Chapter 3

3

Lily had changed. A lot.

I remembered the first time I saw her. It was the second semester of our junior year, when she transferred to our class. She stood awkwardly on the podium in her ill-fitting school uniform, looking thin and almost malnourished. Her features were plain, her face etched with nervousness.

Our homeroom teacher beamed. "This is Lily Evans, who consistently ranks at the top of the statewide exams. Everyone, please welcome her."

Curious stares followed Lily. We attended a prestigious private high school. Good grades weren't the only criteria for acceptance, and Lily, frankly, didn't fit in.

I felt a pang of sympathy for her. I smiled and started clapping, and the rest of the class reluctantly followed suit.

Our teacher smiled gratefully at me and gestured toward me. "This is Chloe Price, our class president. If you need anything, Lily, don't hesitate to ask her."

Lily never did.

Because Ashton was always there. Ashton, my boyfriend at the time.

Lily was assigned the only empty seat, next to Ashton. I wonder now if that's where it all began, their betrayal.

Lily was poor. She had severe hypoglycemia and anemia. She once fainted during morning study hall, and Ashton carried her to the nurse's office. Ashton's mother brought back gifts from Belgium for both of us. When she told me to pick first, Ashton took a box of handmade chocolates and said, "I'll take these."

I was surprised. He'd never liked sweets, especially chocolate. He even asked me for my family chef's pastry recipes. I found it a bit odd but had our chef make him a batch.

I thought his tastes were changing.

Then I saw the chocolate wrappers in Lily's desk, and the pastries I'd given Ashton. It was Lily who loved chocolate. Lily who had a sweet tooth.

I told myself Ashton was just being kind to his less fortunate classmate, even though he wasn't usually the charitable type. I had my suspicions, but Lily was so… ordinary. I never thought Ashton would betray me for her.

I was Chloe Price. I was the prettiest girl in school. When that period drama was popular, everyone called me "Chloe the Perfect" because of my perfect family, perfect grades, and perfect social life.

How could I have imagined that Ashton would fall for Lily Evans?