Plan B was a lot simpler. So simple that it was actually a braver person’s plan A. But then, a braver person also wouldn’t check the time whenever they did anything in search of a sign, or be borderline obsessed with her ex–best friend’s family and the life she could never have. So yes, I’m not brave, but I’m trying. I had to tell Kaavi the truth. That was all. I had to tell her everything, well, most of everything that happened between me and Spencer and hope that she believed me enough to walk away. That would really be the most ideal situation, right?

“It’s not even seven o’clock, Ams. Look, I’ll make you a deal, okay? What if you—”

“You can’t marry him, Kaavi. I was with him for four years, okay? You can’t marry him.” The words exploded out of me like a handful of mud being slung against a wall.

I expected Kaavi to be upset. To cry, or demand I leave.

But she just gave me a pitiful smile.

“I knew that’s why you showed up here. You’re still in love with him, aren’t you?”

“You don’t understand.”

“I should have known. Really. Look, you’d cut me out of your life, okay? I’ve tried so many times to reach out to you. I wanted to talk to you about it, of course I did. But come on, Ams, after everything we’ve been through together you just decided to stop speaking to me. And why? Because I tried to help you all those years ago?”

“Help me?” My voice trembled. “You ruined my life!”

“What the hell do you even mean? You’re losing your mind, you know that? You’ve completely lost it. I mean, you just show up here, following me around, completely uninvited—”

“I wasn’t. You invited me, Kaavi.”

“What the hell do you mean? How the hell could I have invited you when we haven’t even spoken in five fucking years?”

“You invited me, Kaavi. You said you wanted me to come. You even lied to me about your parents wanting me here.”

“You’ve lost your goddamned mind. Everyone said it, I just didn’t believe them.”

My vision was getting blurry. I was shaking like a leaf. My breath came in short gasps. Why was she doing this? Why was she lying to me? This is not the way this conversation was supposed to be going at all. I wanted to tell her the truth. I wanted to tell her what happened. I wanted her to be on my side.

“Kaavi!” I grabbed her arm. “You’ll listen to me if you know what’s good for you.”

She yanked her arm away, her eyes wide.

“Are you threatening me, Amaya? I’ll listen to you or what, huh? Or what?”

Her eyes were flashing and her face was red and she had me pushed back against the wall. I could feel her breath on my face, hot and angry. I felt like my knees were about to give way.