Chapter 1

**Nova Hayes POV**

Everyone in New York knew I was head over heels for Ronnie Thorne.

He was my brother's best friend, six years my senior.

Eight years ago, when I was just sixteen, trapped by some thugs, he appeared and shielded me.

That's when I fell for him. Hard.

I followed him around, too scared to let him know how I felt, until my eighteenth birthday when I finally mustered the courage to confess.

He leaned against the hallway wall, a cigarette glowing between his fingers.

He stubbed it out, a lazy smirk on his face.

"Little one, what do you know about love?"

I got a bit anxious.

"I'll grow up!"

He chuckled, then casually said,

"Alright, fine. When you turn twenty-four, if you still like me, I'll give you an answer."

For that answer, I chased him for eight years.

My entire youth was written with his name.

Today, I finally turned twenty-four.

I baked a cake with my own hands, ready to go to him and claim the answer that was eight years overdue.

But as I reached the private room on the third floor of the club, I heard a baby crying inside.

I froze.

The laughing voices of men inside drifted out clearly.

"Ronnie, that's a seriously messed up move."

One man laughed.

"Fake marriage, even get a kid involved? Nova's gonna go insane!"

Ronnie's voice chimed in, with his usual lazy tone and a hint of impatience.

"If I don't go all out, will she ever let go? In these eight years, have you ever seen her give up?"

Another voice echoed.

"True, that woman sticks to you like glue, can't shake her off. But wow, you really went to great lengths to get Iris Miller."

Ronnie let out a soft laugh, his voice laced with the arrogant confidence of someone who always gets what they want.

"Iris is kind; she always feels sorry for Nova. I need her to see clearly that unless we cut ties completely, we can't start anything."

"So you paid Iris to act out this whole charade with you? Even 'borrowed' a baby, all just to give Nova a surprise on her birthday today?"

"Solving two problems at once."

Ronnie's voice was cold as ice.

"It'll make Nova give up completely, and it'll show Iris my determination. I've already sent her the invitation; today's just a heads-up."

"Haha, that's hardcore, Ronnie! If Nova actually shows up and makes a scene on the wedding day, it'll be a show!"

"She wouldn't dare."

Ronnie's two words hit me hard.

So, the answer I'd waited for with all my heart was a meticulously planned humiliation.

So, for another woman, he could be this cruel to me.

The cake box in my hand slipped and crashed to the floor. I watched as cream and fruit splattered everywhere, a complete mess.

The voices from inside the private room abruptly stopped.

The door was yanked open.

Ronnie stood there, his eyes showing no surprise when he saw me.

His friends peered out from behind him, their faces eager for a show.

I stared at him, the man I had loved for eight years.

"You heard everything?"

His tone was flat.

I didn't speak, just kept looking at him.

"Good that you heard it. Saves me the trouble of explaining."

Ronnie pulled out a cigarette pack from his pocket and lit one.

"That's how it is. Iris and I are getting married. Nova, stop bothering me from now on."

I turned and ran into the pouring rain.

I didn't cry. I didn't even look back.

The icy rain drenched me, and my mind felt clearer than ever before.

All my eight years of devotion, in his eyes, were just an annoyance.

My eight years of waiting, in his eyes, were just a nuisance.

I felt like such a clown.

I stopped, wiped a hand across my face.

I pulled out my phone and called my brother, Ben Hayes.

On the other end, Ben's voice was full of concern.

"Nova? Where are you? Why are you breathing so heavily?"

I took a deep breath.

"Ben, I've figured it out."

"...What?"

"What you said before, about me going to Paris to study design? I agree."

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end, then Ben's excited voice rang out.

"Really? That's great! You finally came to your senses!"

"And,"

I looked at the blurry neon lights in the distance.

"That friend you mentioned introducing me to last time? Arrange it. I want to meet new people."

"No problem! Nova, whatever you do, I'll support you!"

After hanging up, I let out a long breath.

I gave him eight years; that was enough.

I returned to my empty apartment, peeled off my soaked clothes, and stepped into the shower.

Hot water cascaded over my head, washing over my body.

My phone pinged. It was a message from Ronnie.

It was a photo: a cute baby nestled in a blanket, beside a gold-embossed wedding invitation.

[Next month, on the eighteenth. Don't forget to come.]

I stared at that photo for a long time.

Then, I typed two words and sent them.

[Okay.]

Only after doing all that did I stand up and drag a heavy box from under my bed.

It contained all of Ronnie's things I had collected over the past eight years.

The jersey he wore playing basketball, I secretly picked up and washed clean.

The pen he'd carelessly used, I'd treasured until now.

Our only photo together was from graduation; I stood in a corner of the crowd, while he was center stage.

I took out each item, one by one, and tossed them into the giant black trash bag beside me.

Finally, I picked up the graduation photo frame.

The boy in the photo was dashing and brilliant, full of youthful vigor.

I once naively believed that if I tried hard enough, I could get closer to that light.

Now I understood. Some people are just meant to live in the shadows.

I let go, and the frame dropped into the trash bag with a muffled thud.

I knew then: my eight years of secret love ended here.