Chapter 2

This was the scene Mason saw when he chased after me.

He leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed, continuing to mock me:

"Vivian, you're so petty. So what if Ethan deceived you once? Someone as outstanding as him—you were never good enough for him anyway."

"If it wasn't for Sophia rejecting him, would you have ever had a chance to take her place? This is what they call a blessing in disguise, understand?"

"Not really."

Mason rolled his eyes at me and sneered:

"Stop pretending. There's no point explaining to someone as stupid as you. Anyway, if I were Ethan, I definitely wouldn't like someone as dumb and plain-looking as you either."

"After all, when you stand next to Sophia, you don't even qualify to be background decoration."

I raised my hand to hit him, but he made a face at me and quickly ran away.

This diary was Ethan's heart and soul. After thinking it over, I felt I should return it to him.

So I sent him a message on SnapChat.

Ethan was always slow to reply to messages. Sometimes a single message would take over ten hours, or even a full day, before he'd send back a brief response.

Even after we started dating, this situation didn't change at all.

I'd always consoled myself that it was just his personality, and I shouldn't take it to heart.

Until I saw the diary, where Ethan would stay up all night waiting for Sophia's messages, and could drop anything he was doing to reply to her instantly.

That's when I realized.

It wasn't that he was aloof—it was just that I wasn't important to him.

As expected, this message sank like a stone. A day passed with no activity in the chat window.

I decided to deliver it in person.

The next morning, I stood at his front door.

Through the clean glass window, Ethan sat at the table eating breakfast, exchanging conversation with his mother.

My hand hovered above the doorbell. Before I could press it, Ethan's voice passed through the window and clearly reached my ears.

"I don't want to apply to NYU anymore. I'm probably going to apply to Harvard instead."

My hand gripping the diary suddenly tightened.

Then I heard his mother ask:

"Didn't you and Vivian agree to go to NYU together? Why the sudden change to Harvard? Is this Vivian's idea?"

"No, it's my own decision. I haven't told her."

His mother's expression immediately darkened.

"You're dating Vivian, and not only are you not applying to the same university, you're not even discussing it with her? Is this how you treat your girlfriend?"

Her tone was sharp, and Ethan also lost his temper for the first time.

He slammed his teacup on the table.

"What era are we living in? Who says dating means you have to apply to the same university? That's so backward."

"Besides, with Vivian's grades, it's questionable whether she can even get into NYU. Why do you have to bind us together?!"

I stood there helplessly, my fingertips digging deep into my palm.

I remembered the encouraging words Ethan had said at school about how I could definitely get into NYU. My nose stung uncontrollably.

So those words were all lies. He looked down on me just like everyone else.

I suppressed the urge to cry. Before he pushed the door open, I left the diary on the windowsill and fled in a hurry.