Chapter 1: Snakes in the Sheets

Jason Carter’s love for snakes means our apartment always smells faintly of cedar shavings and reptile heat lamps. Sometimes, I nearly launch myself onto the nearest chair every time one slithers past—like when I spot a tail darting out from under his bed or peeking from his hoodie pocket. As his fiancée, I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been scared to tears. But Jason just grins, a teasing glint in his eyes. “Playing the damsel in distress, huh?” he says, then winks, like he’s auditioning for an old Hollywood movie.

I’ve tried everything—deep breaths, late-night Google searches for 'how to stop being afraid of snakes,' even letting the pet store guy drape a corn snake around my neck. Still, my heart goes into overdrive whenever Jason’s snakes are near. It’s like running in circles with no exit.

Then, one afternoon, a girl breezes into our lives—Brooke. She walks in like she owns the place, totally unfazed by the reptiles. I still remember the first time I saw a snake—at a summer camp in Ohio, I screamed so loud the counselor thought I’d seen a ghost. Brooke, on the other hand, picks up Jason’s little black snake like it’s a fluffy kitten. Suddenly, she’s in Jason’s room every spare moment, letting his snake curl around her wrist, laughing at something only he can say.

That was it. My heart squeezed so tight I could barely breathe. Was I really about to run away from my own engagement because of a snake? I felt like the world’s worst contestant on The Bachelor. I started packing, folding my favorite jeans into my duffel, ready to break off our engagement and make a dramatic escape. That’s when, as if out of nowhere, these weird scrolling comments flashed across my vision:

[Yeah, girl, run! Don’t let that bad snake get you tangled up.]

[Hahaha, is the guy out of his mind? After all these years, she’s still terrified of snakes—she’s never gonna shed her skin.]

[Am I the only one who wants to see the sweet girl’s eyes glaze over when the out-of-control guy pounces on her?]

I stiffened, glancing around as chills raced up my arms. My chest felt tight. Was I hallucinating, or did my brain just turn into a TikTok livestream?

When I spun around, suitcase in hand, Jason was already there, door closed behind him, his voice low and teasing: “Packing up? Planning to run away?”