Chapter 1

Elowen's POV

I pushed through the crowd at the resort garden, everyone holding up phones to record Jake's big moment. People were whispering and staring at me.

"Oh my God, is that Elowen?"

"She's actually here. I thought she'd chicken out."

"This is going to be so awkward."

I kept walking. They all thought I was here to make some crazy scene, throw myself at Jake and beg him not to pick Madison. Three days ago, yeah, I totally would have done that. Three days ago I was still the pathetic girl who thought Jake Miller could fix my shitty life.

This confession was something Jake had carefully planned out. He specifically chose to do it during our group graduation trip with a bunch of friends. The trip was supposed to last about two weeks, and there were like a dozen of us who rented two villas here for our last hurrah before graduation. Jake picked day 7 of our trip to confess to Madison, which is right now. Madison is a pretty rich girl, and she's actually a really good person. I can even understand why Jake would go after her.

More people crowded around Jake's setup. Rose petals everywhere, string lights, some violin player making it all romantic and cheesy.

Madison stood there in this gorgeous white dress. She looked perfect, which made sense because she basically was perfect. Rich family, trust fund, everything handed to her on a silver platter. Everything I could never have.

Jake is standing there holding roses, his hair looks perfect, his smile was that cocky grin that used to make me melt. Now I just felt... nothing.

I pushed between two girls who were filming everything. One of them saw me coming.

"Drama incoming," she whispered.

But there wasn't going to be any drama. Not today.

Jake was talking to Madison when he saw me. He stumbled over his words for a second, then got that smug look on his face. He thought I was here to ruin everything, make some big scene so he could reject me in front of everyone.

That's what he was thinking. That's what they were thinking.

"Jake," I called out.

The crowd turned to look at me like I was the main event at a circus. Madison's face showed a flicker of concern, but Jake just looked... amused. Like he was enjoying this.

Of course he was.

"I came to give you something," I said, reaching into my purse.

My fingers found the delicate chain, the one he'd given me for my seventeenth birthday. Back when I thought it meant something. Back when I thought I meant something to him.

The necklace was beautiful, I had to admit. A simple gold chain with a small diamond pendant. Nothing too expensive, Jake wasn't stupid enough to waste real money on his backup plan, but pretty enough to keep me hooked.

"Every girl needs diamonds," he'd said when he gave it to me, that crooked smile making my teenage heart flutter. "Even if they're small ones."

Even then, there had been something condescending in his tone. But I was so desperate for affection, so hungry for any scrap of love, that I'd worn it every single day since.

Until three nights ago.

Until that dream showed me exactly what my future looked like if I kept chasing after someone who saw me as nothing more than entertainment.

"I came to give you this back." I held up the necklace, letting it catch the dying sunlight.

Jake's expression shifted, confusion replacing amusement. This wasn't going according to his script. In his version of this story, I was supposed to be crying, begging, making a fool of myself so he could look like the generous prince, magnanimously choosing the better option.

"Elowen, what are you—"

"I won't be needing it anymore," I interrupted, stepping forward until I was close enough to drop the necklace into his free hand.

The crowd had gone silent. Even the violinist had stopped playing.

Jake stared at the necklace like he couldn't figure out what was happening. Then he looked at me and I saw him get pissed.

Yeah, how dare I mess up his perfect moment?

"Elowen, don't be stupid," he said in that voice he used when he thought he was being patient with me. "You're just upset. We'll talk later."

I wanted to laugh. Even now, when I was literally walking away from him, he couldn't believe I didn't want him anymore.

"There's nothing to talk about," I said. "Bye, Jake."

I turned around and started walking. People moved out of my way. Behind me, Jake was yelling my name, getting louder and more demanding.

"Elowen! Elowen, get back here! Don't you dare walk away from me!"

"This is just some game, right? It won't work!"

"You'll come crawling back! You always do!"

Those words should have destroyed me. Three days ago they would have sent me running back to apologize and beg for another chance. Now they just sounded... sad.

I kept walking, my head high, while whispers exploded behind me like fireworks.

I got back to my room when it was already dark. I could still hear the party going on, music, people laughing, having fun.

I kicked off my sandals and fell onto the bed. What I'd just done was starting to hit me. Jake Miller had been my whole world for ten years. But not because I actually liked him, but because he was supposed to be my way out.

Security. A place to belong. Someone to love me.

I was so fucking wrong.

When I was four, the Hartwells adopted me. Their biological daughter had gone missing at a playground. Little Alice Hartwell, three years old, with golden curls and bright blue eyes, just vanished into thin air while the nanny was taking a phone call.

I became the replacement. Alice and I didn't really look alike, but we were about the same age, so the grieving parents could at least temporarily pretend their family was whole again.

They didn't love me, they were just pretending they still had a daughter who never left. I couldn't wrap my head around this weird idea, but I was only four, so I just had to play my part.

Then when I turned sixteen, Alice came back. They completely gave up on me. Before I went to college, I even heard them talking about sending me back to some distant relative. But maybe because I was always chasing after Jake back then, they thought I might be useful for some kind of arranged marriage, so they ended up keeping me around. Finding out about that just made me panic even more.

That's when Jake became everything to me. He was popular, hot, from the right kind of family. If he picked me, it meant I was worth something. It meant I belonged somewhere.

But Jake knew I was adopted. He knew how desperate I was, and he used it against me. He'd be sweet when I tried to pull away, cold when I got too comfortable. Always keeping me close enough to hope but far enough away to hurt.

"You know I care about you, El," he'd say after ignoring me for days. "But you can't expect me to... you know. My parents have expectations."

I was such a fucking idiot.

Now I was lying in the dark, thinking about that dream again. The one that changed everything.

It felt so real. Way more real than any dream I'd ever had. I could remember every single detail. The freezing lake water when I fell in. The horrible stuff that happened after.

And Daniel, Jake's college roommate, and he came on this trip too.