Chapter 18
I clicked into the group chat and saw that one of the girls had posted an Instagram screenshot from around 1 AM.
Everyone was losing their minds in the comments.
[OMG the cheer captain just went Instagram official… how many couples have hard–launched since graduation?]
[That girl’s family has serious money–that Cartier watch alone probably costs more than my tuition.]
[The soft launch is immaculate. Everyone’s really going feral post–graduation.]
It was a screenshot of Harper’s Instagram post.
I clicked on the image, hating myself for it.
The photo showed a guy’s profile sleeping on pristine white hotel sheets, golden hour light streaming across his face.
Even from that angle, I’d recognize those features anywhere.
The slope of his nose, the way his hair fell across his forehead–details I’d memorized over eighteen years.
My chest felt like it was caving in.
Harper’s caption was textbook relationship soft launch:
“I walked ninety–nine steps toward you with nothing but blind faith. Thank God you finally took that last step toward me. This moment–pure happiness. ?”
The post was exploding with likes and thirsty comments, Harper responding with winky faces and heart emojis.
All of Tanner’s boys had liked it.
My blood turned to ice water.
So they’d actually done it.
While Tanner was on the phone last night, voice honey–sweet as he tried to manipulate me into following him to Atlanta, he was already in bed with the girl he’d chosen over me.
The sheer audacity was breathtaking.
My hands were shaking so hard I could barely hold my phone. Rage and heartbreak warred in my chest–I wanted to scream and throw up and disappear all at once.
But underneath the devastation was a twisted sense of vindication.
Thank God I hadn’t changed my application.
Four years of watching them play happy couple while I tagged along like their pathetic mascot would have destroyed what was left of my dignity.
I locked my phone and threw it across the room, forcing myself to stop scrolling through their digital love story.
I was still sitting in the wreckage of my feelings when my doorbell rang.
When I opened the door, Tanner was standing there, looking like he’d slept in his clothes.
