I skipped every single hangout that summer.
Didn’t stop them from talking about me in the group chat.
Some said I was stuck-up. Too good to show my face.
Some openly tagged Ethan, asking when he was finally gonna dump me. Told him to stop slumming it.
Every so often, someone would post a Crestwood campus promo video in the chat, then “accidentally” tag me, saying oops, wrong person.
Every time, the rest of them would pile on with reaction memes.
Then they’d tag Naomi to come watch the show.
Through it all, Ethan didn’t say one word in my defense.
I pretended I didn’t see any of it. Never responded once.
The day acceptance results dropped, they were all waiting for me to lose it.
Someone started a thread. Blew up to a hundred and twenty comments.
[Q: How long before NC has a total meltdown?]
They attached an unflattering creepshot of me.
[Ten minutes. Bet.]
[Too safe. Three.]
[Thirty seconds.]
The OP tagged Ethan.
[Your guess?]
Ethan replied. [No clue. But she’s easy to calm down.]
That reply got shared over seven hundred times.
I became a punchline at my school and the one next door.
They were all waiting for the meltdown.
What they didn’t expect? The day results came out, I blocked every single one of them. Ethan included. Then I moved to Southport.
That was ten years ago.
I can barely remember what it felt like to have feelings for Ethan Hayes.
And now he’d suddenly organized a reunion, pulled every string to get me here.
I smiled and answered Derek. “I’m not joking. I really am getting married. My fiancé went to Crestwood too. He’s the founder of Aegis Dynamics, actually—”
“Enough, Nora!”
Maybe my calm was what set him off.
Ethan shot up, smacked the invitation out of my hand, and spat the words at me.
“All I did was pull one stupid prank back then, and you turned it into this whole huge thing. You dumped me, ghosted for a decade, made me feel like complete shit. And now you went and found some random guy just to mess with my head? Do you even have a heart?”
Derek jumped in, voice full of disapproval.
“Yeah, Nora. Ethan’s at Aegis Dynamics now. He’s up for manager next quarter.”
“If you’re trying to get under his skin, at least make it believable.”
Surprise flickered through me. Aegis Dynamics was my fiancé’s company. He built it from the ground up.
I honestly had no idea Ethan Hayes was one of his employees.
“I’m not lying. I really am getting married. If you don’t believe me, come to the wedding next month. You can all see for yourselves—”
I never finished.
Ethan’s palm cracked across my face. The force whipped my head sideways. I tasted blood in the corner of my mouth.
“Shut up!”
Ethan glared at me, rage twisting his face.
“Nora Parker, what the hell happened to you in ten years? Vain. Petty. A pathological liar. You don’t even blink when you make this shit up, just to get under my skin.”
I wiped the blood from my mouth with the back of my hand. Slowly, I turned my head and met his eyes.
All I felt, looking at him, was disgust.
“I’ll say this one last time. I have nothing to do with you. If you lay a hand on me again, the consequences will be more than you can handle.”
Maybe my stare was too much. Ethan actually took a step back.
Then the humiliation caught up, and the rage surged back worse.
“Fine. You’ve gotten real bold, Nora.”
He grabbed my wrist and started dragging me toward the private suites.
“You wanna dig your heels in that bad? Fine. We’ll settle this tonight. Come morning, let’s see how tough you’re still feeling.”
“Let go of me! This is illegal!”
I fought with everything I had.
The classmates gathered around, sneering, exactly like they did ten years ago.
“Still putting on an act. I can’t even watch this.”
“Seriously. The guy’s been hung up on her for a decade. Turned down Naomi for her. She’s struggling now, but inside? She’s probably loving it.”
One voice wavered.
“Is this… too far? She’s crying.”
Someone shoved him.
“Don’t be stupid. Ethan’s about to make manager at Aegis Dynamics. That’s a top-tier tech company. One favor from him and you’re set for life. Besides, it’s not like Nora’s the one losing out here.”
Ethan, hearing all this, looked down and tried to soothe me.
“Nora. I was young and stupid back then. I was wrong. But I’ve made something of myself now. I’m willing to give us another shot. You should be a little grateful.”
“Relax. If you just do what I say, I’ll treat you right from now on.”
I didn’t answer.
Because my fingers had finally found my phone. I hit the emergency contact.
My voice came out wrecked, pure distress. “Baby… please come in. Now.”