LILY
I didn’t understand how fast something could spread until it became about me, and by the time I got back to my room, it was already everywhere.
Not whispers anymore. Not speculation. It had turned into something solid, something people could hold onto and pass around, something they could believe without ever asking me a single question. I shut the door behind me and leaned against it, my fingers tightening around my phone as the headline stared back at me like it had been carved into my skin.
Star Player Alex Takes Gap Year After Girlfriend’s Infidelity.
My throat tightened, and I shook my head slowly, even though there was no one there to argue with. “That’s not what happened,” I muttered, but the words felt weak the moment they left my mouth.
It didn’t matter what actually hap
