Five Years of Secret Love, He Married My Best Friend Chapter 02

Five Years of Secret Love, He Married My Best Friend Chapter 02

The words landed.

Rage. Disbelief. Absurdity.

And heartbreak. A betrayal so complete it hollowed me out. A hot sting flooded my eyes. My limbs went numb.

My mom came out with a salad bowl. She caught my face. Jumped in smooth.

“Harper’s been driving all day. She’s wiped out. We won’t keep you two from the wedding details. We’ll all catch up after next week.”

Connor looked at me. Something deep and unreadable.

Then he pulled Maddie close and walked out of my house.

My mom actually believed my never-seen boyfriend had died in a car crash.

After they left, worry settled into the lines around her eyes. She poured me a bourbon. Kept soothing me.

“Sweetheart, you’re young. Long road ahead. This just means God had other plans for him. You’re tough. You’ll meet someone better.”

I looked at her worried face.

Forced a thin smile.

“I’m fine, Mom. Just jet-lagged. I need to crash.”

I grabbed my duffel and pushed open the door to my childhood bedroom.

A corkboard hung on the wall.

Center spot. A Polaroid.

Senior year of high school. I was drowning in AP classes and SAT prep. Kept thinking about quitting the Ivy League dream. Just go to some state school.

Connor found out.

He was never the type to bother. But he stayed up nights building me a cram guide. Calculus. Physics. Everything.

He tossed it at me. Pure swagger. “Listen, dummy. If you don’t get an A after my notes, pretend you don’t know me on campus. Embarrassing.”

With the notes, he gave me that Polaroid.

Taken at the baseball field. His arm around me.

Marker scrawled at the bottom. Ivy League bound. See you at the top.

I didn’t let him down. Didn’t let myself down either.

We both got into Northwestern.

I thought of what he’d said in my kitchen.

I walked over. Pulled the Polaroid off the corkboard.

Tore it in half. Dropped it in the trash.

I looked around.

My clean desk. A photo of the three of us.

College spring break. First trip with no parents. Rented a car. Drove to Daytona Beach. Wild and free.

I stood in the middle.

Connor and Maddie leaned in toward me on both sides. Unconsciously.

I still remember.

On that beach. Taking that photo.

Maddie shoved me toward Connor. Leaned close to my ear. Whispered.

“This is your chance to close the distance. Don’t blow it. Frat row’s crawling with hot girls. If you don’t make a move, some blonde will snatch him.”

I closed my eyes. Breathed deep.

Swept the frame into the trash.

If they wanted to trample our love and our friendship like garbage.

Why would I hold on?

I tore through my room. Pulled out everything connected to them.

Maddie’s Gossip Girl book series she’d loaned me.

Every piece of jewelry Connor had given me each Valentine’s Day.

And the confession letter I’d written at eighteen. Folded in my senior yearbook. Never brave enough to tear out and hand to him.

Night fell.

I choked down a few bites of dinner. Hauled a heavy garbage bag out the door.

“You’re dragging that heavy bag. Looks exhausting. Why didn’t you text me?”

That familiar rasp drifted from the driveway.

I turned.

Connor. Gray hoodie. Hands in his pockets. Leaning against his Ford F-150. Watching me with that lazy look.

Back in the apartment, I was lazy. Hated taking out the trash in winter.

Every time it was my turn.

I’d pout and wheedle until Connor did it.

Especially these last five years. After we made it official.

“Not talking. Still sulking?”

He raised an eyebrow. Walked toward me. Reached for my hand like he always did.

I stepped back. Hard.

A flash of shock crossed his face. His brows pulled tight.

I didn’t dodge his searching stare.

My voice came out ice.

“The whole town knows you’re getting married. Any contact between us now is inappropriate. Don’t reach out anymore. Unless it’s absolutely necessary.”

Connor laughed. Didn’t take my warning seriously at all.

“The marriage is just a loophole. Insurance. I’m helping Maddie. Once her dad’s stable, we’re getting divorced. Other people don’t get it. You do. Why are you making this a thing?”