Chapter 2

Julian's dark eyes locked onto mine, a gaze so intense it felt like it could pull me in.

"As long as you're willing, I'm willing."

He said.

My heart pounded when I heard that.

The two moms weren't entirely making things up.

The Miller and Blackwood families were old friends.

Julian and I were born in the same month, the same year; he was only three days older than me.

From the moment they knew our genders, both families practically groomed us to be a couple.

From preschool to college, we attended the same schools.

They even pulled strings to make sure we were always in the same class.

It wasn't until college, when we chose different majors, that we weren't in the same classroom anymore.

Julian and I were *too* close. I swear I knew him better than he knew himself.

Maybe it was that familiarity, but I'd never felt that heart-fluttering sensation with him.

During college, I met Ryan Hayes, a gentle guy, and *he* was the one who made my heart race.

Ryan and Julian were rivals, enemies.

*I* pursued Ryan.

When I confessed my feelings, he didn't reject me.

We had a very sweet relationship.

My parents saw there was no spark between Julian and me. After trying to convince me otherwise, they eventually gave in and approved of my relationship with Ryan.

It was only after I started dating Ryan that I learned he had someone else in his heart: his first love.

I told him I didn't mind, that it was all in the past.

Julian, of course, called me an idiot, and his hatred for Ryan just intensified.

I'd always wanted to get married, but Ryan was hesitant.

Then, one day, he suddenly proposed to me.

I later found out he proposed on the same day his first love got married to another man in America.

The day before our engagement, he got a call from his first love.

She was crying on the phone, saying her husband had beaten her.

Ryan hung up and told me he was going to America to bring her back.

I looked at Ryan, my voice cold.

"What do you mean, you're going to America to bring her back? Are you trying to kidnap someone else's wife?"

Ryan frowned, displeased.

"Haven't you seen all the horror stories online about domestic violence? Serena's all alone, miles away in America, being beaten by her husband. Do you have any idea how helpless she must be?"

"Can't she call her parents? Can't she call the police?"

I shot back at Ryan.

Ryan's tone grew angry.

"Chloe, stop being so unreasonable! I'll still get engaged to you when I get back. You're the only woman I'll marry."

I looked at Ryan, my expression calm.

"Tomorrow is our engagement party."

Ryan came over and pulled me into his arms.

"We'll postpone the engagement. I'll pick Serena up and we can choose a new date."

I pushed him away.

"If you dare to go find her, we're over."

Ryan still flew to America to find his first love.

As I drove home after our argument, I got into a car accident.

Both the Blackwood and Miller families thought I tried to end my life because of Ryan.

When I woke up from the crash, my irritation with Julian and my question about who he was, they all mistook it for amnesia.