I promised to transfer schools with my bullied boyfriend, but the day before we were supposed to finalize the papers, he backed out.

His friend joked, Seriously, dude? All that fake bullying just to get Aria Blackwood to leave?

But youre her boyfriend. Are you really going to let her go to a new school all alone?

Liam Thorne shrugged, his voice indifferent. Its just another school in the same city. How far could it be?

Im tired of her clinging to me all the time. This works out perfectly.

I stood outside that door for a long time that day, eventually choosing to turn and leave.

But on my transfer application, I secretly changed the name of the local high school to the international boarding school my parents had always pushed me towards.

Everyone seemed to forget, he and I were always worlds apart.

1

The moment I heard the truth, my heart violently shuddered.

For the past month, Liam had been ganged up on and falsely accused too many times to count.

I tried my best to protect him from harm, but there were always slip-ups.

Finally fed up, I suggested he transfer schools.

Liam had just been drenched in ice water, his handsome face pale and pitiful. He helplessly clutched my hand.

Aria, Im scared to go to a new environment alone.

Liam and I had practically grown up together. We'd been walking to and from school together since kindergarten, a routine that hadn't changed in over a decade.

Besides, I secretly had a crush on him.

So, in a rush of emotion, I promised him, Dont be afraid. Wherever you go, Ill go with you.

But only now did I realize that everything hed done was an elaborate charade just to get rid of me.

I couldnt help but wonder, did Liam Thorne really hate me *that* much?

The voices in the private room continued, Aria Blackwood is completely devoted to you, you know.

Arent you afraid shell fall for someone else if you send her to another school?

Her?

Liam scoffed, as if hed just heard the funniest joke in the world.

She dared to break up a group beating for me. She got beaten black and blue, didnt back down an inch, and you think shed change her mind about me?

Someone whispered, But what if she does? Aria Blackwood isn't the type to be pushed around.

Liams voice was lazy. Theres no what if. There are plenty of rich guys at this school. When have you ever seen her even look at anyone else?

His voice couldn't help but be tinged with contempt.

All she does is follow me around. Even a lapdog isnt as clingy as she is.

Harsh laughter filled the room, feeling like a slap across my face.

I wanted to leave, but my feet felt rooted to the spot, making me listen, and making me ache.

Someone clicked their tongue in surprise.

First time Ive seen someone actively push away a girl whos head over heels for them. I gotta hand it to you, man.

But if you dont like Aria Blackwood being so clingy, why dont you just tell her? Aria doesnt seem like the type to beg or chase you.

Liam tsked, growing impatient. Aria Blackwoods too assertive. If I just told her directly, it wouldnt be easy to get her to leave.

He changed the subject. Besides, Chloe gets so insecure and sad whenever she sees her. She only feels better when Im around.

For Chloes sake, I had no choice but to do this. Aria will just have to be inconvenienced for a while.

At that, everyone instantly understood.

Doing the math, Liam decided to fake being bullied exactly one week after Chloe Davis transferred to our school.

Someone laughed and cursed Liam. You sly dog, you fell for the sweet, innocent act the second she showed up?

But Chloe really is genuinely delicate and charming, with a fragile personality. Its only natural for a man to be attracted to her.

Not like Aria Blackwood. Her personality is so stern, always wearing a cold face and keeping everyone at arms length. Doesnt matter how pretty she is.

The unrestrained comments about me surged like waves, one after another, in the private room.

And Liam Thorne, who Id secretly liked for years, didn't stop them, didn't refute them, and even agreed with them now and then.

Standing outside the door, my heart sank heavily into an abyss, feeling empty and numb, yet aching with a dull pain.

For a moment, I wanted to open the door and loudly confront Liam.

Ask him why he lied to me.

Ask him if he ever felt a flicker of guilt or compassion, watching me get beaten for protecting him.

Ask him if he ever thought about our decade-plus friendship when he did all of this.

But then my mothers words echoed in my ears: *Dont do anything unnecessary.*

People dont just rot overnight.

I turned and left that private room.

2

A creeping ache, one I only fully registered later.

I wouldn't have been this upset normally; it would have just been a friend's betrayal, no big deal.

But that line, the one that kept us just friends, Liam was the first to cross it.

The day I decided to transfer schools with Liam, he took me to a bar to celebrate our freedom with a drink.

The dim, intimate lighting enveloped us. I looked at the person I had secretly liked for years, feeling a little dazed.

So, when he leaned in to kiss me, I didn't resist.

Years of suppressed feelings surged wildly to the surface.

Unable to control my emotions, I couldnt help but ask for confirmation, Liam, what are we now?

Liam affectionately kissed my forehead again. Silly girl, what other relationship could it be?

Cheers erupted in the private room, the atmosphere electric, mirroring the burgeoning passion within me.

I never imagined that just two days later, Id hear Liam himself shatter my one-sided affection.

I smiled, but tears streamed down my face uncontrollably.

So that ambiguous rhetorical question, that was also just Liam trying to trick me and get me to leave quickly for Chloe, right?