Chapter 2

Usually, he would get up early to workout for an hour.

But not today.

He just leaned against the headboard, staring down at his phone.

The screen went bright, then dark, then bright again.

It wasn't until almost eight o'clock that he finally put it down, got up, and started changing.

I acted casual and asked,

"Are you going to the Alumni Reunion next week?"

He paused while buttoning his cuffs.

"Yeah."

We never had much to talk about.

Despite sharing the same bed, I had only found out about the reunion from the group chat last night.

Ethan hesitated for a moment. "Are you going?"

I shook my head.

To others, high school was a beautiful memory of youth.

To me, it was nothing but humiliation I never wanted to recall.

He didn't push it.

He just gave a faint nod.

"Okay."

He probably didn't want me there either.

The moment the front door closed, I picked up my phone.

The alumni group chat had already accumulated over two hundred messages, and they were all about Ethan and Serena.

The rebellious billionaire heir and the beautiful, sweet straight-A student.

The two of them together had always been the ultimate gossip topic.

Serena finally popped up:

"Just woke up. See you guys at the reunion next week!"

Various members replied instantly:

"Can't wait to see you!"

"Does that mean you saw everything we talked about last night? I thought you muted this chat long ago."

"I totally ship you and Ethan!"

Serena replied with a cute cat waving emoji.

"It's fine. Actually, it was... pretty interesting to read."

Her words were vague and hard to read.

Nobody pushed further. Instead, they moved on to the reunion:

[By the way, is Ethan actually coming?]

[The news says he's been traveling abroad for business lately. He probably won't have time for a high school reunion.]

[The boy who used to climb over school walls and skip classes for Serena is now the mature, powerful CEO of the Vance Group.]

[Who can even reach him anyway?]

The group went silent for a few seconds.

Then.

Serena sent a message.

[He'll be there.]

Someone immediately asked.

[How do you know?]

She waited a few seconds before replying.

[He promised me.]