CHAPTER 27
I no longer had any.
Not for Chen.
Not for Steph.
Not for anyone who thought I could be broken twice the same way.
—
The next morning, Chen texted.
Thinking about you. Want to see you later?
I replied.
Sure.
Let him come.
Let him smile.
Let him think he still had a chance.
I wasn’t done yet.
Not even close.
I didn’t cry.
Not when I saw them.
Not when I got home.
Not when I replayed the way Tina tucked her hair behind her ear and leaned into Chen like he was hers.
I just sat at the edge of my bed and stared at my wall like it might rearrange itself into answers.
It didn’t.
So I wrote another note:
This isn’t about heartbreak. This is about exposure.
And then I peeled off every note from the mirror and stuck them into a clean journal.
Page one: Chen. Tina.
