Chapter 2

When Brooke brought me to the VIP room, it was already buzzing.

A crowd of socialites and trust fund kids were there. But the moment I walked in, they all fell silent, their eyes drifting to Clara with a knowing look.

“Oh, Asher’s here! Do you remember me? I’m Lucas, your college roommate!” Lucas, sitting next to Clara, greeted me.

Brooke led me to a seat. I looked at him and shook my head. “Sorry, I don’t.”

“No worries, we can all just reintroduce ourselves.”

Lucas said, casually slinging an arm over Clara’s shoulder, making her lean intimately against him.

This former college roommate, now friend, seemed to revel in my supposed amnesia, staking his claim on Clara with a barely concealed smirk.

Clara, too, seemed to relish the thrill of being so intimate with another man right under my nose.

“Yeah, totally! Both of your best friends’ girlfriends are in this circle, how great is that?”

“We can all hang out together often. Amnesia or not, it won’t make any difference.”

The other friends all understood the situation, but tacitly kept quiet, seemingly sharing a perverse amusement, enjoying the spectacle of someone being publicly betrayed and played for a fool.

They all went back to playing games.

Clara and Lucas were sharing a single pretzel stick, their mouths getting closer and closer.

“Kiss! Kiss!”

Cheers erupted from the group.

In that atmosphere, Clara and Lucas plunged into a deep kiss.

Afterward, Clara leaned shyly into his embrace, and Lucas, looking utterly satisfied, hugged her tightly, even casting a subtle, triumphant glance my way.

Later, I lost a game and had to take a penalty: kiss someone for thirty seconds.

Everyone fell silent, looking at me.

They were curious who I’d pick.

Would I instinctively pick Clara?

Clara seemed a bit tense, avoiding my gaze.

She probably didn’t want me to have an instinctive reaction so soon.

Brooke, next to me, also seemed rigid.

I smiled. “Of course, I’ll pick my girlfriend.”