Chapter 1After 999th sex with Ethan Miller, he's still just as crazy as ever.
The next morning, Avery Collins woke up covered in hickeys, wincing with every movement.
The air was still thick with desire. Ethan's arms wrapped around her, enjoying her warmth as he casually said, "Wear something decent tomorrow. Come to my parents' with me."
Avery looked up, startled, hope creeping into her voice.
"So we're finally... going public?"
Ethan raised an eyebrow with that familiar smirk. "Public? What? I've got a date coming to my family's dinner party. Need you there so it doesn't get awkward."
His words hit her straight in the gut.
Her heart stopped cold. "A date? Then what the hell am I?"
Already getting dressed, Ethan lazily glanced at her. "You? You're my buddy. We hang out, play games... and have sex."
A chill ran through Avery's body, all color draining from her face.
Seeing her expression, Ethan's smile faded as he leaned closer. "Wait... Avery, don't tell me you thought I was your boyfriend all this time?"
His amused tone cut right through her.
Fighting back tears, her voice cracked: "No! I'm gonna shower."
Avery stumbled to the bathroom on shaky legs.
The second the door shut, she collapsed onto the cold floor.
His words echoed in her head as she stared at the marks all over her body. Tears poured down her face.
Twenty years of friendship. Growing up together. Sharing everything.
Then that drunk night at eighteen when Ethan took her V-card.
Once became twice, became countless times...
Nights of passion, days filled with couple-like intimacy.
Holding hands in public, New Year's kisses with whispered promises, hours-long phone calls about nothing...
Avery had always thought they were together—just keeping it low-key.
Now Ethan was saying they were just fuck buddies?
The pain was crushing. She turned the shower on full blast to drown out her sobs.
Eventually, the tears stopped and she pulled herself together. Ethan was already dressed, sitting on the couch talking on his phone.
"Yeah, a big private room. Lots of people coming. She likes lighter food, so go Continental. Black Forest cake for dessert. Pink and white roses—send me pics of the setup first. Oh, and get like a dozen black suits ready. Sophia only wears black."
That name made Avery freeze.
She looked over to see this soft smile spread across his face.
Sophia? His date was Sophia Grant?
The light in her eyes died.
If it was Sophia, everything made sense.
Back in high school, Ethan was totally obsessed with Sophia, always talking about her.
Before he could make a move, she moved abroad.
He never mentioned her again after that.
When she and Ethan got closer, Avery thought he'd moved on.
She never realized his dream girl had just gone quiet—out of sight, never out of mind.
The pain hit again, making her drop her phone with a loud crash.
Ethan turned around, flashing that easy smile. "All done? You heading out? I already paid for the room."
Grabbing his jacket, he paused at the door with a mocking grin.
"Avery, we're just friends. Drop the heartbroken look—you're making me think you got the wrong idea."
"I know everything about you. One look and I can read your mind. Boring, right? Actually dating would get old real fast."
His voice faded with his footsteps, but those words stuck in Avery's chest.
She sat on the cold bed, laughing until the laughter turned to tears.
So that's how he'd seen her all these years.
She stayed until dark before checking out.
It was pouring, but she didn't care, stumbling home in a daze.
Her parents rushed over with towels, worried: "Jesus, honey, why didn't you call an Uber?"
Avery looked at them with dead eyes, her voice hoarse.
"Dad, Mom, you've been talking about moving to Spain for work, right? Let's do it. Let's move and never come back."
After months of trying to convince her, they were shocked. "Are you sure? What about that boyfriend?"
Remembering Ethan's words, Avery let out a bitter laugh.
"There was never a boyfriend. I made him up so you'd stop nagging me about dating."
Though confused, her parents were thrilled, rushing to handle paperwork while telling her to pack.
Avery nodded and went to her room, trashing everything related to Ethan.
Photo albums she'd kept for years, jewelry, clothes, handmade gifts...
All of it went into garbage bags.
"Miss, you're really throwing all this away?" the housekeeper asked, looking shocked.
Avery nodded quietly, her voice hollow.
"Don't need any of it anymore."
Not just those things—this whole thing with Ethan—she was done with all of it.
Chapter 2
The next day, Avery woke up to her phone buzzing like crazy with texts from Ethan.
He'd sent like fifty messages asking when she was coming over.
Her heart sank. Seriously, Ethan? Could you be any more of an asshole?
With shaking hands, she texted back: "Feel like shit. Not coming."
Minutes later, her parents were pounding on her door.
"Avery, even if you're pissed at Ethan, this is NOT the time! Get up and get dressed. You have no clue how important this date is to him. He's been crazy about Sophia for years. The second he heard she was back in New York, he begged your dad to help set this up."
"Exactly. Sophia used to take piano lessons from me, and I personally made this happen. The gifts, the dinner—everything's super fancy. He wants you there so things don't get weird. Having another girl around will make Sophia feel comfortable. Ethan's really serious about her this time. You guys are best friends—how can you bail on him now?"
So Ethan actually called her parents when she said no? Un-fucking-believable.
Listening to them go on and on, Avery choked back tears as she got ready and headed downstairs.
Their houses were practically next door. Ten minutes later, she stood at the Millers' front door, opening the shoe cabinet.
Completely empty—her bunny slippers nowhere to be found.
After looking everywhere, she finally spotted them in the trash can outside.
Not just the slippers—her mug, toothbrush, towel, pajamas... everything that belonged to her.
"Miss Avery, Mr. Miller threw those out earlier. Here, just use these shoe covers."
Staring at the trash can, Avery went completely silent.
Their families had been close for generations, so she was over here almost every day, crashing here all the time.
Ethan had given her a whole bedroom, buying all these cute things with her favorite bunny pattern.
He'd always said "Make yourself at home."
They'd stolen kisses by the front door, held hands under the dinner table, cuddled in the study—all behind their parents' backs.
Now Sophia was here, and he was terrified his crush might get the wrong idea.
So he'd thrown away every single trace of her existence.
It took Avery forever to pull herself together before slipping on the shoe covers.
The moment she walked in, she saw Ethan peeling fruit for Sophia, both of them laughing.
He sat on the couch in a custom tailored suit, hair perfectly styled, wearing cologne, giving off total rich-playboy vibes.
Back in school, Avery had heard girls say he was so hot he could make a trash bag look designer—and if he ever actually got dressed up, he'd put movie stars to shame.
But normally Ethan was super laid-back, just wearing hoodies and jeans, never giving a damn about fashion.
So he did clean up for someone he actually gave a shit about, huh?
The guy who fucked me yesterday now barely glanced her way, shooting her one look before focusing entirely on Sophia.
From hobbies to weather, work to jewelry brands, childhood stories to school memories.
Watching Ethan desperately trying to keep the conversation flowing, Avery bit back a bitter laugh.
So he could actually put in effort when he cared about someone.
"It's so weird—in high school, you were a grade ahead, totally different building and everything, but we kept bumping into each other. What are the odds?" Sophia said with a smile.
Seeing Ethan's ears turn red, Avery almost snorted.
Odds? Yeah, right.
Those were all "coincidences" Ethan had carefully planned.
Back then, Avery had followed him around, watching him pull out all the stops for his crush, feeling like absolute garbage.
Later when Sophia went overseas, she thought she'd finally gotten her chance.
Turns out Ethan was the one getting what he wanted all along.
Lost in her thoughts, Avery suddenly heard her name.
"In high school, I heard you had this super close childhood friend. That's gotta be you, right?" Sophia asked.
Avery froze, looking up to meet Sophia's curious gaze.
Before she could answer, Ethan's parents jumped in.
"Oh my god, yes! They were joined at the hip growing up! We used to joke about arranging a marriage—"
Halfway through, Ethan's face went dark as he cut them off.
"Mom, Dad, stop. I would never, ever date Avery. Like, not in a million years."
Avery looked down to hide the pain, forcing a smile. "Same here. I'd literally date anyone else before Ethan."
At her words, Ethan's expression froze for a split second before he quickly recovered.
He threw his arm around her shoulders like she was one of the bros, totally casual. "Exactly! We're just buddies. Purely platonic."
The whole living room seemed to relax.
Avery smiled along, barely catching Ethan's relieved whisper.
"Good save. Thanks."
She said nothing, just quietly stepped away from him.
Save? No.
Everything she'd said was the absolute truth.
Chapter 3
As evening approached, the Miller family arranged cars to take everyone to the restaurant.
Ethan, Sophia and Avery sat in one car.
During the entire ride, Ethan sat in the middle and kept his attention on Sophia.
He adjusted the AC, gave her blankets, and opened water bottles for her.
Avery was on the left, watched them chatting away before silently turning to stare out the window.
Halfway there, it suddenly started pouring rain.
The road was dimly lit, and the car in front switched on its high beams. The driver was blinded as they went downhill, unable to make the turn and crashing straight into the guardrail.
In that split second of danger, Ethan instinctively pulled Sophia into his arms.
BANG—
The window glass shattered. Avery sat against the door with blood covering her.
Pain spread through her entire body. She felt like she was falling apart.
She was half-conscious when the right door swung open.
Ethan rushed out with Sophia in his arms, frantically calling hospitals while gently comforting her.
He seemed to completely forget there was another person in the car.
When the ambulance arrived, the paramedics recommended helping the more severely injured victim first.
Faced with the choice between Avery lying in a pool of blood and Sophia trembling in shock, Ethan hesitated only seconds before choosing to take Sophia to the hospital first.
Watching their car disappear in the distance, Avery's vision blurred as tears finally spilled over.
Oh, Ethan...
Twenty years, and it still couldn't compete with one look from her.
Her eyelids grew heavier as the pain slowly faded.
She couldn't wait for the next ambulance. Everything went black as she passed out completely.
Avery had no idea how much time had passed. She heard the sound of chaotic voices.
She opened her eyes and saw her mother with her hand on her chest, her voice filled with both worry and relief.
"Oh thank God you're awake, sweetie! The ambulance got you here just in time, or you'd have bled out—they almost drained the entire blood bank! You were all in the same car, so how did Sophia just get a scratch while you’re hurt so badly?"
Her father sighed with relief, taking a sip of water.
"Well, obviously Ethan was protecting her. True love shows in times of hardship, right? Sophia was super touched. I just visited their room, and Ethan was feeding her soup. The way they were looking at each other—I'd bet they're officially a thing now."
Avery listened quietly and, after they finished gossiping, spoke in a hoarse voice.
"How long was I out? Is the immigration paperwork done?"
"Two whole days! You scared us to death!!"
"Don't worry about the paperwork. It'll be ready in three weeks. You just focus on healing."
Hearing they only had less than a month left, she felt a strange sense of relief.
Over the next few days, Avery kept hearing from the nurses about all the things Ethan was doing for Sophia.
He never left her room, even rushing to get hot water in the middle of the night when he heard her cough.
He tested the temperature of every medicine and prepared candies to take away the bitter taste.
Fearing she might get bored, he brought all kinds of games and toys to cheer her up.
Avery just listened silently.
When a nurse pushed her wheelchair for a checkup, she heard a commotion in the hallway.
As she passed the next room, she saw Ethan holding a huge bouquet of roses, confessing to Sophia.
"Sophia, I fell in love when I saw you eight years ago. All those 'coincidences' were me trying to get close to you. I remember all your likes, your dreams. I never got to tell you how I felt back then. Will you give me a chance now?"
Hearing the hope and nervousness in his voice, Avery remembered how Ethan had been preparing this confession a month before Sophia went abroad.
Though things didn't work out then, it was just delayed by a few years.
When she heard Sophia say "Yes," Avery gave a small smile and continued toward the exam room.
As she turned away, the crowd of onlookers burst into applause.
Ethan turned at the sound, catching sight of Avery's lonely figure.
The smile froze on his face, a strange feeling stirring in his chest.
The discomfort lasted only a moment before being drowned in a wave of happiness.
He reached out with pride, pulling Sophia into his arms.
