Liam Sterling was in love with my roommate. He brought her to the tense family dinner, ready to confront our parents and publicly detonate the pact they’d made for us when we were kids. He pointed at me, his voice ringing with disdain as he addressed both sets of parents. "I have never, not for one second, loved her. The thought of marrying Chloe makes me sick." That was the last day I ever loved Liam Sterling. Later, when another guy finally asked me out, Liam did everything in his power to stop it. He stood there, holding the crayon-scribbled "marriage contract" he’d written for me when we were seven. "You promised," he said, his voice cracking. "You pinky-promised you would only ever marry me." * 1 I arrived just as the shouting started. Stomping the snow from my boots on the welcome mat, I reached for the door. "I already told you," a cold voice snapped from inside, "I never agreed to that ridiculous arrangement." Liam. The sound of his voice stopped my hand in mid-air. "It was an agreement between our families, made when you were children! Are you trying to humiliate Chloe’s parents by bringing this girl here?" Through the crack in the door, I saw Liam squaring off with his father. My own parents sat silently on the couch, their faces tight with tension. "This is my girlfriend," Liam announced, grabbing my roommate Tessa’s hand and pulling her forward. Liam’s dad turned beet red. "You are marrying Chloe, and that is final! You don't have a choice!" My hand trembled, and I accidentally pushed the door open. Every head in the room swiveled towards me. Liam's eyes, cold as ice, locked onto mine. He pointed at me, but his words were for his parents. They were loud and clear, a declaration of war. "I have never, not for one second, loved her. The thought of marrying Chloe makes me sick." Without waiting for a response, he grabbed Tessa’s hand and stormed out. His gaze swept over me as if I were a piece of furniture. Behind me, Liam’s parents were stumbling over apologies while my own dad looked like he was about to chase Liam down and punch him. But I just stared at their retreating backs. Liam and I had grown up in each other’s pockets. For all those years, he’d never denied our "arrangement." When people teased us about it, he’d just smile. I thought he loved me back. 2 That night, after two hours of my parents’ gentle consoling, they finally let me go to bed. Mom called the school and told them I was sick. I couldn't face going back to my dorm room. Just as I was drifting off, my phone lit up on the nightstand. A text from Liam. Liam: I'm outside your house. Come down. We need to talk. His words from earlier echoed in my head. My childhood best friend, the boy I’d built my world around, had just publicly gutted me for another girl. I didn’t go down that night. But I didn't sleep, either. I drifted in and out of a dream. A little boy with Liam’s face sat at a desk, carefully writing something with a crayon. He finished, hopped off the chair, and ran over to a little girl with my face who was crying. "Don't cry, CeeCee," he said, using my childhood nickname. "You have to marry me when we grow up." He pressed a waxy piece of paper into my hand, his own version of a marriage contract, his eyes bright and serious. "I'll always protect you, CeeCee. Pinky promise." The moon slipped out from behind a cloud, and the sudden light woke me. I wiped the dampness from the corner of my eye. 3 The next morning, Liam cornered me on my way to school. "You're leaving this late? You skipped breakfast again, didn't you?" The casual, familiar tone of his voice made me flinch. He held out a paper bag from our favorite bakery. "Chloe," he said, his voice softer now. "What I said yesterday… I didn't mean it to be about you. I was just angry at my parents." I took a step back, away from the bag. "No thanks. The thought of eating anything from you makes me sick." His hand dropped. He just stared at me, his jaw tight. "Okay. You got your shot in. Are we good now?" He took a breath. "Look, I just want to ask you not to give Tessa a hard time. She didn't do anything wrong. I went after her." As it turned out, I didn't have to give her a hard time. She brought it to me. I had just gotten to class and sat down when Tessa walked over, holding a carton of milk. Her voice was just loud enough to cut through the quiet morning chatter. "CeeCee," she said, her voice dripping with fake sweetness. "Can you forgive me? I brought you this as a peace offering." Every eye in the room was on us. I looked from the milk to her face. "Forgive you for what?" She placed the carton on my desk, her eyes welling up. "I never should have accepted Liam's friend request. I didn't know he was… yours." She reached out and tugged on my sleeve, her voice catching. "Please don't be mad at me, CeeCee. If you want him back, I'll… I'll give him back." Before I could respond, Tessa’s best friend, Maya, cut in. "Seriously, Tessa? Why are you apologizing?" she said loudly. "Chloe and Liam are just friends. You didn't steal her boyfriend. And Chloe," she said, turning to me, "maybe you could drop the ice princess act for five seconds?" It was a perfectly executed performance. "You two are good," I said flatly. "Good cop, bad cop, right?" I pulled my arm away from Tessa’s grasp. I didn't use much force, but she let out a theatrical gasp and stumbled backward, crashing right into my desk. "Ah!" The carton of milk went flying, splashing all over her shirt. And that’s when Liam walked in. "Tessa, are you okay?" he rushed to her side, shrugging off his jacket and wrapping it around her shoulders, his eyes filled with concern. "I'm fine, Liam," she sniffled. The other students were all looking at me like I was a monster. "What are you all looking at me for?" I said, a bitter laugh escaping my lips. "She tripped." Liam heard me. I know he did. But all his attention was on Tessa. "I'm taking you to the nurse's office. Just hang on." He scooped her up into his arms and carried her out of the classroom without a single glance in my direction. It was like I was invisible. That afternoon, Maya got her revenge. As I was coming back from the water fountain, she deliberately slammed into me, spilling her entire cup of bright red slushie down my front and knocking me to the floor. "Oops," she said with a shrug. "My bad." Then she walked away. I looked up and saw Liam standing down the hall. Our eyes met. He just stood there, watching me, his expression as cold and distant as if he were looking at a stranger. … Just before the final bell rang, I walked back into the classroom, soaked and shivering. In my hand, I held a thermos. Without a word, I walked over to Maya's desk, unscrewed the cap, and poured the steaming, pale-yellow liquid over her head. "I did it on purpose," I said, my voice eerily calm. "And I'm not sorry." She shrieked, jumping up. "What is this! What did you pour on me?!" I just smiled. It wasn't until the whole thing blew up and we were in the principal's office that I clarified. "It was just hot water," I said. "And two tea bags." 4 After that, I became a pariah. Everyone avoided me like I had the plague. I started to wonder if I really was the bad guy. Meanwhile, Liam and Tessa became the school's golden couple, the power-couple scholars. The day they made it official was the day I finally told the truth. "Hey, we're all going out for a class party on Friday. You, uh, you wanna come?" The class president asked me hesitantly, after he’d already invited everyone else. I tried to look casual, but my hands were clenched into fists under my desk. "Sure," I said. Maybe I wasn't as hated as I thought. At the party, someone spun the bottle for Truth or Dare. It landed on Liam. A guy named Josh grinned. "Okay, Sterling. Your childhood sweetheart Chloe and your new girlfriend Tessa are both drowning. You can only save one. Who do you pick?" I never imagined the stupid question would feel like a prophecy. Liam and Tessa were sitting directly across from me. The air grew thick. I stared at the condensation on my glass of soda, not blinking. I could have left. I should have. But I was frozen. Liam let out a short, easy laugh. "What do you mean, *new girlfriend*? Tessa's been my girlfriend for a while now. I thought you all knew." In my peripheral vision, I saw him sling his arm around Tessa's shoulders. "Tessa, honey, can you swim?" "Not a stroke," she said, blushing. Liam sighed, his voice dripping with affection. "Well, I guess if you fell in the ocean, I'd have to hold onto you the whole way, wouldn't I?" He never answered the question directly, but the answer was obvious. And fair. She was his girlfriend. It was only right that he'd save her first. I closed my eyes for a second, fighting back the sting. Everyone started teasing Liam about how sappy he was. I made myself as small as possible, breathing shallowly, hoping no one would look at me with pity or scorn. But Tessa wasn't going to let me off that easily. When the bottle spun to me, she smiled, a picture of innocence. "CeeCee," she asked sweetly. "Is there anyone here… that you have a crush on? *Or ever had a crush on?*" It was the most viciously kind question I’d ever heard. "And if you lie," she added with a playful wink, "your whole family will have bad luck forever!" I was trapped. If I stormed out, I’d be the drama queen forever. If I stayed, I’d be the pathetic girl who couldn't let go. I slowly lifted my head and met Tessa’s triumphant gaze. "Yes," I said. As soon as the word was out, I felt Liam’s eyes snap to me. Tessa just smiled and tightened her grip on his arm. "I knew it." A month ago, this would have been the most humiliating moment of my life. But saying it out loud… something shifted. The feeling was distant, like a memory. It was like a soft breeze had finally blown away the last lingering wisp of whatever I felt for him. And when the wind passed, the water was still. In my seventeenth year, the crush I'd been nursing for three years finally died. I was sure of it. I didn't love Liam Sterling anymore. 5 "Chloe." Liam caught me as I was leaving the party. He walked over, his expression unreadable. "Today, when you said you liked someone…" He hesitated. "Was it me?" Honestly, I couldn't muster an ounce of feeling for the boy standing in front of me. "Yes," I said simply. Then I added, "It *was* you. Past tense. The moment you stood in front of our families and said marrying me would make you sick, I decided to stop loving you. And besides, you have a girlfriend now. I'm over it." Liam’s lips pressed into a thin line. "I never meant to hurt you," he said, the words sounding hollow. "I've always just thought of you as a sister." I didn't want to hear his excuses. "Chloe, I'll make it up to you," he insisted. I refused, immediately and repeatedly. I showed him with every action that I wanted nothing to do with him or his girlfriend. But Liam, consumed by guilt, didn't listen. He insisted on bringing me breakfast, even though I threw it back at him every single time. His misguided attempts at kindness didn't go unnoticed by Tessa. She saw his attention, not my rejection, and decided I was trying to steal him back. And so, her games escalated. The day before our mock exam scores were posted, Tessa was called into the guidance counselor's office. She came back to her desk and sobbed for the rest of the period. A rumor started to spread: she’d been caught cheating. No one, least of all Liam, believed it. She was second in our class, right behind him. "No way," people whispered. "That cheat sheet they found couldn't have been hers." "Yeah, Tessa would never do that." I didn't pay much attention, other than knowing I’d done well on the exam. The next day, after the scores were posted, Liam blocked my path as I was leaving school. "Chloe," he said, his voice hard. "Did you do it?" I was confused. "Do what?" "Framing Tessa for cheating. Did you plant that note?" he demanded, stepping closer. I scoffed. "You think I have time for that? You really think I care enough about her to go to that much trouble?" He narrowed his eyes. "Then why did your score go up by twenty-seven points?" "Maybe I just studied!" I snapped, my patience gone. "Liam, you're being paranoid." His face was a dark mask. He let out a bitter, mocking laugh. "Chloe, what happened to you? When did you become like this?" He shook his head, his eyes full of disappointment. "Framing people, lying about it… Is this how your parents raised you?" I was so angry I couldn't speak. Before I could find the words, he held up his phone and played a security video. It showed the hallway outside the counselor's office. Between the time the exams were collected and the end of the school day, I was the only person who had entered the office. This was Tessa’s plan all along. She'd planted the note herself, on a test she knew she could ace. The video was the final nail in my coffin. Liam looked down at me, his voice devoid of all emotion. "Everyone has to face the consequences of their actions, Chloe." He turned and walked away. 6 My last hope was my guidance counselor. This whole case was subjective, with no real proof. But when I walked into her office, she just looked at me with weary disapproval. "Chloe, why would you do something like this? Are you that jealous of Tessa’s grades?" My throat went dry. I felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room. I couldn't say a word. Liam was there, comforting a teary-eyed Tessa. "Chloe! I thought we were friends!" Tessa cried, her voice thick with fake betrayal. "I trusted you! How could you do this to me?" She grabbed a heavy textbook from the counselor's desk and hurled it at my face. The sharp corner caught me right on the bridge of my nose. "You almost ruined my life!" she screamed. Liam just looked away. The counselor offered a weak reprimand. "Tessa, we don't resort to violence." Then she looked at me, her eyes warning me not to retaliate. "Chloe, if you just apologize, we can drop the whole thing. No mark on your permanent record." If my score was nullified, I’d be kicked out of the honors track for senior year. But I hadn't done it. How could I admit to something I hadn't done? "I'm only going to say this once," I said, my voice shaking. "I did not frame Tessa." As the words left my mouth, I felt something warm and wet trickle from my nose. The book had given me a nosebleed. I didn't wait to see their reactions. I turned and walked out. "Stop." Liam followed me out, blocking my path. He saw the blood and frowned. But his words were still laced with blame. "Chloe, you have to apologize to Tessa. She doesn't deserve this." I wiped my nose with the back of my hand and held it up for him to see, the blood stark against my skin. My voice was barely a whisper. "Liam, can I please just go clean up?" I was so tired. I felt like a person hanging off a cliff, my fingers slipping, with no strength left to hold on. I didn't even have the energy to argue anymore. Liam's brow furrowed. "I'll take you." He reached for my arm. I flinched away, my eyes on the floor. "Liam," I said, my voice completely dead. "Please. Just… stay away from me." 7 In the end, I never apologized. But it didn't matter. Everyone had already decided I was guilty. Students who used to ignore me now muttered insults as I walked by. And my exam score, the one I had been so proud of, was officially invalidated. The last straw was the mandatory spring field trip. Another perfect opportunity for Tessa to set a trap. "Tessa and Chloe," the teacher announced, reading from a list. "You two are on firewood duty." The moment we were deep in the woods, Tessa showed her true colors. I quietly switched on the voice recorder in my pocket. "It must hurt, CeeCee," she said, her tone light and conversational. "Having your childhood sweetheart stolen away." I baited the hook. "So, that cheat sheet… you planted it so Liam would hate me for good? To make sure I wouldn't try to get him back?" She glanced around, then smiled. "Of course. And everyone believed it. How did it feel? When that book hit your face? Did it hurt?" I had what I needed. With this recording, I could destroy her. But she wasn't done. As I turned to walk away, she shoved me, hard. "Ah—" I tumbled down a steep, wooded slope. But in her moment of triumph, Tessa lost her footing and came tumbling down right after me. We both ended up snagged on the thick branches of a fallen tree overhanging a ravine, dangling precariously. 8 I tried to pull myself up, but the branches were too flimsy. "Liam! Help!" Tessa screamed. A moment later, he crashed through the undergrowth, his face pale with panic. "Liam, I'm so scared," Tessa whimpered, reaching a hand out to him. He looked from her to me, his eyes filled with a pained apology. "I'm sorry, Chloe," he said. He stretched his hand out—to Tessa. … "I'll pull Tessa up, then I'll get you," he promised. Tessa’s expression flickered for a second. She took his hand and started to scramble up. I gritted my teeth. "Okay. Thank you." I couldn't blame him. She was his girlfriend. The fact that he was even willing to come back for me was more than I expected. But as Tessa was pulling herself onto solid ground, she suddenly shifted her weight. Her hiking boot came down, hard, on my hand, grinding it into the rough bark. With her other foot, she pushed off the branch, making it look like an accident. A shot of pure agony went through my hand. My fingers went numb, and my grip gave way. I was falling. "Chloe!" "CeeCee!"
? Continue the story here ?? ? Download the "MotoNovel" app ? search for "385257", and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel