Chapter 1

The night before the holiday, I worked overtime until two in the morning. I sent my boyfriend seventeen messages.

He only replied with one word: "Busy."

The next morning, while scrolling through Instagram, I saw a photo posted by my stepsister.

On a sun-drenched Miami beach, a man's hands rested intimately on her waist.

On his wrist was the custom watch I had given my boyfriend for his birthday last year.

I stared at that photo for three whole minutes before dialing my sister’s number.

"Chloe, are you on vacation? I saw your Instagram post."

The line went silent for two seconds. Then came her sweet, airy giggle:

"No way, Avery! That’s an old picture from last year. I’m just binge-watching shows at home today."

"Really? Should I come over? I just bought that cheesecake you love."

"Oh, actually, I’m out grabbing lunch with some friends right now. Rain check!" The panic in her voice was impossible to hide.

I smiled and said okay. The second I hung up, I called an Uber straight to the airport.

Some things, I had to see with my own eyes.

On the way to the airport, I called Ethan.

The phone rang six times before he finally picked up. I could hear the faint sound of ocean waves in the background. He kept his voice deliberately low: "What’s up?"

"Nothing much. Just checking if you ate lunch yet."

"Yeah, I did. I’m in a meeting right now, let’s talk later." He was eager to hang up.

"Wait," I took a deep breath.

"Ethan, do you still have that watch I gave you last year?"

The other end went completely still for a second.

"Yeah, of course. Why do you ask?"

"Nothing. I was just organizing some drawers today and noticed the warranty card is about to expire. Thought I could take it in for a tune-up for you."

"No need, it works perfectly." His voice sounded completely natural, showing no flaws. "Gotta run, my client is waiting."

The call disconnected. I leaned back against the headrest of the cab, watching the street trees blur past the window.

I first met Chloe when I was fourteen. She snatched my brand-new hair clip, and I told Mom it was fine.

When I was eighteen, on the morning of the SATs, she ripped up my admission ticket.

I had to scramble at the test center desk to get a replacement and almost missed the exam. My parents simply said she was just young and didn’t know any better.

At twenty-two, I used my very first paycheck to buy her a birthday gift.

She called it cheap and tossed it straight into the trash right in front of me.

At twenty-four, I brought Ethan home for Thanksgiving. She sat right next to him, flashing him her sweetest smiles.

I should have seen it back then.

Yet, I didn't.

Because she was Chloe. She was my sister.

Everyone always told me to be the bigger person and let her have her way. After yielding for so many years, I had completely forgotten what it felt like to stand up for myself.

I booked the earliest flight available. It departed at three in the afternoon, a four-and-a-half-hour trip down to Miami.

While waiting at the gate, I pulled up Chloe’s Instagram and zoomed in on the photo.

The man’s timepiece was an IWC Portugieser.

Last year for Ethan’s birthday, I had a personal shopper friend track down this exact model, with "E&A" engraved on the side of the case.

I had sent nearly ten grand for it—literally all my savings at the time.

When Ethan put it on, his eyes were red with emotion.

He held my hand and said, "Avery, I promise I’ll give you the life you deserve."

Chloe was there when he said that.

She watched us with a glowing smile, holding up her phone, saying, "Let me take a picture of you guys!"

Looking back now, she wasn't capturing our happiness. She was memorizing the details of that watch.

To go buy a knockoff?

No. Knowing Chloe, she would never settle for a fake.

She would simply demand it with entitlement, and Ethan would gladly hand it over.

I opened Snapchat and messaged Ethan’s college roommate, Logan:

"Hey, is Ethan on a business trip in Miami right now?"

Logan replied instantly:

"Are you kidding, Avery? He told me last week he was taking his girlfriend on a Miami getaway. Wait, you didn’t know?"

My thumbs froze above the glass screen.

"Taking his girlfriend?"

"Yeah, that’s what he said! Booked a five-star luxury resort and everything. I even teased him about when he suddenly got so generous."

Logan sent a face-palm emoji. "Shoot... did I say something I shouldn’t have?"

"No. Thanks for telling me, Logan."

I locked my phone and buried my face in my hands.

The Atlantis.

Last year, I mentioned to Ethan that I wanted to go there. He told me it was too expensive, that we should wait until his startup got its next round of funding.

I told him sure, no rush, I could wait.

And I had always been waiting.

Waiting for him to finish work, waiting for the company to stabilize, waiting for him to finally have free time.

I waited four long years, only for him to take my sister to the one place I dreamed of going.