Faked Disappearance, Real Love's End

A month after my boyfriend "went missing," I unexpectedly bumped into him at a bar.

He was completely unharmed, bragging to his friends. "My girlfriend is way too clingy, so I needed to teach her a lesson. Plus, my best bro Keegan is playing along."

I didn't burst into tears, nor did I have a meltdown. Instead, I pretended I hadn't seen or heard a thing and quietly went home.

When Beckham called Keegan for an update, I was straddling Keegan's lap. "Focus, honey. Don't get distracted."

Keegan hung up the phone immediately.

As for Beckham? Let him stay missing—forever missing from my world.

Chapter 1

Holly Baxter's POV

After a whole month, I finally laid eyes on my "missing" boyfriend, Beckham.

He was hanging out with Kiara and two other friends.

"Dude, you're here? I thought you were still 'missing,'" one of his friends said with a laugh.

Beckham waved it off dismissively. "Yeah, I needed a break. Holly was getting way too annoying. I figured I should give her some time to think about it."

He painted me as the villain of the story, making himself out to be the innocent victim.

Since he "disappeared," I had spent my days in tears, trying everything to find him, terrified for his life.

And all of that, in his eyes, was just me being "too clingy."

Kiara chimed in, "It was my idea. Works pretty well, doesn't it?"

Beckham gave her a doting smile and gently squeezed her arm.

"But isn't this taking it a bit too far?" another friend asked. "What if someone finds out?"

"Don't worry," Beckham replied. "Keegan's got it handled. He's been comforting Holly and stopping her from going to the cops. He's a solid bro."

At the mention of Keegan's name, all the friends nodded.

It was a known fact—he was Mr. Reliable.

Kiara scoffed. "Seriously, Holly is so clueless she'll never figure it out. She's probably still crying into her pillow, thinking he's dead."

I waited for Beckham to defend me, but he didn't.

Instead, he murmured to Kiara, "Don't be so mean, babe. You're too smart to waste your breath on her." With that, he gently stroked Kiara's hair.

Beneath the table, Beckham's hand rested on Kiara's thigh.

A friend asked, "When are you coming back and ending this so-called 'disappearance'?"

Beckham took a large gulp of his drink. "I'm waiting for her to completely break down. That's when I'll make my grand entrance."

I pressed myself against the cold wall, forcing myself to keep watching. Every single detail was searing itself into my memory.

The naked truth was right in front of me: the man I loved and the friends I trusted had conspired to punish me.