Chapter 1

My phone buzzed on the greasy workbench, the screen lighting up with a picture from Jenny. I smiled, wiping my hands on a rag. She was on her "solo" trip to Big Bend, a trip I paid for, a trip she said she needed to "find herself" before our wedding.

I picked up the phone. The smile vanished.

It wasn't a picture of a sunset over the mountains. It was her, in a sleeping bag, tangled up with Caleb. His arm was around her, his smug face half-hidden in her hair. She was looking at the camera, a sly smile on her lips. It was a selfie. They took it together.

My breath caught in my chest. The air in the garage suddenly felt thick, hot, and suffocating.

I hit her number. Straight to voicemail.

Again. Voicemail.

Again. Voicemail.

My world, the one I had been building for five years, the one with the church wedding and the house with a yard, cracked down the middle.

I dropped the phone, the screen shattering against the concrete floor. I didn't care. I just stared at the wall, the image of them burned into my mind.

The next morning, my eyes were raw. I hadn't slept. I' d just sat in my truck in the garage parking lot, the silence screaming at me. I opened Instagram. Her story was the first thing I saw. A picture of a sunrise, with a caption: "The universe calls to the wild soul. Live free. No regrets. #Wanderlust #VanLife."

Rage, cold and pure, washed over me. No regrets. I called her one last time.

She answered, her voice breathless.

"Hey, babe! Sorry, I was on this super tough hike, no signal."

"A hike?" I said, my voice flat.

"Yeah, it' s gorgeous out here. I wish you could see it."

I could hear the wind, but I could also hear a faint male voice in the background. Caleb's voice. The lie was so easy for her. The wild soul didn't have room for a conscience.

"Okay, Jenny."

I hung up. Then I went through my phone, my computer, everything. I blocked her number. I blocked her on Instagram, on Facebook. I erased every digital trace of her. It was a start.

That evening, they showed up at my apartment. Caleb' s stupidly expensive Sprinter van was parked at the curb, a monument to his trust fund. I opened the door to see Jenny, her face arranged in a mask of concern, and Caleb standing behind her, a smirk playing on his lips.

"Ethan, what's going on? You blocked me," Jenny said, trying to push past me.

I held my ground. "It's over, Jenny."

Her face changed. The concern melted away, replaced by fury. "Over? Are you kidding me? The invitations are sent! We have a church! My dress is paid for!"

"I'll cancel the church," I said calmly. "I'll cancel the caterer. I'll cancel the photographer. I'll get the deposits back where I can. It's done."

"You can't do this!" she shrieked.

Caleb put a hand on her shoulder. "Easy, Jen. The townie's just having a moment."

I looked past her, right at him. "Get off my property."

I shut the door in their faces. I heard her screaming my name, pounding on the wood. I leaned against it, listening to the sound, and felt nothing at all.