The View in My Eyes

I sent a selfie to my boyfriend. Am I pretty? Can you post a picture of me on your story?
He never replied.
But five minutes later, his best friend posted my picture to his own Instagram story with the caption: Goddamn beautiful.

1
Jax is my boyfriend Caleb's best friend, and we share a lot of mutual friends.
So, the long string of question marks in the comments section was my first clue.
This wasn't some private joke meant only for me to see. It was public.
…
I don't know Jax very well. Most of what I know comes from Caleb or other classmates. He’s from a wealthy family, incredibly smart, and that combination has given him the confidence to be arrogant, impulsive, and to do whatever he wants.
But that doesn't mean I have to tolerate this kind of nonsense.
As Caleb's girlfriend, I've always maintained a polite but distant relationship with his friends. I was sure I'd never done anything to offend Jax.
So why was he publicly humiliating me like this?
And how did he get a photo that I sent privately to Caleb?
A storm of questions brewed inside me as my trembling fingers opened my chat with Jax and hit the call button.
No answer.
I frowned, and just as I was putting my phone down, a call from my best friend, Christina, burst onto the screen.
"Ava! You need to get to The Brew & Bookmark on campus, now! Caleb and Jax are fighting! It's brutal! Hurry!"

2
When I got to the cafe, classes were in session, but a massive crowd was still gathered outside, packed three deep.
The moment they saw me, the buzz of conversation died down. The crowd parted like the Red Sea, creating a path for me as all eyes followed my every move.
I ignored their strange looks and pushed my way into the cafe.
Inside, the elegant space was a disaster zone of overturned tables and chairs. It was obvious a violent brawl had just taken place.
The two responsible for the chaos, Caleb and Jax, had matching bruises and cuts, but both appeared unnervingly calm. In fact, amidst the wreckage, they were both methodically straightening their clothes.
It was hard to say who had won the fight.
Judging by his more severe injuries, Caleb had lost. But he had a delicate-looking girl by his side, which felt like a win of its own.
She was wearing a white dress, and tears streamed from her wide, innocent eyes like broken strings of pearls. She was carefully dabbing at the blood on Caleb's face with a tissue.
Of course, I recognized her.
She was Lily, the star of our university's dance department. And Caleb's childhood friend.
The first time I became aware of her was when I saw that Caleb had a single red heart emoji as her contact name. When I asked him about it, he explained that her last name was Hart, and that all her friends saved her contact that way as an inside joke. He said it wasn't a big deal, just a small thing to make his friend happy.
I’d chosen to believe him, though not without a sliver of doubt.
Now, seeing her crouched so intimately beside him, weeping, I knew my trust had been misplaced.
…
Lily’s animosity towards me was palpable. Her eyes were practically dripping venom as she ran up to me, jabbing a finger in my face and launching into a tirade from her self-appointed moral high ground.
"Ava, how can you even show your face here? You have Caleb, so why can't you just appreciate him? Does it make you feel special, playing with two men at once? Does it excite you? Jax and Caleb are best friends!"
Her eyes were red and puffy from crying, but the words spilling from her pretty mouth were sharp enough to cut. Her voice was so shrill it made my ears ring.
I rubbed my ear and calmly pushed her hand away from my face. "Did no one ever teach you any manners?"
"You think you're so high and mighty? A woman who messes around with her boyfriend's best friend has no right to talk about manners."
Her anger escalated, and she raised her other hand to slap me.
I narrowed my eyes, catching her wrist in a firm grip and flinging it away.
What was this, some kind of drama? The fragile damsel bravely defending her man against the two-timing villainess?
"Are you a dancer or a chef? Because you seem to have a real talent for stirring up drama," I said, my voice dripping with scorn.
I’d pushed her harder than I intended, and she stumbled back, her eyes welling up with fresh tears. "Caleb, did you see that? She…"
I rolled my eyes.
From the sidelines, Jax, who had been calmly fixing his collar, let out an ill-timed, soft chuckle.
My head snapped in his direction. He had already composed himself, back to his usual suave, almost villainous charm. He walked over slowly, his presence like a physical weight, and stood behind me like a mountain.
Jax's voice was lazy, but when he looked at Caleb, it was laced with steel. "Caleb, are you just going to let your girl run wild like this?"
Lily, ever the opportunist, softened her tone considerably when she turned to Jax. "Jax, what has this woman done to you? Why are you still defending her? You and Caleb have been friends for years. Is that worth less than some girl? I always thought you were different from her, that you were at least reasonable!"
She was a master at the art of putting one person down to lift another up.
Unfortunately for her, she’d picked the wrong target.
Jax took a deliberate step back, a look of disgust on his face, as if he were afraid of being hit by her spittle. The move made Lily flush with embarrassment and awkwardly wipe her mouth.
He was completely unmoved by her attempt at moral blackmail. "Don't try that with me. Every dog in a five-mile radius of my house knows I don't play by the rules. You're wasting your breath talking about being 'reasonable.'
"This mess is on us. Ava didn't do anything. If we're talking about who's in the right here, it's her. And let's be real. You get to run crying to Caleb, so why can't I be here to back Ava up? Let me make it crystal clear: whether or not I'm 'reasonable' with you depends entirely on her. Today, my only job is to be on her side, whether she’s being reasonable or not. Got it?"
He spoke quickly, but his logic was sharp and his tone was absolute, leaving no room for argument.
Caleb looked over, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. I guessed he had no idea when Jax and I had become so close.
To be honest, neither did I.
In my confusion, a strange warmth spread through me. After my parents died, I lived with my uncle, and I was forced to grow up faster than other kids my age. I was used to facing things alone.
But to have someone so unapologetically in my corner…
Even though I didn't know why, my heart trembled.
…
Without a word, Caleb stood up, grabbed Lily's slender wrist, and pulled her behind him, completely ignoring my presence. His actions were a silent confirmation that Lily was, indeed, "his girl."
He rubbed his temples, his voice weary. "Lily, stop it. Ava isn't the kind of person you're making her out to be."
One was an intimate "Lily," the other was a formal "Ava." In a single sentence, Caleb had drawn a clear line between us. Suddenly, my earlier concern that Jax's actions might embarrass him felt foolish.
Through the glass window, I could see the crowd of students still watching, some even taking pictures with their phones.
I didn't have to guess what would happen next. Soon, the story of how Caleb, the star of the law school, protected his childhood sweetheart in front of his girlfriend would be all over the campus social media pages.
Had he even considered my feelings at all?

3
I took two deep breaths, trying to keep my composure as I walked over to Caleb.
He sat in a chair, his back perfectly straight, still projecting that image of cool detachment. He wouldn't look at me.
But I needed an explanation.
"Caleb, the Instagram story, and what I just saw… do you have anything to say to me?"
A ten-second silence stretched between us.
"What you saw is what you saw," he finally said. "I have nothing to explain."
His tone was completely dismissive. The subtext was clear: Take it or leave it. If you can handle it, we can stay together. If not, get lost.
So much for the idea that a girl’s pursuit is always successful. The truth is, in any relationship, if the girl is the one who initiates everything, it’s bound to end in disaster.
My chest heaved with a breath I couldn't control. "Nothing to explain?" The words caught in my throat, and a bitter laugh escaped my lips. "Then let's break up."
"Fine. Whatever you want."
His voice was devoid of any emotion. It reminded me of the day I confessed my feelings to him. I had rehearsed what I was going to say for three days straight, and I was so nervous I could barely speak. In the end, all I got was a lukewarm, "Okay, let's give it a try."
I stared at the top of his head for three long seconds.
Then, I turned and walked away.

4
As I stepped out of the cafe, a breeze seemed to follow me, drying the unshed tears at the corners of my eyes.
Jax jogged up to my side, a playful smile on his face. He tugged on the corner of my sleeve as if we were old friends. "Hey, let's walk together."
I was certain he knew exactly how handsome he was and was deliberately flaunting it. Like right now. He had meticulously straightened his clothes, but he'd left the smear of dried blood at the corner of his mouth untouched. Paired with the slight redness around his eyes, it gave him a rugged, "beautifully broken" kind of look.
My feelings toward the instigator of this whole mess were complicated.
I wasn't an idiot. The moment I walked in and saw Lily at Caleb's side, I understood. Caleb was too busy with his "friend" to reply to my message, and Jax, seeing this, decided to give me a heads-up in his own chaotic way. His methods were bizarre, but his intentions seemed to be good. It was a rare thing to find someone with a conscience in Caleb's circle.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"Nowhere. Just walking for a bit?"
"Okay."
His smile widened, and he fell into step behind me, looking pleased with himself.
…
Walking away from that disaster scene with the notoriously popular Jax Sterling at my side meant we were turning heads everywhere we went. The stares were starting to annoy me, but they also reminded me of something.
"By the way, you should delete that story."
"Can I not?"
"You can, but then I'll have to slap you."
Faced with my unwavering resolve, he reluctantly pulled out his phone and deleted the post. He was nearly six-foot-three, but with his slumped shoulders and pout, he looked like a dejected puppy. It reminded me of my grandmother's big golden retriever, chained to the gate and whining because he couldn't get to the table scraps.
He's like a big dog, the strange thought flitted through my mind before I pushed it away.
When we reached the campus gate, I turned to him. "Well, I'm heading home. Thanks for everything today, really."
It was a polite, almost perfunctory thank you, but his convoluted mind managed to turn it into something more.
"Why are you thanking me? It was my duty."

5
It took just over an hour.
Screenshots of Jax's story, videos of the fight in the cafe, and photos of Caleb shielding Lily in front of me flooded the campus forums. The threads exploded with comments.
Headlines like "The Ultimate Love Quadrangle: A Saga of Unrequited Love" were popping up everywhere. It was absurd.
So, the first thing my gossip-loving best friend, Christina, said when she got back to our apartment was: "Ava, have you seen the forums? Those people are ruthless. The paparazzi could learn a thing or two from them."
I scoffed, turning my attention back to my listening comprehension exercises. "A bunch of psychos."
Just before I put my headphones back on, I saw Christina give me a thumbs-up, her voice filled with genuine admiration. "I was totally prepared to skip my 8 a.m. class tomorrow to take you out for a night of drunken debauchery, or to help you hunt down that cheating bastard and his side piece. But here you are, studying like nothing even happened… Ava, you're a true career-driven queen. Seriously impressive."
She paused. "But, girl, you're acting way too calm. Is it possible that you never really liked Caleb in the first place?"
My pen froze.
…
Caleb was my first love.
It was love at first sight, or something close to it. I met him during my freshman orientation week when I injured myself and had to go to the campus health center.
The nurse on duty was clearly jaded from seeing countless minor injuries. She was rough with the antiseptic and her tone was sharp. When she was cleaning my wound, I flinched from the pain, and she immediately launched into a lecture.
"I'm trying to treat you, what are you pulling away for? You girls are all the same, spoiled by your parents before you get to college. You're too delicate. Let me tell you, no one's going to coddle you here!"
She had no way of knowing.
My parents died when I was very young.
There were no parents to coddle me.
I was simply afraid of pain. Losing your parents shouldn't mean you lose the right to feel pain, should it?
Being scolded like that on my third day in a new city, thinking about my mom and dad… a wave of misery washed over me. But my past was a wound I never showed to anyone. This time was no different.
I bit my lip, turned my head away, and swallowed the tears and the pain.
That's when I saw him.
Caleb was standing nearby, a volunteer for the week. He wore a simple white t-shirt and had an air of quiet confidence about him. He looked at me with calm, indifferent eyes.
Then he walked over.
"Excuse me, ma'am," he said to the nurse. "Her cut does look pretty deep. If you could, maybe be a little more gentle." He paused. "It's not easy for anyone, leaving home for the first time."
At the time, Caleb was only a year older than me, but he had a maturity that was rare in our peers. He spoke calmly and considerately, never sounding accusatory, and his words had a way of making you listen.
The nurse actually blushed a little.
As I felt her touch become gentler, I looked up at Caleb, grateful. The fluorescent lights of the clinic softened the sharp, handsome lines of his face. He offered me a small, polite smile.
In that moment, a strange feeling filled my chest. I think that's when I fell for him.
…
That night, before we went to sleep, Christina and I had our usual late-night chat. She grilled me about Jax, then sighed. "Caleb seemed like such a great guy. How did he change so fast?"
I thought for a moment, then laughed softly. "He didn't. I did."

6
The next morning was our 8 a.m. elective, a uniquely popular course at our university: "The Theory and Practice of Modern Relationships."
I only got into the class thanks to Christina’s lightning-fast reflexes and kind heart.
When I arrived, right on time, the large lecture hall was already packed. The class was so popular that many students audited it, and latecomers usually ended up sitting on the steps.
Resigned to my fate, I was about to find a spot on the floor when I saw a hand wave lazily at me from the back row.
It was Jax.
My eyes lit up, and without a moment's hesitation, I made my way towards him. Only a fool would turn down an open seat just to avoid rumors.
I had barely sat down and dropped my bag when the professor called his name.
"Jax Sterling."
"Here."
The professor looked surprised. "Well, this is a rare sight. What brings you to class today, Mr. Sterling? Didn't you say you could ace this course without ever showing up?"
Jax was handsome, smart, and well-liked on campus. Even the professors had a soft spot for him.
He chuckled, a lazy, carefree sound, and shot back without missing a beat, "I missed you, professor."
The professor laughed, her eyes scanning the room. "I think you missed one of the pretty girls in this class more than you missed me."
The entire class erupted in a wave of whoops and whistles, and all heads turned towards the back row. Naturally, all eyes landed on me as well.
I ignored their curious stares and calmly took out my vocabulary notebook. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him flash a devil-may-care smile. "Yeah, I did. That's why I'm here. We're aiming for a perfect score on the final project together."

7
I could pretend I didn't hear his flirty comments.
But I couldn't ignore the way he spent the entire class with his head propped on his hand, his bright eyes fixed on me.
Halfway through the lecture, I couldn't take it anymore. I snapped my notebook shut and hissed, "Have you seen enough?"
"Nope. I could look at you all day."
I was speechless. "So, what's your deal? The Instagram story, saving me a seat… Are you doing this because you feel sorry for me, or what?"
"What do you mean, 'or what'?" he said, finishing the thought I'd left hanging. "Of course, I'm trying to win you over."
He held up a notebook to shield us from the professor's view and leaned closer, his eyes wide and earnest. "I thought I was being pretty obvious. Was it that hard to guess?"
I subtly scooted away. "I just broke up with your best friend yesterday. Don't you think it's a little twisted for you to be hitting on me today?"
"Is it? I thought your 'single' status was effective immediately. The fact that I waited a whole day to tell you how I feel shows incredible self-restraint, don't you think?"

First, search for and download the MotoNovel app from Google. Then, open the app and use the code "260071" to read the entire book.