Chapter 1Done with the Bullet Comments

I sat in a corner of the library, my eyes fixed on the two figures not far away, sharing a pair of earbuds.

A familiar stream of comments scrolled past the edge of my vision:

[Chill, guys, Leo’s just helping her adjust the volume. He’s not even listening!]

[That’s his childhood friend, Stella. They grew up together. He can’t just embarrass her!]

I offered a faint smile, my gaze dropping back to the book in my lap. I didn't stop turning the pages.

Every time Leo was with another girl, the comments would instantly pop up, a ghostly chorus rushing to explain away the misunderstanding.

They told me he was just a man of few words. That his unreturned messages and cold silences were all just part of his way of loving me.

But I've decided I don't want a man of few words anymore.

…

* * *

We’d been dating for two years, and we didn't have a single photo together.

Every time I suggested taking one, he'd say he didn't like putting his private life on display.

And I believed him. After all, the comments were always there to back him up:

[Leo’s the quiet, low-key type. It's true he hates photos, it’s not because he doesn’t care about our girl!]

[The reason he never posts on his feed is because he has over a hundred candid photos of her saved on his phone!]

Time and time again, I let those disembodied reassurances convince me to keep loving him.

Until today.

I watched with my own eyes as Leo took off his varsity jacket and draped it over Stella’s shoulders.

Stella beamed. “Won’t your girlfriend get jealous?”

Leo lit a cigarette, the corner of his mouth twitching into a smirk.

“She won’t.”

I was standing just around the corner, and I heard every word, crystal clear.

The comments dutifully scrolled by, as if offering a comforting pat on the back.

[He's doing this for our girl's own good! If he rejected Stella outright, she’d get suspicious about their relationship and ruin his plan to secretly protect Mia!]

[He’s all bark and no bite! He just doesn’t want Mia to get a reputation for being petty and jealous!]

I stepped out from my hiding spot. When Stella saw me, a flicker of mischief lit up her eyes.

“Mia! You’re here! Want to grab dinner with us?”

I shook my head, my voice flat. “No, thanks. I’m busy.”

Leo glanced at me but said nothing.

My hands were trembling as I walked out of the building, but the comments kept rolling.

[Don’t go, sweetie! Leo was waiting for you to say something!]

[Did you see the look in his eyes? He’s so heartbroken!]

[I bet you anything he’s going to come and apologize tonight!]

But I waited all night, and he said nothing.

Instead, he reposted the voting link for Stella’s dance competition, complete with three little “Go for it!” emojis.

In that instant, I felt like I had been demoted from his girlfriend to just another random follower on his feed.

That night, I posted something on my own story.

No words. Just a single photo.

It was his varsity jacket, draped over the back of a chair in a deserted corner of the library.

The comments on the post started pouring in.

“Isn’t that Leo’s jacket? What’s it doing there?”

But when I returned to the library the next morning, the jacket was still there, untouched.

I almost laughed.

The comments flickered to life again:

[Leo was a wreck last night! He didn’t sleep a wink!]

[He didn’t get the jacket on purpose! He wants our girl to realize he’s upset so she’ll come find him!]

I sat down, carefully folded the jacket, and placed it in a paper bag.

I stuck a sticky note on top:

Here’s your stuff back. Don’t leave it with me again.

The comments went berserk.

[NO!!! MIA, WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!!]

[Don’t be mad anymore, he really, really loves you!!! AHHHHH—]

I didn't look back.

This time, I was betting on myself.

Not the comments, not Leo. Just me.