A Childhood Promise, A Cold Comeback Chapter 02

A Childhood Promise, A Cold Comeback Chapter 02

The pain came late—a fine, persistent ache that settled deep in my chest.

I shouldn’t have felt this devastated. Betrayal by a friend was something I could have shrugged off.

But Lucas had been the one to blurred that line first—the fragile boundary between friendship and everything else.

The day we’d decided to transfer together, he’d taken me to a bar to celebrate our “escape.” The dim, hazy lights wrapped around us, and as I stared at the boy I’d loved in secret for years, my mind went fuzzy.

So when he leaned in to kiss me, I didn’t pull away.

Years of repressed feelings exploded in an instant. Overwhelmed, I’d blurted out, “Lucas… what does this make us?”

Lucas had pressed a soft kiss to my forehead, his tone fond. “Silly girl—what do you think we are?”

Our friends in the booth had erupted in cheers, the mood as electric as the flutter in my chest.

Just two days later, I’d heard him shatter that fragile hope with his own words.

A laugh escaped me, but tears streamed down my face unchecked.

That evasive, teasing reply—had it all been a calculated lie? Just another tactic to get rid of me for Coco’s benefit?

The wind chime in my bedroom tinkled, its sound drying my tears drop by drop.

My broken heart slowly pieced itself back together.

Lucas had been wrong about us.

He was merely a Sullivan bastard, while I was the Bennett heiress. We were never meant to be—not because of proximity, but because of pedigree.

Tears fell onto the transfer application, smudging the ink into an indecipherable blur.

But it didn’t matter. If this one was ruined, I’d just print a clean copy.

The Bennetts always had alternatives.

I reprinted the form, but when I reached the “School of Transfer” section, I picked up the phone and called my mom, “Mom, that overseas high school you suggested before—which one was it?”

“Yeah, I’m going alone.”

The wind chime sang out, bright and clear, as if celebrating with me.

I closed my eyes, and for the first time, Lucas’s face didn’t fill my mind.

Instead, I saw a man with features eerily similar to Lucas’s, yet sharper, more striking—smiling at me with the same certainty he’d had two years prior, “Hazel Bennett, you’ll choose me over Lucas someday. Mark my words.”

Back then, I’d thought he was joking.

Now, I whispered to myself: Lucas Sullivan, I don’t want you anymore.

I finished the new application and exhaled, a calm I hadn’t felt in weeks settling over me.

A knock on the door jolted me.

I froze. I lived alone in this house—only one person knew the passcode…

I opened the door, and sure enough, Lucas stood there.

His voice was as soft and warm as ever. “Haze, you haven’t shown up to say goodbye to everyone. I was worried.”

I kept my tone even. “My stomach’s upset. I’m not going.”

I moved to shut the door, but out of the corner of my eye, I spotted an unexpected figure.

Coco Mitchell huddled timidly beside Lucas, flinching the second our eyes met.

Lucas’s attention snapped to her, and he pulled her protectively into his side, “Haze, you scared her.”

There it was again—Coco’s act of playing the fragile victim, as if I were some monster out to get her.

Even though I’d done nothing.

My face cooled. “I’ve told you before—I don’t like having strangers in my house.”

Lucas frowned, clearly annoyed. “Coco’s not a stranger.”

“She came along because she cares about you, too.”

Before I could argue, Coco’s eyes welled up with tears, “Hazel, I’m so sorry. I know you’ve always looked down on me, but I shower every day—I promise.”

She sniffled, adding in a trembling voice, “I won’t get your house dirty…”

Lucas’s jaw tightened as he glared at me, his voice sharp. “Haze, Coco may not have money, but she’s not some dirty secret. I’m disappointed in you.”

Coco tugged gently at Lucas’s sleeve, her tone overly forgiving, “Lucas, it’s fine—don’t fight because of me…”

She wiped her eyes, forcing a brave, wounded smile, “After all, she said you two are childhood sweethearts. I could never compete with that…”

“Don’t talk like that,” Lucas cut in, cupping her face tenderly. “You’re one of a kind. Nobady compares.”

He turned back to me, his expression icy. “Coco’s upset. I’m taking her home.”

“Think about your behavior. And don’t forget to get that transfer application stamped.”

I did think about it—about how blind I’d been to his true colors.

Then I went to change the door’s passcode.

The weight in my chest lifted, if only for a moment.