I chased the golden boy, Ethan Reed, for a solid two years.

His friends never thought much of me.

Five years into our relationship, his old flame came back to town.

His childhood buddy, Jake, told me with a smirk, clearly enjoying it.

"Chloe's back, you know. Kinda surprising someone's still keeping her spot warm."

So, right there, with Chloe watching, I asked Ethan to marry me.

Ethan just said, "Don't be dramatic."

...

Chloe was back.

Ethan's best buddy, Jake, told me, practically gloating.

He always thought I wasn't good enough for Ethan, and he made sure I knew it, every chance he got.

Ethan and Chloe were childhood sweethearts; everyone figured they were meant to be.

I tried to sound tough. "So what? Ethan's my boyfriend now. We've been together five years. Maybe you should get with the program."

Jake just sneered at me.

"Why do you think you even got a shot with Ethan in the first place? Why do you think he's never talked about marrying you?"

"Look at yourself. You're nothing special, a dime a dozen. You latched onto the rich kid, thinking you'd hit the jackpot, huh? Well, the real princess is back."

It was no secret in their circle that Ethan used to be into Chloe; they even dated for a bit in high school.

Then Chloe dumped him, went abroad for college, fell for some guy over there, and got married and had a kid.

And me? I chased Ethan for two years in college. Everyone knew he had me wrapped around his finger.

We'd been together five years, and for Ethan, I tried to fit into their world, but his friends still looked down their noses at me.

Ethan was generous with money, but emotionally, I was always the one making the effort.

Sometimes I wondered if he even really loved me that much.

And now, the one that got away, Chloe, was back.

Ethan and I had a fight.

Not because of Chloe, but because I just couldn't take Jake's constant digs anymore.

Ethan just brushed it off.

It was the first time I'd ever really lost my temper with Ethan.

At first, he looked confused.

Then he sat back on the sofa, crossed his legs, and smirked.

"Lily, what exactly do you want me to yell at him for, for you?"

That same condescending attitude again.

"You're always on their side. I'm the only outsider here."

I knew I wouldn't get anywhere with him, so I stormed back to my room and slammed the door.

Ethan got mad too and didn't talk to me after that.

After all, I was always the one smoothing things over; I’d never really stayed mad at him.

Ethan didn't come into the bedroom all night.

I buried my face in the covers and couldn't help but cry.

Ethan, you jerk, I don't want to be with you anymore…

News of our fight reached Jake pretty quickly, and boy, was he thrilled.

In his eyes, I was the evil side character, and Ethan was the golden boy he couldn't wait to see dump me.

He happily told Ethan that Chloe was back, divorced, and had a four-year-old son with her.

That's right, the year Chloe got married overseas was when Ethan finally said yes to me.

At Chloe’s welcome-home dinner, all their mutual friends were there, and so was I.

Chloe was still bubbly and cute; you’d never guess she’d had a kid.

And next to her sat an adorable little mixed-race boy.

If the boy hadn't been mixed-race, I’d have seriously wondered if he was Ethan’s.

Jake was the first to speak up.

"Our girl Chloe is finally back! We've all missed you like crazy."

Everyone chimed in, saying how much they’d missed Chloe.

Chloe smiled and looked at me.

"You must be Lily, Ethan's girlfriend, right? Hi! I'm an old friend of Ethan's. We haven't officially met."

I just nodded, not really knowing what to say.

I was so wary of her, but she greeted me so casually, which made me feel even weirder.

Ethan smiled at her too.

"Long time no see, Chloe."