Chapter 1

I spent three years studying abroad.

When I came back, Ethan Reed had a girl by his side who looked a lot like me.

Before I left, he had sworn he would marry me when I returned.

But now he held that girl protectively in his arms, making his choice clear to everyone.

My friends told me she was only my stand-in. Now that I was back, she would have to step aside.

I just smiled, completely unbothered.

Were we seriously still doing the whole replacement-girlfriend thing? Cheating was cheating. Refusing to admit it was bad enough. Dressing it up as some noble love story? Disgusting.

After three years abroad, the first person I went to see when I got home was Ethan.

A friend had warned me that he had grown close to a girl who looked a lot like me.

At first, I didn’t believe it. Ethan and I had been in love for years. I had gone abroad alone to further my studies because I wanted to help him.

But faced with the scene in front of me, I had no choice but to believe it. Ethan really had fallen for someone else.

From across the street, I watched him sitting with a girl inside a coffee shop.

She carefully lifted her cup and took a sip. Then, looking delighted by how good it tasted, she held the cup to Ethan’s lips, inviting him to try it.

He didn’t hesitate. His eyes were full of tenderness as he took the cup and drank from it.

I strode into the café. The sharp click of my heels made Ethan turn toward me.

Surprise flashed through his eyes when he recognized me, but his expression quickly settled.

“Claire? You’re back?”

Ethan came over to greet me.

In his tailored suit, he looked every inch the successful businessman. He was nothing like the broke young man who once couldn’t get anyone to hire him.

“My flight home wasn’t exactly a secret. What’s wrong, Mr. Reed? You have time for coffee with your mistress, but not to check your phone?”

At the word “mistress,” the girl’s expression visibly darkened.

She lowered her head, tears glistening in her eyes. Still, she put on a brave face and fought to keep them from falling.

The sight clearly broke Ethan’s heart. Anger crept into his voice, and he even gave me a rough shove.

“Claire Bennett, what the hell are you talking about? What mistress? This is my girlfriend, Sophie Miller.”

I let out a cold laugh. “Your girlfriend? Then what am I? Funny how I never heard I’d become your ex.”

Ethan’s gaze shifted, but he refused to back down.

“Stop twisting things, Claire. I broke up with you a long time ago. Have some self-respect. Stop making a scene and interfering with my life.”

I froze. Broke up? When? Why didn’t I remember that?

“You broke up with me? When?”

He looked at me with a trace of contempt. “Pretending you don’t remember won’t help. If you’re trying to win me back, you’re too late. I’ve found the woman I want to spend my life with. Stop coming after me.”

Before I could process that, he wrapped a protective arm around the tearful Sophie and walked straight out.

I stood there, baffled. Had he really broken up with me? Why couldn’t I remember a thing about it?