Boyfriend's Lover Strikes Out

On Independence Day, I was on my way to my boyfriend's house when a car slammed into me.

The stretch of road was deserted. The collision jammed my door shut, and the acrid smell of gasoline filled the air. My car was about to explode.

I scrambled for the emergency hammer, only to find it had been swapped out for a pink toy mallet.

Panic rising in my chest, I dialed my boyfriend's number. To my horror, his ringtone sounded from the very car that had crashed into me.

He stepped out, arm wrapped around his childhood sweetheart. She put on a pitiful face, tears in her eyes. "Oh no, I'm so clumsy. It's my first time driving, and I hit someone."

When my boyfriend realized the victim was me, he didn't hesitate to console her. "Don't worry. She must have collided with you on purpose."

I pounded on the window, desperate. "Nick! The emergency hammer's been switched out. Help me get out of here!"

His childhood sweetheart lit up with a mischievous smile. "Katie, I swapped it! Isn't the pink hammer super cute?"

Disgust flickered across Nick's face. "It's just a little crash. Get out on your own."

By now, thick smoke was pouring into the car, and the heat was searing my lungs. I begged him to save me.

But the girl only giggled, covering her nose in mock annoyance. "Katie, why are you cooking in there? The smoke is awful."

Then she patted her stomach. "Oops, my tummy is rumbling. Nick, let's go home and eat."

He tightened his hold around her and turned to leave. "Enough already. Stop pretending. My parents are waiting for us at home."

Just as suffocation closed in on me, I slammed my hand against the car's emergency distress button.

The button would instantly send my location and live audio of the scene to my brother.

The moment I pressed it, the car's alarm screamed—and the two who had already started to walk away, Nick Camden and Maisie Lennox, turned back as if pulled on a string.

Nick sprinted to my window and hammered the glass with his fists. "Katie, what the hell are you doing? Are you serious right now?

"It's just a little smoke. Why are you hitting an emergency button? Do you think the whole city's rescue teams exist just for you? Stop overreacting!" Maisie covered her mouth and snickered.

"Nick, don't be mad at Katie. This is all my fault," she cooed, fishing out a small black gadget the size of a matchbox and waving it triumphantly. "Last time you drove to pick me up, I bought a smoke simulator and put it in her car as a prank. See? One press and it puffs smoke. It's harmless, no smell. So fun!"

Hearing this, Nick's face darkened with even more fury.

"Did you hear her? Katie, it's fake. Maisie was playing a joke. Are you out of your mind? Or do you think everybody's supposed to orbit you