Chapter 1

When I came home soaked from the rain for the fifth time,

my boyfriend, sprawled on the couch playing a video game, glanced up without much interest.

"Forgot to pick you up again. You know me, I'm basically a fish. Seven-second memory..."

My boyfriend of six years was a fish.

Anything to do with me, he could only hold on to for seven seconds.

The time before last.

I'd been sick and admitted to the hospital, and Ethan Caldwell had volunteered to take care of me himself.

Then, when a family member had to sign the consent form, he vanished.

After the surgery, he apologized with red eyes.

"I'm sorry, babe. I went to visit a friend... and forgot about you."

The noise of the game grated through the living room.

I stared at the rain-soaked clothes on the drying rack outside the window and spoke up out of nowhere.

"You don't have to pick me up anymore."

"Ethan, let's break up."

……

Before he could say anything,

Natalie Pierce's scoff came through the headset mic and filled every corner of the room.

"Breaking up again, sweetie? Don't be mad at Ethan for forgetting to pick you up today."

"He's just a dopey little fish. He's used to being careless about everything."

She hadn't even finished

when the other friends gaming with Ethan chimed in one after another.

"So he forgot. Big deal. A little rain never killed anybody. Why be so dramatic?"

"Breaking up again? They break up, they make up, every time."

"Ethan, I know you two are close... but you can't let Wren Whitaker get away with everything."

The scoffing and the sarcasm circled around my ears.

The man on the couch frowned slightly, but his hands never stopped moving for a second.

Ethan's sorry crew of friends weren't wrong.

Every other week, I staged a one-sided breakup with him.

And in the end, all he had to do was offer me an easy way out,

and I'd be the first to come running, begging to get back together.

Cold air seeped into the living room. I forced down the soreness in my throat and looked him in the eye.

"We're not getting back together this time."

Ethan's hands paused on the controls.

My firm voice carried through the mic and into his friends' ears.

His childhood sweetheart, Natalie, was the first to laugh out loud.

"Sweetie, why do you keep saying things you'll just have to take back? Everyone knows you're head over heels for Ethan."

"Guys, why don't we make another bet?"

"Let's see how long Ethan and his girlfriend last apart this time."

The group in the game burst out laughing.

"I'm in!"

"I bet seven days. Last time and the time before were both seven days." There was mockery in the laugh of a man I barely knew.

Someone else was enjoying the show. "Natalie, how many days are you betting? I'll follow your lead."

"After all, Ethan never lets you lose."

Ethan never let Natalie lose.

Everyone in their circle knew that.

Natalie clicked her tongue. "Following my lead? Sure. This time I'm betting ten days."

The mockery in the living room didn't let up.

The man on the couch said nothing.

I smiled, my voice hardening.

"Since everyone's betting, I'll join in too."

"I bet forever."

The words hung in the air.

Ethan impatiently quit the game and tossed his phone on the table.

"It's just that I forgot to pick you up, isn't it? Do you really have to embarrass me in front of my friends?"

"Wren, what exactly are you making a scene about?"

The grievances of the past were too many to count.

I took half a step back.

"Breaking up. You think I'm joking with you?"

"Wren!" Ethan got up from the couch, raising his voice at my name.

But when our eyes met, he saw that mine were red.

He froze for a moment, then sighed.

"This time it's my fault. I'm sorry."

"Next time, I definitely won't forget... Forgive me just this once, okay?"

Even though he'd admitted he was wrong, irritation kept churning in his eyes.

A slap, followed by a piece of candy.

It worked for Ethan every single time.

But this time, the slap hurt.

I no longer believed his fake apology. I pointed at the door.

"Get out."

"Get out of my apartment."