Part 1My Rival Is My Biggest Fan

Every time Parker Cole abandoned me for Hannah Sinclair, she made it a point to rub it in my face.

Tonight was no exception.

"Happy Birthday, Bonnie. How does it feel to celebrate all by yourself?"

Just as I was about to hang up the phone, a line of glowing text drifted across my field of vision, hovering in the empty air of my dining room like a live-stream comment.

“The male lead has no idea it’s the heroine’s birthday, but the female rival remembers the exact date. Is this not love? This is love!”

Another line floated by. “Who else gets it? Our heroine is too kind. The rival tries to provoke her, ends up getting mad herself, but still comes back for more. So cute.”

“Don't be mad at her, baby girl. All her hate is just frustration that you don't look at her. Give her an inch of initiative, and you’ll catch yourself a prickly, defensive little kitten.”

I let out a soft scoff. Hannah Sinclair? A defensive little kitten?

Everyone in our circle knew the score. She loathed my cold, calculating, profit-driven nature, and I had exactly zero patience for her spoiled, erratic, weather-vane temper.

But, driven by some inexplicable impulse—perhaps sparked by those bizarre floating words—I leaned into the absurdity.

"Thank you, Hannah. I'm actually touched you remembered it was my birthday."

* * *

Dead silence on the other end of the line.

I started to doubt the validity of the floating text. How could Hannah Sinclair, of all people, be a tsundere?

Thanks to Parker, our relationship over the past few years had plummeted past the freezing point into outright hostility. It was an unspoken rule in Manhattan’s upper crust: if Hannah was on the guest list, I wasn't. If I was there, she was out.

She had given up studying abroad in London just to stay in the States and follow Parker. After graduation, she entangled herself in his life so thoroughly that she didn't even care when the old-money crowd whispered behind her back.

If Parker and I went on a business trip, she’d demand he take her shopping. If we had a date, she would miraculously twist her ankle or spike a fever. Birthdays, anniversaries—she always found a way to drag him away to her side. And every single time she succeeded, I’d get a call just like this one, dripping with mockery, flaunting how devoted he was to her.

Honestly, it was entirely unnecessary.

I had only agreed to date Parker to maximize a strategic corporate merger. It was the path of least resistance. And if there was a villain in this love triangle, it was him. If his boundaries hadn't been so deliberately blurred, if he hadn't constantly indulged her whims, she would never have had the leverage to provoke me in the first place.

I didn't exactly like Hannah, but I couldn't say I truly hated her either. We had grown up together, after all. There was a history there.

But she was supposed to despise me. Why would she go out of her way to remember my birthday?

“Heroine, don't hang up! She’s buffering. She’s panicking. Her brain is short-circuiting.”

“Hahaha, the rival’s fur is entirely puffed up right now. She’s definitely staring at her phone in sheer disbelief, taking deep breaths.”

“The element of surprise is a flawless tactic. I can't wait for the day her prickly facade completely crumbles!”

Watching the spectral words fade into the air, a genuine smile tugged at the corner of my mouth.

I had known her for over two decades. We might not have been best friends, but we knew the darkest, ugliest corners of each other’s temperaments. I didn't even need the mysterious text to picture it. I could perfectly envision her staring at her phone, mouth opening and closing, swallowing her carefully prepared insults until she finally choked out—

"Are you out of your mind?! Bonnie Montgomery, stop playing the victim with me!"

The sheer satisfaction of predicting her response entirely washed away the lingering sting of being ditched by Parker.

Looking at the meticulously arranged centerpiece and the empty dining room, I chuckled, suddenly at a loss for words.

I had thought Parker would at least remember. Whether as a boyfriend or a future business partner in a high-stakes merger, he should have known today was my birthday.

"Bonnie, cut the act!" Hannah’s voice barked through the speaker. "I’m in a good mood today, so I’m going to take pity on you and buy you a cake. Stop pretending you're heartbroken."

The heavy disappointment in my chest snapped like a brittle twig. Maybe... maybe she really didn't hate me?

"Then I want the one from the bakery on the Upper East Side," I said softly.

An immediate, exasperated groan echoed through the receiver. "I know, I know! You are so high-maintenance. You’ll only eat from that one specific pastry chef, and it has to be the mango filling. God."

“Chat, what do we do when we encounter a fiercely defensive kitten? She says she hates you but won't stop following you around.”

“Recommend taking her straight home and kissing her senseless!”

“Who else is dying at the thought of the rival furiously scrolling through delivery apps right now to find the exact right cake? Is this the legendary 'mouth says no but body says yes'?”

Listening to Hannah’s muffled, continuous grumbling through the phone, a strange, warm knot formed in my chest.

She remembered. She remembered all of it.