Chapter 3

Joshua's expression darkened.

"Unbelievable. She even turn her phone off. She must have seen us all looking after you, gotten jealous, and now she's hiding on purpose."

"If we go looking for her, she'll be even more pleased with herself. We've spoiled her enough."

Caleb shut the car door without a second thought. "It's her birthday tonight. She'll definitely come back. Besides, where could she even hide? She came back on her own last time, didn't she?"

It took me a moment to remember the time he meant.

I'd been accepted into a graduate program without having to take the entrance exam, so I'd invited them all to celebrate.

I waited at the restaurant until it closed, but none of them showed up.

They didn't come home until the middle of the night, carrying a mango cake.

"Lily was in a bad mood, so we took her to see the blue wave."

"It's just grad school admission. It's not a big deal. Do you really need to show off like this?"

I was so hurt that I ran out of the house in the middle of the night and hid in our old secret hideout.

Whenever I used to get upset, I would hide there, and they would always come looking for me.

This time, no one came after me.

Instead, a drunk homeless man dragged me into the bushes. If a kind stranger out for a night run hadn't come along, I would have been done for.

I went home a mess. I thought they would at least ask me what had happened.

The living room was brightly lit, and the four of them were sitting on the rug watching a movie with Lily.

When they saw me come in, none of them even looked up. They just ignored me.

From then on, they were even more certain I couldn't live without them.

"It's Juliet's birthday today. Let's go pick out presents first."

Simon gave a faint smile. "Lily had a scare today too. Let's get her a few things to help her feel better."

They spent the next three hours patiently shopping with Lily at the mall.

Joshua bought Lily a limited-edition Jo Malone perfume, and planned to give me the free sample as my birthday present.

Caleb bought Lily the diamond bracelet she liked, and bought me nothing but a cheap pearl necklace.

Simon got Lily the luxury shoulder bag she'd had her eye on, and for me, he just grabbed a thermos off a shelf.

Their favoritism was so blatant.

As they waited at a red light, hundreds of messages suddenly flooded the swimming club's group chat.

Caleb sat with his legs crossed, scrolling on his phone.

"People in the chat are saying a cleaner thinks she saw a dead body in the deep end."

Joshua laughed. "Everyone loves to make a fuss. With so many people watching, how could anyone drown?"

Simon glanced at the screen, unconcerned. "From what the chat says, someone really did drown. No idea who was unlucky enough to die while swimming."

"If you can't swim, stay out of the deep end. It's disgusting when someone dies in there. We just renewed our membership."

None of them took the news seriously.

And none of them imagined that the unlucky person who drowned in the deep end was me.

Just as the car pulled up outside the restaurant, Joshua's phone rang. He tapped to answer through the car, and an unfamiliar woman's voice filled the car.

"Hello, is this Mr. Coleman? I’m from the management office at the swimming center."

"Our cleaner found a drowned body at the bottom of the deep end. We found a phone in the locker room, and you're listed as the emergency contact."

"Could you please confirm whether anyone who came with you is missing?"

Joshua's hands paused on the steering wheel. He instinctively glanced at Caleb and Simon in the back seat. "We're all together."

Caleb leaned forward. "Can you tell me the number?"

When the woman read out a familiar number, Caleb froze. "That really is my friend's phone. But she left a long time ago."

Simon frowned. "Juliet must be sulking again. She left her phone there on purpose to make us worry."