Ryan texted me a string of helpless emojis. I stared at his profile picture, which was a starry sky, distant and mysterious, and it made me think of his life experiences.

Since my laptop was right there, I typed Ryan’s name into the search bar. Nothing came up about him, but there was a flood of info on the Jennings family. That was when it struck me: the Jennings family was a huge deal. I started scrolling through the Jennings family’s history, and some of the coverage I wasn’t sure was true.

Just then, Ryan’s message popped up: [How long are you planning to stay single?]

I froze for a second and thought maybe I should start taking dating seriously. Ryan had made it pretty clear he was into me. Even if I wanted to play dumb, I couldn’t. But honestly, I only had some feelings for him, and I was curious about who he was. I’d never seriously thought about being in a relationship with him.

Since I wasn’t interested in taking things further with him, I needed to make a clean break and put an end to all the flirting. So, I grabbed my phone and replied: [Ryan, I have a boyfriend now.]

I wasn’t sure if that would make him give up on me right away. After all, I wasn’t the only girl he could go for. If he knew I had a boyfriend, maybe he’d chase someone else.

Ryan didn’t reply. I figured my reply worked. Ryan always struck me as someone who had good manners. He’d never get between a couple. That was why just telling him straight out was the most effective move.

Since he didn’t text back, I wasn’t about to bother him either. Once I wrapped up my work, I hopped in the shower, pampered my skin a bit, and went to sleep.

The next morning, I woke up and glanced at the clock–already eight. It was my day off, so I didn’t have to rush to the hotel. Although I didn’t have to be there, I decided to go to the hotel after ten o’clock to check the situation.

I had my morning all planned out; breakfast, a workout, some skincare, and I even managed to squeeze in a solid half hour of Englysian study. When I was about to head out, I paused in the entryway for a moment.

Last night, overhearing Jared talking on Yvonne’s phone didn’t stir up any bad feelings in me at all. Not even in my dreams did he show up. Did that mean I’d finally moved on?

It might not seem like a big deal, but for me, it was a whole new kind of growth. In my previous life, I always said I’d let go, but deep down, I never really could. But now, I could finally erase every trace of him from my heart and greet each new day with energy for work and life.

I couldn’t help but smile as I grabbed my high heels. As soon as I changed into my heels, I heard someone knocking at the door! I checked the security monitor and saw Ryan standing outside.

I was shocked and opened the door. Ryan stood there, hair all messy, in a gray T–shirt, looking like he hadn’t had a good rest.

“Ryan,” I started, momentarily at a loss for words.

Ryan let out a shaky breath. He asked helplessly, “You must be lying to me, right?”