Chapter 1Regrets in life

On the third day of my business trip, I idly opened my boyfriend’s private Instagram account.

He had posted something new just a few seconds earlier.

**“Biggest regret in life might be meeting the girl you want to take care of forever, right before you’re supposed to get married.”**

The caption was paired with a candid shot of a young woman in a floral sundress.

Her name is Lily. She’s my boyfriend’s classmate from his undergrad days.

Sweet, innocent, and ten years younger than me.

* * *

I stared at the screen, my mind going blank for a second.

My boss, sitting next to me, nudged my elbow. “Daydreaming again? Pay attention, the clients are talking. Go over the proposal one more time; you’re presenting in five. You got this.”

I quickly shoved my phone back in my purse and gave him a thumbs-up. “Don’t worry. I’m gonna nail this.”

After the meeting, my boss told me to grab a quick lunch. We were heading to the manufacturing plant for a site inspection in half an hour. I pulled out my phone to order something on DoorDash and saw the Instagram icon.

I couldn’t resist. I tapped it open again. The post was gone.

Just then, my best friend Megan called.

“Dude, finally,” she said, her voice a dramatic rush. “You are not going to believe what I just saw.”

“Your PhD-candidate boyfriend was at the grocery store with some young girl. They bought two huge bags of groceries, laughing and joking the whole time.”

“I followed them. Subtly, of course. They went into your apartment building.”

“Oh my god, he’s taking another woman into the condo you guys just bought together!”

“Chloe, this is huge. Why are you so quiet?”

I rubbed my forehead, a bitter smile on my face. “Meg, I’d love to say something, but you haven’t exactly taken a breath.”

“Hold on, I took pictures. Sending them now.”

My phone buzzed. A series of photos popped up. The angles were terrible—clearly spy shots—but the faces were crystal clear. The man, with his rimless glasses and handsome, scholarly look, was my boyfriend of eight years, Leo.

And the girl… she was petite, radiating a youthful sweetness.

Her name is Lily. A fellow student from his alma mater, from the same small town he grew up in. A senior at the local university now.

“Did you see them?” Megan demanded.

“Yeah,” I said.

“That’s it?! Just ‘yeah’?!”

My laugh was hollow. “What do you want me to say?”

I could practically hear her cracking her knuckles over the phone. “You should be flying back here right now to key her car and make that asshole walk home in his boxers!”

I massaged my throbbing temples. “First, I’m in the middle of a business trip. If this deal closes, I get a promotion. I can’t just leave.”

“Second, we don’t know for sure if anything is actually happening. I could fly back and find nothing.”

“And finally, even if they are sleeping together, so what? I go back and we have a huge, messy fight. Megan, breaking off an engagement isn’t like a normal breakup. It’s exhausting. This whole mess with him might make me cry, but my job just got me a big enough bonus for a new designer bag. You tell me which one’s a better investment.”

Megan sighed. “I get it. I do. I just hate this for you. You’ve been with him for so long, supported him through two grad school applications, through his entire PhD program. You were cooking him special ‘brain food’ meals every single day while he was studying for his comprehensive exams. If he dares to cheat on you, I will personally ruin him.”

“I know you’ve always got my back,” I said, forcing a smile into my voice. “I’ll bring you back something nice.”

After we hung up, I just stood there. My nose started to burn, and I felt tears welling up. I squeezed my phone, forcing them back down. After a few minutes of deep breathing, I put on a smile, pulled out my phone, and ordered a salad.

I needed to eat. I had a long afternoon ahead of me.