them."
Photo after photo filled the screen.
Pictures of us. Kissing. Laughing. Together.
They'd stripped me bare in front of everyone.
Reed stared at the screen. His expression was blank.
Then he laughed.
"Where'd you get these, Hollis? Did you photoshop my face onto someone else?"
The whole office burst out laughing.
I wanted to disappear.
I looked down at the floor.
He married Cara without telling me. I survived that.
He turned my birthday into their wedding. I survived that too.
But this? Public humiliation? I wasn't ready for this.
Cara's voice was sugar sweet.
"Hollis, do you have feelings for Reed? Just say it. I'll step aside if you want him that badly..."
Reed frowned at her.
"Cut it out. Everyone here knows Hollis is like a sister to me. If you want couple photos, Cara, we'll go take some."
He said it while staring directly at me.
I understood.
This was payback.
I broke up with him, so now he was destroying me.
I dug my nails into my palm.
I kept my head down so no one could see me cry.
Cara smiled like she'd won.
"Reed, you're terrible. What if she runs away like I did? You might lose her forever."
Reed didn't even hesitate.
"She won't. Three days tops. She'll come crawling back."
He was right about the old me.
Whenever we fought, I never made it past two days before I caved.
No matter what he did, I always went back.
But I didn't love him anymore.
Reed. When will you finally figure that out?
