Chapter 1

1.

My boyfriend, Preston, and I were supposed to go skiing in Aspen to celebrate our one-year anniversary.

But when I got to JFK, I couldn't get ahold of him.

Just as the gate agent called for final boarding for the third time, Preston finally texted me.

"Something came up. You should change your flight."

I took a deep breath. I'd lost count of how many times he’d bailed on me.

I opened my phone and saw that Preston’s "guy's girl," Maya, had just posted a new Instagram Story.

"He's the best bro ever! I mentioned I was craving a lobster roll, and he showed up at my door with one~"

In the photo, a shirtless Preston was at a kitchen island, personally stuffing lobster salad into a brioche bun. The background was unmistakably Maya’s apartment.

I let out a cold laugh and canceled Preston’s ticket on the spot.

Then, I boarded the flight to Colorado alone.

...

The moment I landed in Aspen, my phone blew up with a storm of messages from Preston.

I wanted to ignore them, but then he called.

I hesitated for a second before answering.

Preston's accusatory voice came through the phone.

"Verity, why aren't you answering my texts? Don't tell me you didn't change your flight."

My voice was flat.

"Sorry, I didn't see them. I was already on the plane."

Preston's tone shifted, testing the waters.

"Babe, so you're in Aspen now? Wait for me, I'm just getting to the airport."

When I didn't say anything, his voice softened.

"Babe, I know I messed up today. I should've told you sooner about rescheduling."

"But something urgent came up. You get that, right?"

"I'll make it up to you when I get there, I promise."

A sarcastic smile crept onto my face.

His "something urgent" was playing white knight for his 'guy's girl,' wasn't it?

I thought back over our past year together.

Whenever Preston and I had plans, his "guy's girl" always had some excuse to pull him away.

Last April, I had a nasty flu with a high fever. I was hoping Preston would come take care of me.

But then Maya claimed she’d had a fight with her family and threatened to jump off the roof of her apartment building.

Preston rushed over in a panic, only to find out it was an April Fool's joke.

In June, I had my master's graduation ceremony. I was so excited for Preston to be there.

The night before, Maya said she’d just been dumped and dragged Preston out for an all-night drinking session.

They both ended up passing out and didn't wake up until the next evening.

There were countless other times, so many that I’d just gone numb.

I’d cried, I’d screamed, I’d threatened to break up with him more times than I could count.

But Preston would always just tell me to "stop being dramatic."

So now, I couldn't even be bothered to make a scene.

After all, I had already decided this would be our breakup trip.

I calmly said "Okay" and hung up.

Then I called an Uber and checked into the hotel by myself.