Chapter 2

Even all our friends and college classmates thought I was the luckiest girl in the world.

Yet now that the dream was over, I realized life had simply dragged me right back to square one.

I was all alone again.

Thinking back carefully, there had been plenty of warning signs that Tristan was stepping out on me. I had just been too consumed by running back and forth to the hospital to notice.

Well, at least I had his penthouse and a hefty check.

I had no desire to keep living in this place, wallowing in bittersweet memories every single day.

I would sell the penthouse and wipe him from my mind as quickly as possible.

I reminded myself over and over: when it comes to relationships, you have to be as ruthless and clean-cut as Tristan Hayes.

My phone buzzed repeatedly.

I picked it up and immediately saw a new post on Bella Vance's Instagram.

The picture showed a man and a woman with their fingers tightly intertwined.

I instantly recognized the man's hand. It was Tristan's.

Her caption read: *Seven years apart, and everything has fallen back into place. Turns out love is a circle—no matter how far you drift, you always end up right where you started.*

The comments section was already bursting with excitement:

*So sweet! You two are literally soulmates!*

*Gorgeous girl, take good care of our campus heartthrob!*

Only one lone comment struck an awkward note: *Wait, they're back together? Didn't our heartthrob date Chloe Brooks for years?*

In less than a minute, that comment was deleted.

Right after that, Tristan's reply popped up beneath her photo: *Love you, baby!*

Perhaps it was because I had already cried my eyes out and let it all go.

Looking at those three words from Tristan now, my chest didn't even register a ripple.

Toward evening, I went out to a shopping center to pick up some essentials for my hospital stay.

Stepping into the mall, I was just about to take the escalator down to the lower level when a familiar group caught my eye.

Tristan was walking ahead, holding Bella's arm, flanked by two of his wealthy fraternity buddies.

Catching sight of me, one of his friends marched right over with a sneer. "What are you doing here? Stalking Tristan? Look, save yourself the trouble. He's totally over your clingy act."

Standing beside him, Tristan's other friend chimed in instantly. "Exactly! Tristan's heart belongs to Bella now. If you try to cause a scene and upset Bella, you'll regret it!"

Just then, Tristan stopped in his tracks and turned around.

The second he saw me, his face darkened into a stormy scowl.

While Bella stepped into a designer boutique, he strode straight toward me.

His dark eyes bore into mine, cold and sharp as frozen daggers. "Chloe, we're even. Are you seriously going to keep pestering me?"

"You're flattering yourself. I'm not," I replied, voice flat.

"Then why are you trailing me?" he snapped.

I didn't even look at him. "I'm not following you. I came to shop."

Right at that moment, the clerk from the loungewear boutique I frequented called out my name from the doorway. "Chloe! You're finally here! We've been holding that new winter loungewear set for you since last week. I was just about to call you!"

I took the chance to step into the store.

"Chloe, isn't that handsome guy out there your boyfriend? I just saw him walking around with his arm around some other girl. What happened?"

Last fall, Tristan and I had shopped here together, and I had bought him a designer pajama set, which was why the clerk remembered his face.

I gave a calm, faint smile. "He's not my boyfriend anymore. He has a new girl."

"Wait, what? Weren't you two doing great just a little while ago?"

"Feelings change, it's complicated. Anyway, we broke up," I said casually, letting the topic roll off my back.