Chapter 1
Molly's POV
I hated lunchtime.
Carrying a tray through the cafeteria was like walking through a minefield—one wrong step and you were done. I pushed up my thick glasses that kept sliding down my nose, trying to dodge those sparkly cheerleaders.
But my eyes couldn't help drifting to that table—Albert Sanchez's table. My neighbor since childhood, the guy I'd been crushing on for three years.
He sat there with sunlight hitting his perfect face, looking just as gorgeous as he did ten years ago when he taught me to ride a bike in our backyard. Except now he was surrounded by a pack of beautiful girls, and I... I didn't even have the courage to walk over.
Everything changed when he became the star quarterback and joined Alpha Phi. That little boy who used to protect me and hang out with me was gone.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't our little bookworm!"
Damn Madison Pierce—campus queen, Kappa sorority president, my number one enemy. Her shrill voice made my stomach twist.
I tried to walk around them, but these cheerleaders formed a wall in front of me. Pink and white uniforms, glossy lips, perfect ponytails. And me? Gray oversized sweater, greasy hair, and these awful thick glasses.
"Excuse me..." I whispered, my voice drowned out by the surrounding chatter.
Madison deliberately stood up, pretending to fix her perfect blonde hair. "Oh, Molly Baker! I didn't even see you there. Did you sleep in the library again last night? So STUDIOUS."
It sounded like a compliment, but her eyes were pure venom.
I tried to squeeze past them, and that's when—
She suddenly stuck out her leg.
"Ahh!"
My tray went flying, spaghetti dancing through the air, juice splattering everywhere. I crashed hard to the ground, food covering my entire body.
The whole cafeteria went silent for a split second, then erupted in deafening laughter.
"Oh my God, Molly! Are you okay?" Madison covered her mouth, playing innocent. "I totally didn't see you! Could you try not walking around like a GHOST? No wonder nobody notices you."
"She's like completely invisible!" Ashley Wilson, another cheerleader, cackled.
"Total walking disaster!" someone else shrieked.
Phone cameras started flashing—people were taking pictures. I knelt on the floor, trembling as I picked up food, tears fogging my glasses. Noodles hung from my hair, juice stuck to my sweater.
Then I saw him.
Albert sat right there, less than ten feet away. His brown eyes looked at me for a second, then...
Then he turned away.
"Yo, Connor Martinez, what were you saying?" he asked his teammate, like nothing had happened. "About next week's practice schedule?"
Like I didn't exist.
My heart completely shattered. Actually shattered.
A memory from ten years ago suddenly flooded back—
"Don't be scared, Molly. I'm right here." Eight-year-old Albert held my bike steady. "I won't let you fall. I'm your knight, remember? I'll always protect you."
"Really?"
"Of course! We're friends forever."
Friends forever. What a joke that promise turned out to be.
Did he really not care about what we had?
No, I refused to believe this was the end! That boy who once promised to always protect me couldn't have forgotten everything. Maybe he just needed time, maybe he was scared of something, maybe...
2 AM. My dorm desk was covered with baking supplies. Cream, eggs, flour, and the special recipe I brought from home—red velvet cake, Albert's favorite since we were kids.
"Jesus, Molly," my roommate Emma Rodriguez stumbled out of the bedroom, rubbing her eyes. "It's two in the morning! What are you doing?"
"Tomorrow's Albert's birthday." I carefully layered the cake. "This is the recipe our moms used to make together. His favorite. He'll remember those good times."
Emma sat beside me, looking worried. "Honey, do you think he even cares anymore? What happened in the cafeteria today..."
"That was different." I cut her off, decorating the top with strawberries. "He just couldn't show it in front of all those people. But he still protects me. Remember last time when Madison tried to throw away my notebook? Albert coughed and she stopped."
"Molly..."
"He'll love it." I told my exhausted reflection in the mirror. "He'll definitely remember our friendship."
The three-layer red velvet cake looked perfect under the lights. White cream frosting, red strawberries spelling out "Happy Birthday Albert." Just like the beautiful birthdays we shared as kids.
He couldn't forget. Right?
Rain pounded my face, ice-cold and stinging. I stood outside the Alpha Phi house holding the cake box, watching the party through the lit windows.
Albert sat with a bunch of fraternity brothers on the couch, everyone holding beers. The music was deafening, but suddenly I heard my own name.
"Dude, that Molly chick is so PATHETIC," Connor laughed. "Watching her eat shit in the cafeteria today—I almost died laughing."
My blood froze. I hid outside the window, rain streaming down my face, but I couldn't move.
Albert took a swig of beer, his mouth curling into a contemptuous smile. "Tell me about it. She's like a damn puppy following me around. Doing homework, buying coffee—so SAD."
"Why don't you just tell her to fuck off?" another voice asked.
"My mom says I should look out for her since we're neighbors." Albert shrugged. "But seriously, I'm not running a charity. Does she think we're still kids or something? Total delusion."
The room exploded with even louder laughter.
"Honestly, what normal guy would ever look at her?" Albert continued, each word stabbing into my heart like a knife. "Thick glasses, ugly clothes, can't even speak up. Madison's right—she's like a GHOST."
"Then why do you still take her help?"
"Why not? It's free." Albert grinned smugly. "She wants to be my servant, why should I refuse?"
I felt the world spinning. Rain mixed with tears—I couldn't tell what was flowing down my face.
So all my effort, all my care, all my love... was just a joke to him.
The next moment, I ripped open the cake box.
The perfect red velvet cake lay quietly inside, strawberry letters starting to blur in the rain. Three layers representing our fifteen years of friendship, my three years of crushing, countless nights of fantasizing.
SCREW THIS!
I grabbed the first layer and hurled it straight into the trash can. Cream splattered everywhere.
Second layer! I threw it down hard!
Third layer! I lifted it up and SMASHED it down!
"Servant?" I screamed into the rainy night. "You want a servant, huh?"
Cake pieces mixed with garbage, just like my shattered heart. I stomped on it hard, cream splattering up my shins.
"This is what I am to you? A damn DOG?"
The rain washed over the mess, washing away all my stupid fantasies.
I stood up, trembling all over, and took one last look at the lit windows of the house.
"Fine. You want me gone? You got it."
