Chapter 1

In our three-person Snapchat group, my messages were always left on read.

At first, I brushed it off. I figured everyone was just busy. After all, Chloe and I had been dating for seven years, and Damon had been my best friend for eighteen.

Until today, when I casually dropped a text in the chat.

*[Hey, what do you guys think about a road trip to Lake Tahoe this weekend?]*

The entire day went by without a single reply.

That night, Damon posted a TikTok clip of a famous rustic steakhouse in Tahoe: *[Omg, this place looks insane!]*

Chloe replied instantly. Within seconds, the chat blew up with over ninety-nine notifications.

I chimed in: *[So… Tahoe then?]*

Dead silence.

I slowly scrolled up through the chat history.

Yesterday, I texted: *[Thinking about quitting my job. I’m completely burned out.]* No one answered.

The day before, Damon posted a shirtless gym selfie: *[Workout killed me, still seeing zero results.]* Chloe replied within seconds: *[Shut up, you look incredibly hot.]* They flirted until midnight. I stepped in: *[Anyone down for dinner tomorrow?]* Silence.

The next day, I caught them having dinner together at a downtown sushi bar.

Last week, Chloe shared a trailer for an upcoming movie. Damon shouted, *[I'm so in!]* I replied, *[Count me in too.]* Still, nobody acknowledged me.

When I texted Chloe privately, they had already walked out of the theater together.

It wasn't that they were too busy to reply. They just didn't want to reply to me.

I didn’t leave the group. I didn't write an angry essay demanding answers. I simply muted the notifications.

On the day I finally resigned, the chat finally pinged.

Chloe: *[@Sean, my mom’s asking when we’re locking down a wedding date. Damon’s asking too. Why aren’t you answering?]*

My flight touched down in Tahoe. I sent her one last text.

*"Take your time chatting with each other. You don't ever have to reply to me again."*

*"Happy breakup."*

***

Right after I muted the group chat, a notification popped up on my screen.

Chloe: *[Can’t go check out the new house with you this weekend. Something urgent came up.]*

I frowned.

*[Is it that urgent? I literally swapped shifts just to have this weekend off. There’s something important I need to tell you.]*

She never texted back.

I glanced at our group chat. She was still texting Damon back and forth with endless emojis. She just had no time for me.

I decided not to humiliate myself any further. I opened my laptop and started drafting my two weeks' notice.

I was exhausted. I desperately needed an escape.

The next morning, I handed in my resignation. My boss tried everything to convince me to stay, but seeing my determination, he finally signed off on my departure.

I originally planned to mention it in the group chat, but the moment I unlocked my phone, an Instagram post caught my eye.

It was Damon.

*[Someone said I was working too hard, so she kidnapped me for a quick getaway.]*

The location was tagged at the airport. Two boarding passes were fanned out in his hand. Destination: Lake Tahoe.

I zoomed in on the photo.

One ticket was under Damon’s name. The other clearly read Chloe.

So that was the "urgent matter" Chloe couldn't miss—a private vacation with Damon.

I tagged both of them in the group chat.

*[You guys went to Tahoe? Why didn't anyone tell me?]*

Unsurprisingly, silence.

I sent Chloe a private DM: *[Why are you going on a trip alone with Damon?]*

Still nothing.

It wasn't until the end of the workday that Chloe finally bothered to drop a dismissive reply:

*[Just landed! It was totally last minute. We knew how stressed you were with work, so we didn’t want to bother you.]*

Right below her message, Damon dropped a giggling emoji.

When I got back to my apartment, my landlord was already showing a potential tenant around.

Seeing me walk in, he gave me a warm smile.

"Hey, Sean! Congratulations, man!"

"Heard you’re breaking the lease to move into your new place with your fiancée. By the way, that buddy of yours I saw the other day… every time anyone mentioned the wedding, he looked miserable. Is he worried he's losing his best friend to a girl or something?"

I froze for a couple of seconds, realizing he was talking about Damon.

I pressed my lips together, too drained to explain the mess.

"No. I quit my job."

"And the two of them… well, the wedding isn't happening anymore."

***