Chapter 8: The Confession Scene

Marcus and I, still silent, returned to campus.

We stumbled into the middle of a confession scene.

The quad was awash in white rose petals, and someone had set up speakers blasting an acoustic Ed Sheeran cover. A sea of roses, perfectly matching the cherry blossoms above.

Caleb Foster took out a silver bracelet, whispering something to Aubrey Summers.

The main guy and girl had their own spotlight, almost blinding. Even the sun seemed to cooperate, shining only on them while everyone else faded to gray. The rest of us were extras, full of envy and chatter.

I was about to slip away when I caught Aubrey’s gaze across the crowd.

I immediately joined the other extras, cheering, “The campus queen and king are finally together!”

"Guess we’re all just background characters at your love story premiere!"

Hearing my overly chipper blessing, Marcus glanced at me, the corners of his mouth twitching in a faint smile.

Oh no, Aubrey’s coming over.

I nudged Marcus. “Quick, quick, quick, give them your blessing.”

Marcus folded his arms, unmoved.

I flashed my best fake smile. “Bless you!”

Aubrey looked past me at Marcus.

“What a coincidence.”

Do they know each other? Does Marcus have some secret identity?

I looked at him, but he didn’t react at all.

Was I imagining things?

Aubrey turned to me. “Caleb’s like this—I hope it won’t be a burden for us.”

I waved it off. “Of course not!”

Then Caleb Foster strode over.

“Lillian, what are you doing here?”

His tone was sharp. He frowned at me, then added, “Why do you have to show up here? What exactly do you want? I told you ages ago, our engagement doesn’t count.”

If he weren’t the main guy, I’d be rolling my eyes into next week.

In fact, I did—just quickly.

“This is school. I paid tuition. Can’t I be here?”

Realizing my tone was too harsh for the main character, I softened. “Really, congratulations to you two! And about our engagement not counting, please tell Mr. Foster, too.”

Right in front of him, I took Marcus’s arm.

“Please stop talking about the engagement. My boyfriend would get jealous.”

Thankfully, Marcus didn’t push me away at that crucial moment.

But as they left, I thought I saw Aubrey’s eyes turn a little red.

Was it happiness?

Or maybe, for the first time, she saw me as more than just a background character.