Chapter 1

On Valentine's Day, my boyfriend Ethan Walker gave me a pair of plastic earrings he'd bought from a thrift shop, claiming they were from Tiffany's.

I knew right away. Another one of his tests.

A while back, Ethan had put me through 99 tests.

"Hazel, once you pass all the tests, we'll get married."

I thought it was just his quirky way of showing affection, so I agreed.

But then his tests kept getting more and more outrageous.

This time, I really couldn't take it anymore.

"These earrings are obviously fake. You seriously want to give me this for Valentine's Day?"

As soon as I finished speaking, a woman suddenly appeared behind him.

"See? I told you she doesn't really love you. She can't even take a little disappointment!"

The woman who suddenly appeared was named Kira.

She was Ethan's best friend.

Also the person I hated most.

Because she was always texting Ethan late at night, asking him to go out gaming or drinking, completely oblivious to basic boundaries.

I'd brought it up with Ethan many times, asking him to keep some distance from Kira.

But he always brushed me off impatiently.

"We're just friends. Stop being so petty."

So I kept putting up with it. Again and again.

Now Kira slid right between us, casually hooking her arm around Ethan's neck and pressing herself against him, completely ignoring me-his actual girlfriend.

"You should really thank me. If it weren't for the tests I came up with, how would you ever see what a gold-digger she really is!"

Her words left me frozen, my mind completely blank.

Only one sentence kept echoing in my head.

She came up with the tests?

So this wasn't Ethan's quirky romantic gesture.

It was Kira's idea?

I stared at Ethan, finally squeezing out a complete sentence.

"Is what she said true? All those tests were her idea?"

Ethan looked completely indifferent, answering casually.

"Yeah. I thought Kira had a point. I need to test you more, see if you really love me. You did pretty well on the earlier ones. Why can't you pass this one? It's just a pair of fake earrings. You can't even accept that? Guess you don't love me as much as I thought."

His words were light, but each one cut straight through me.

Kira beside him laughed wildly, reaching out to playfully poke his face.

"I told you before, but you didn't believe me. Takes a woman to know a woman. She acts all sweet and understanding, but she doesn't really love you at all."

Ethan's gaze unconsciously drifted to Kira, sweeping over her chest.

"You call yourself a woman? I honestly couldn't tell."

Kira pretended to be offended and lightly hit him.

"What's that look for? I've got a way better figure than Hazel. Don't believe me? Go ahead, touch."

As she spoke, Kira leaned into Ethan's arms. And Ethan actually raised his hand, reaching for her.

At that moment, I really couldn't take it anymore.

"Enough!"

Ethan's hand froze mid-air. He and Kira both turned around, looking at me with surprise.

Looking at the two people being so intimate before me, my emotions finally exploded.

"Ethan, is love something you're supposed to test?"

"I always thought you were joking. I compromised again and again, tolerated again and again. I never imagined you were actually serious! Don't you think this is insulting and trampling on my genuine feelings?"

Ethan frowned with displeasure.

"Is it really that serious, Hazel? We've barely gotten anywhere with testing you. Kira and I planned even tougher tests. You're already upset? Come on."

Even tougher tests?

I instinctively stepped forward, pressing him.

"What tougher tests?"