6 After the engagement party , my family arranged for me to intern at the domestic branch of My mom mused about the future . " You two will take care of the core operations , and your My dad playfully told me to " keep an eye on my mom ," lest Mrs. Sterling " steal her away . " ... Carrying these expectations , I boarded the plane back home with an amused smile . our company . As he saw me off , Julian took one of the chimes from his wind chime and placed it in my palm . He was always reserved and polite with me , Yet , he couldn't resist . The little chime was a subtle way for him to tell me he'd miss me . Months later , Senior Year Class A at our old high school was a thing of the past . r and I will handle the external relations . " When my friends back home sent me that graduation photo where I wasn't present it felt like a lifetime as p p . < When my friends back home sent me that graduation photo where I wasn't present , it felt like a lifetime ago . In the picture , Liam Thorne and Chloe Davis stood side - by - side , a seemingly perfect match . My gaze swept over their smiling faces , my heart no longer feeling the tremor it once had . My friend sounded a bit annoyed . " We were so sad when you left , but now we think it was for the best ." " You have no idea , Chloe , emboldened by Liam's protection , was a complete terror in class ." " After you left , she even spread rampant rumors about you , and the rest of us couldn't debunk them fast enough . " " And Liam , that useless guy , was blind , always protecting Chloe . I mean , others not knowing is one thing , but you two had over a decade of history , and he just let her get away with it ? He even egged her on ? " I sighed , typing back , " I'm afraid Liam probably believes I'm not a good person anyway . " I subtly frowned . " I remember Chloe used to be too timid to act so out of line . " My friend seemed to jump at the chance to vent , sending five or six screenshots . " Here , take a look . " They were all screenshots of Chloe's SnapChat posts . First one : * Thank goodness for you , my prom night didn't end up as messy as a regular person's . * Two accompanying pictures . One showed Liam Thorne bending down , meticulously putting on her high heels . The other appeared to be a group photo with classmates , but ' accidentally ' showed a corner with me , sweating profusely and looking utterly exhausted . I thought back . Oh , that day I was in charge of hosting the student council event . It must have taken Chloe a lot of effort to catch my disheveled state . Second one : " He said to forgive his helplessness , that next time , he'd get me a new bear. * * My boy , I'll never blame you for arrogant people . * The accompanying picture was a familiar limited edition teddy bear , the kind that didn't come with its own special gift box . Third one : * His self - control is always his best quality . * * My boy , after graduation , don't let the aromatherapy diffuser be the only one to keep me company as I sleep . * The accompanying picture showed a corner of an indigo aromatherapy diffuser . I scrolled quickly , annoyed , until my finger stopped abruptly at the last one . The caption was : * I'm completely yours now . And the accompanying image was ... a bloody bedsheet . My friend's message came through : " She'd been subtly degrading you in her ins posts , portraying you as the ' other woman ' and creating the illusion that she and Liam had always " She'd been subtly degrading you in her Ins posts , portraying you as the ' other woman ' and creating the illusion that she and Liam had always been in a secret romance . " " She never expected you wouldn't care , hahahahaha . " Nord twat an HNEESBON , really ; Llam just wanted to enjoy double them from both me and Chloe . " After graduation , she even drugged Liam . " My heart jumped . " She went that far ? " My friend's tone was indignant . " Yeah , the whole thing became common knowledge , and with a ' legitimate ' relationship , that's when Chloe really got brazen ." " But honestly , posting a bedsheet picture is so tacky . I bet Liam is regretting it big time ." I reassured her , " Thanks for debunking those rumors for me . Don't worry , if anything similar happens again , I'll just get my lawyers involved ." After a casual chat , my friend finally sent a message : " It's good that you've truly moved on . Liam's not worth it . " I paused , then typed : " Yeah . " It turns out , I really felt nothing anymore . Liam Thorne , who I once sincerely loved , was now just gossip fodder . Time truly is the best healer .