Chapter 3

When Logan was ready to leave for Chloe's hometown, he took my hand gently.

"Wait for me to get back."

"That floral lace wedding dress you liked finally arrived at the bridal boutique. We'll go try it on together as soon as I'm home."

I stared blankly at the diamond ring on my finger.

We had been engaged for six months.

Over the past half-year, Logan had shown zero interest in any wedding planning.

Whenever I tried showing him bridal magazines, he was too busy gaming with Chloe.

He would barely glance up before muttering dismissively:

"All wedding dresses look the same anyway."

"Just pick whatever you like."

And now, out of nowhere, he remembered which dress I wanted.

After a long pause, I simply whispered, "Okay."

Chloe came running over holding her phone, deliberately raising her voice:

"Look at this, guys! Logan actually knows how to sweet-talk a girl!"

"Though honestly, Saffron is so needy. He's just stepping out the door and she already needs to be comforted."

"When I hurt my back last month, I didn't even ask Logan for half this much attention."

Through the speaker, Logan's circle of friends erupted into rowdy laughter.

"Didn't Logan literally massage your back for hours?"

"What, wasn't his technique good enough for you?"

Someone else chimed in with a suggestive chuckle:

"Seriously, Chloe, if you hadn't played hard to get in college and just locked him down, that high-maintenance girlfriend of his wouldn't have stood a chance."

"To the rest of us, Logan's only real girl has always been you!"

Chloe blushed, playfully cursing at the screen.

Then she turned to me.

"Don't read into it, Saffron."

"Logan and I are purely platonic!"

She flashed a bright smile, but her eyes were dripping with malice.

"Even though he only started dating you right after I turned him down in college, I'm sure he really loves you now."

I glanced at Logan.

He just stood there with an amused, fond expression, watching Chloe like she was the most adorable thing in the world.

Back when we first started dating, he took me to meet his friends.

One guy had made a bet, pointing right at me and claiming Logan and I wouldn't last three months.

"She looks like the clingy, dramatic type," the guy had sneered. "Nowhere near as chill as Chloe."

Logan had punched him square in the jaw on the spot.

Back then, Logan had declared:

"Chloe is my best friend."

"But Saffron is the only woman I ever want to marry."

"I won't let any of you disrespect her in front of me!"

And now? He stood there smiling while everyone tore me apart.

Whatever warmth had briefly sparked in my chest was instantly doused in ice water.

My throat felt tight, but I kept my face utterly calm.

"I know," I said evenly. "If that weren't true, why would I be the one engaged to him, about to walk down the aisle?"

Chloe choked on her words.

The friends on the FaceTime call started whistling and cheering, prompting Chloe to glare and abruptly hang up.

It was almost laughable.

If they were truly just "best friends," why was she so triggered?

"Alright, Saffron, that's enough," Logan finally spoke, frowning at me. "Chloe was just joking around. Why do you always have to blow things out of proportion?"

Those words hit me like a slap to the face.

The last trace of patience in my mind snapped.

When Chloe and his friends humiliated me, he stayed silent.

When Chloe flaunted their history, he didn't correct her.

Yet the moment I stated a simple fact, I was the one making a scene.

I pressed my lips together and didn't say another word.