Chapter 1
Anna's POV:
My boyfriend, Declan Howard, had a go-to trick that never missed: Every time we fought, he'd cozy up to my best friend, Elise Ford, betting I'd get jealous and cave first.
On our fifth anniversary, Elise video-called me again.
Declan stood in front of a high-end jewelry counter and fastened an expensive diamond necklace around her neck.
"I always made you take her hand-me-downs before. Today, I'm buying you new ones."
They wore loud matching couple's outfits, pressed so close together that there wasn't a sliver of space between them.
Declan made a point of glancing at the camera, his eyes gleaming with smug certainty that he could play me.
Elise taunted me, "Anna, just swallow your pride. If you don't hold on to such a great boyfriend, I might steal him away!"
Back then, the more I acted out, the smugger Declan got. He took it all as proof that I cared about him.
Eventually, I wised up.
Every time he pulled this disgusting stunt on me, I'd pick one of the gifts he'd given me and re-gift it to Elise as payback.
Handbags, perfumes, watches...
Instead of getting angry, Declan only grew more pleased with himself.
He treated it as a cute little game between us that proved I couldn't leave him, and saw it as my roundabout way of giving in.
When I said nothing, Declan snatched the phone from her, a teasing smirk curling at the corner of his mouth.
"Cat got your tongue? What piece of junk are you going to send over to apologize this time?"
I calmly raised my right hand and held up all five fingers.
"Since today is special, I'll give her the engagement ring."
Declan's scoff came through the speaker.
"Anna Butler, you've grown a spine.
"When I proposed last week, you were so moved when you accepted the ring. Now you're willing to give away the engagement ring you worked so hard to get?"
Elise tugged at his sleeve from the side.
"Declan, ease up a little. Anna's just saying that out of anger. Don't take it seriously."
The matching pink outfit Elise was wearing on screen was one I'd given her last month.
"I'm dead serious. The ring was sized to fit Elise's ring finger anyway. It's perfect for her."
Declan's face darkened instantly.
"I already explained that, didn't I? The sales associate mixed up the sizes. Are you really still holding a grudge over that?"
I didn't respond.
Declan let out a cold snort.
"Fine, keep putting on this act. Let's see how long you can keep it up."
The call ended, and I opened the local delivery app.
While I waited for someone to accept my request, a text message popped up at the top of my screen.
It was a verification reminder for amusement park tickets.
Reminder: Two VIP all-access passes, already scanned and used to enter the park.
Then I saw Declan's latest post.
In the photo, he and Elise were sitting in the cabin of a couples' Ferris wheel.
Elise was grinning at the camera and throwing up a peace sign, while Declan tilted his head to look at her, his hand hovering loosely around her waist.
The caption was just a few words: Taking Elise to relive her childhood.
I knew Declan had posted it just to rub it in my face.
I had grabbed those two tickets two weeks in advance.
My original plan was to wait until the Ferris wheel reached the top, then pull out my pregnancy test results and show them to him.
I was going to tell him we were finally going to have a family of our own.
This wasn't the first time Declan had pulled this kind of stunt to force me to back down.
The first time we had a huge blowout fight, neither of us would budge an inch.
Then Elise posted a photo of a candlelit dinner on i********:.
The man sitting across from her was wearing the limited-edition watch I had given Declan.
I was so furious that I was shaking. I stormed straight to the restaurant to confront them.
But Declan pulled me right into his arms, grinning smugly.
"That's what you get for ignoring me for two weeks. If I hadn't pulled this little trick, would you ever have bothered to come see me?"
Elise shrugged helplessly next to him.
"Anna, don't be mad at me, okay? Declan forced me to go along with it. As long as you two make up, my job is done. I'll bow out now."
From then on, this became Declan's go-to trick.
Every time we fought, he would deliberately stage intimate moments with Elise.
He used it to rile me up and force me to be the first to break the ice.
Afterward, he would brush it off with a light explanation.
"All that closeness with her was just for show. You're the only one in my heart. The angrier you get, the more it proves you care about me."
The doorbell interrupted my thoughts. A courier stood outside my door.
"Hello, ma'am. Did you request a pickup?"
I nodded and handed him the box with the engagement ring inside.
I also showed him the screenshot of the Ferris wheel location tag from i********:.
"Please deliver it to this address."
The courier took the box and confirmed the recipient information.
"Okay, the recipient is Mr. Howard, right?"
I shook my head.
"The recipient is Ms. Ford. When you hand it to her, please wish them a lifetime of happiness for me."
