2: 2

At seven the next morning, Jill posted a set of selfies from the suite balcony, wrapped in a full resort-style robe.

*Sunshine, the ocean, and my dear classmates. Thank you all for coming on my graduation trip, and thank you for taking care of me these four years.*

The group chat filled up in seconds, everyone piling on.

*Thanks for putting us up in the suite, Jilly!*

*+1*

……

The whole class just assumed the upgrade was Jill's treat.

There was a knock at the door.

Julian stood outside, his face grim.

“Lena, I know I got a little sharp yesterday, but you know me. I've always cared about how you feel.”

“You've always been the sensible, easygoing one. Just let me use the card for now, so we can both keep a little dignity out of this, okay?”

My eyes went to the green-dial dive watch on his wrist.

Sophomore year, he'd said he needed to meet investors for his startup and couldn't look shabby doing it.

I'd spent ninety thousand on that watch as a birthday gift.

I'd pressed it into his hand along with the supplementary card off my black card, the one he'd been using ever since.

“Use it whenever you take someone to dinner, or want to buy one of those models you like. No more keeping accounts with me.” He'd wrapped his arms around me back then, all soft and tender,

“Lena's sly, sharp eye. Spotted a dark horse and decided to raise him up herself.”

But all Jill did was say the color of the dial really made her skin look fair.

Julian took it off without a second's hesitation and fastened it onto her wrist.

Let her wear it to the New Year's Eve ball and show it off all night long.

I hadn't liked it, sitting there in that moment, but Julian only said,

“Jill's just got a young girl's heart. Borrowing it for a bit won't hurt it. Don't be so stingy.”

Junior year, the club organized a camping trip out in the countryside.

That night I caught a chill, my fever climbing to a hundred and two, cold to the bone, and I reached out to Julian and my best friend Jill for help.

Only to find out that in the dead of night, Julian had taken a cab with Jill more than a dozen miles into the city to buy her some imported sunscreen.

“Jill forgot her sunscreen, and tomorrow's all outdoor stuff. The UV's strong, she'll get burned.”

“Take some fever medicine, be good. Sleep it off and you'll be fine.”

Last month, the eve of our graduation defense.

I'd pulled three all-nighters in a row correcting the data for Julian's model, writing a thirty-thousand-word business plan.

Jill said, eyes rimmed red, that her own work wasn't enough and she might not graduate on time.

Julian turned right around and swapped my name for Jill's on the project's credits.

The old me would have felt hurt too.

But by daybreak I'd have found every excuse in the book for Julian and Jill.

They didn't mean it.

Julian remembered every one of my periods, so how could he not love me?

Jill was just simple and sincere, I couldn't misjudge her...

Until I saw that terrifying glimpse of the future, and the fog in my head drained clean away.

In twenty-some years, I had never been this clear, this cold.

I looked at Julian's face and spoke.

“I checked the surf club's joint account.”

Something shifted in Julian's eyes.

“What did you check that for? That money's in there for renting the venue...”

I cut him off.

“Then why are there twelve transfers, a hundred and ten thousand in all, moved out in batches into Jill's personal bank card?”

Julian's face went stiff.

“Lena, you weren't wrong to check the books, but why didn't you ask me first?”

“The supplier Jill's dealing with is a private one. He doesn't take company transfers.”

“I fronted it for her just to lock in an equipment slot. I was going to tell you about it once we got back to New York.”

He took a step closer.

“We're a couple, and we're partners. You never used to be like this. Now you go digging through the accounts without a word.”

“Even Jill and I are starting to wonder. Is there any basic trust left in you at all?”

The bracelet burned hot again, and I saw Julian sitting in the interview studio of a finance channel.

The host asked him why things hadn't worked out with his college girlfriend.

He sighed for the camera.

*She was too calculating. Had to have every last cent accounted for.*

*In business, you can't keep a woman with no vision like that around you.*

I took a step back, and to Julian, who still wanted to talk his way out of it, I said,

“I think it's better to keep the accounts clear after all. At least from now on...”

3: 3

At ten that morning, Jill posted in the group chat, calling the whole class to the Bayfront duty-free shop in Miami.

【Come with me, everyone. I've got an insider VIP discount, I can get you all twenty percent off!】

I changed my clothes and tagged along with the crowd.

On the ground floor, in the luxury section, Jill stood ringed by a cluster of girls.

Slung over her shoulder was the pink Chanel Gabrielle bag I'd ordered in Paris two months ago.

Around her neck was my limited-edition Hermès scarf.

Even the lipstick she pulled out of the bag to touch up her makeup was the Tom Ford limited red she'd lifted from the drawer of my vanity.

One of the girls beside her gushed.

"Jilly, this whole look is so classy on you. That must've cost tens of thousands all together, right?"

Jill covered her mouth and laughed softly, her gaze sliding to me out of the corner of her eye.

"Well, a girl's only young for a few years. You have to be willing to invest in yourself."

Julian stood at her side, both hands loaded with the shopping bags of cosmetics she'd just bought.

Watching their backs, I thought of the start of freshman year.

Jill said she was going to the welcome party, and cried while she begged to borrow my custom evening gown, the one worth twenty thousand.

When she returned it the next day, the hem was ruined, crushed under a heel.

She took my hand and wheedled.

"Lena, I'm so sorry, there were just too many people last night. We're best friends, you'd never hold one dress against me, right?"

Junior year, my twenty-second birthday, Julian promised well in advance to take me to the Hamptons to see the ocean.

I'd booked the flights and the hotel.

Two hours before we were supposed to leave, Jill posted to her feed.

【My stomach hurts so bad I could die, I'm all alone and so scared.】

Julian canceled his flight.

He spent the whole night in the ER with Jill, who had nothing more than ordinary indigestion.

And left me alone at the airport, waiting until the plane took off.

Senior year, hunting for internships.

Jill changed the name on my project experience to hers and used it to apply for positions.

When I caught her, it was Julian who lectured me.

"Athena, you're talented, you'll land an offer anywhere. Jilly's family isn't as well off as yours. Just let her have this one!"

But I couldn't even count how many times I'd let her have things over the years.

Jill carried her two chosen jars of face cream to the register and turned to look at me.

"Lena, don't you have the black-tier loyalty card for this place? Hurry, take it out and swipe the discount for me."

Julian was looking at me too.

"Come on, there are people waiting behind us."

I stayed where I was, hands in my pockets, and didn't move a step.

"The loyalty card? I didn't bring it with me."

Jill bit her lip.

"It's fine, I'll just pay with a regular card……"

By six that evening, after a full day in the shop, everyone had bags in hand.

Jill stepped to the front of the group in her heels and cleared her throat.

"You're all worn out from shopping today. Dinner's on me tonight! Let's go to the Atlantis underwater restaurant for a seafood feast!"

4: 4

The whole class cheered.

Jill dropped a screenshot of the restaurant reservation into the group chat, and the price tagged on it, 【$1,888 per head】, had several of the guys gasping out loud.

She said with a smile,

“Order whatever you want, everyone. We only get one graduation trip, so the important thing is that we all enjoy ourselves!”

My phone buzzed. A private message from Julian.

“Athena, don't throw a fit at dinner tonight.”

“Jilly booked somewhere this expensive just to smooth things over. And here's the thing, you offer to pick up the tab yourself.”

“I'll put in a few good words for you in front of everyone and save your face.”

I finished reading, and hit delete.

Seven o'clock, the Atlantis underwater restaurant.

Sharks and manta rays drifted overhead through the aquarium glass.

Twenty-eight people filled three long tables pushed together, spread with Australian lobster, king crab, and top-grade caviar.

When we ordered, the waiter asked about dietary restrictions.

Julian answered for me on reflex:

“She's allergic to shellfish, so we should probably be careful.”

The thought had barely stirred in me when Jill piped up beside him, all sweetness:

“But lobster's the thing I most wanted, and I finally got a chance to treat everyone.”

Julian turned and glanced at me:

“Then just don't touch it later. We're all out here to have fun, Lena, so put up with it a little and don't kill the mood.”

I closed the menu:

“I'll order a bowl of plain porridge on its own, separate check. I'll pay for mine myself.”

Through dinner, Julian sat right across from me.

At one point, when Jill bent her head to sip her soup, I saw the jade good-luck charm hanging against her collarbone.

The one I'd gotten for Julian at the old cathedral, bowing every three steps up to it to pray for his protection.

Julian caught me looking and tugged guiltily at his collar.

“Jilly's been having a rough patch lately. I lent her the charm to ward off bad luck for a couple of days. Don't read into it.”

I pulled my eyes away, cold.

Once everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, the waiter came over with the bill:

“Good evening. Your total comes to $64,000, including the seafood set at $1,888 per person, a fifteen percent service charge, and drinks. Who'll be settling the check?”

Jill made a show of digging through her purse, then let out a little cry:

“Oh no, my phone's hit its transfer limit, and I can't pull the money out of my investment account…… Jules, cover it for me first, okay? I'll pay you back when we're home in New York.”

Julian glanced at me, and seeing I had no intention of pulling out a card, gritted his teeth and handed his credit card to the waiter:

“It's nothing. I've got it.”

The mobile card reader swiped once.

“Beep…… transaction declined.”

Julian froze for a second:

“Might be the signal. Try it again.”

“Beep…… transaction declined.”

A third try in a row.

The lively buzz of the class died down.

Every eye turned toward Julian.

The waiter checked the screen and spoke with a polite smile.

“Sir, I'm sorry, your card won't go through.”

“Do you have another card?”