Chapter 10: Public Shame

I barely slept. The next morning, Jess sent a screenshot, fuming:

“Ava, good thing you ghosted Ryan. I take it all back!”

I opened the screenshot. MIT’s confession page: someone asked if Ryan had a girlfriend. The top comment: “No, but he likes a girl from his old high school. Y’all have no chance.”

Replies flooded in:

“Is this childhood sweethearts or a long con?”

“As expected, all the good ones get snatched early.”

Someone posted a candid: under a streetlamp, Ryan stood with a girl in a white dress, the hem fluttering as she leaned in.

I zoomed in—Chloe. The knot in my chest tightened. I shut the screenshot, stood up, staring at the wall.

Jess’s voice broke in, worried. “Ava, you good?”

I forced a smile. “Don’t worry. Ryan and I—never happened.”

But I sat at my desk, tracing circles on the wood, wondering why it still hurt when I’d sworn I was over him.