Chapter 1 Everyone at school agreed that Jace Carter and Sloane Lane were the perfect couple. Jace was the undisputed heartthrob of the school-tall, long-legged, and dangerously handsome. He always wore a sleek, black windbreaker that made him look cool and untouchable. That aloof attitude, paired with his striking looks, made girls fall for him like moths to a flame. But he only ever had eyes for one person- Sloane. They grew up together. When they were one, they reached for each other during the baby milestone ceremony. At seven, their families joked about a childhood engagement. At fourteen, Jace gave her a love letter. At sixteen, he confessed his feelings. At eighteen, they promised to apply to the same university. Everything was going according to that perfect story-until senior year, when a transfer student named Marissa Smith joined their class. During the school's buddy program, the homeroom teacher deliberately assigned Marissa to Jace. He even warned him, "If you won't take this seriously, don't expect to keep dating Sloane on campus." Usually indifferent, Jace had no choice but to accept. At first, it was just helping her catch up in class and showing her around. But things started to shift. Marissa said she was craving cake from a popular bakery across town. Jace skipped evening study to get it for her. She posted about feeling down online. Jace spent the whole night on the phone with her. And once, when she was having painful cramps, Jace climbed over the school wall to buy her hot cocoa. Sloane got upset. They fought. She began bringing up the idea of breaking up. The first time, it happened over the phone. Jace went silent for a long while, then all she could hear was the sound of his labored breathing. It was pouring that night. He ran to her place, stood outside completely soaked, and kept calling her name in a hoarse voice, begging for forgiveness. The second time, he skipped class and waited for her outside her classroom all day. His eyes were bloodshot as he handed her a thick, messy letter-ugly handwriting but full of emotion-pleading with her to take him back. But as it happened more and more, he seemed to figure out her bottom line. She couldn't walk away. So his apologies came slower and grew more perfunctory. At first, he'd make up immediately. Then a day later. Then three. Then a week... Chapter 1 4.55% Until the ninety-ninth time. At the graduation dinner, Marissa mentioned wanting watermelon. Jace, without hesitation, scooped out the sweetest center slice and handed it to her-completely forgetting that Sloane, sitting right beside him, also loved the heart of the melon. Years of hurt and disappointment broke loose all at once. Sloane stared at that red slice and said in a terrifyingly calm voice, "Jace, we're breaking up." Jace paused, then lazily lifted his eyes to look at her. His tone carried a trace of impatience. "Again?" Sloane didn't reply. She grabbed her bag and walked out of the private room. This time, Jace didn't follow. He figured she was just being dramatic again. Give it a few days, she'd calm down and come back like always. He even stayed behind, laughing with the others as they teased Marissa into drinking. He helped her out by taking a few shots for her. But he didn't know-this time, she was serious. Her heart, wounded over and over again, was finally drained of its last bit of warmth and hope. The first thing she did after getting home was open her laptop. Without hesitation, she changed her college application. She deleted Northbridge University-the one she and Jace had agreed on-and replaced it with Southridge University, a thousand miles away. Then she started clearing out everything that reminded her of him. The limited-edition plushies he gave her, their couple bracelets, the notes with sweet little messages, thick stack of photos... Each item held a memory-some sweet, some painful-and now all unbearably heavy, the She stuffed everything into a large cardboard box. The next day, she carried the heavy box to Jace's house. Adam recognized her and brought her straight into the living room. Inside, Jace and Marissa were sitting side by side on the carpet, playing the newest console game. They were sitting close, and Marissa kept squealing and giggling. "Jace, you're amazing! I could never beat this level!" Sloane's eyes were immediately drawn to the oversized black T-shirt Marissa was wearing. Chapter 1 4.55% It was the limited edition piece Sloane had searched several malls to find for his birthday last year. Rek then, Jace had been overjoyed and spun her around a few times, whispering in her ear with warm breath, "Tm never taking this off." So this was what he meant by "every day"-casually lending it to another girl. Marissa seemed to notice her gaze and turned around. When she saw Sloane bolding the box, she feed wide, innocent smile. "Oh, hey Sloane! Jace invited me over. He made pasta, but I spilled juice everywhere. be lent me this. You don't mind, right?" Jace looked up lazily and gave her a passing glance, fingers still tapping the controller, "What are you doing here? I thought we broke up." Seeing how utterly unbothered he was, Sloane felt a wave of bitter self-mockery rise in her chest. She thought of the first time they broke up-how he'd stood outside in the rain begging her to stay She thought of how his apologies came later and later. She thought of the last time, when he simply texted, "Stop being dramatic. I'll take you out for stea tonight." He had tested her limits over and over, and her forgiveness had only made him more careless, But he didn't know-even the strongest camel would collapse under one final straw. This ninety-ninth breakup, she really meant it. there are Sloane took a deep breath and forced down the lump in her throat. "Exactly because we broke up, some things of yours I want to return." Jace rubbed his forehead, clearly annoyed. "If you're gonna be like this, just throw it all out. Don't bother bringing it over." "Fine." Sloane nodded without hesitation. She walked over to the large trash bin, lifted the box filled with memories, and dumped it in without looking back. hit the bottom with a dull thud.