I spent five years as Nicholas Watson’s “almost-girlfriend.” We slept together, shared our secrets, and dreamed of the future, yet he never gave me the title I craved. Because he had a checklist—37 impossible criteria for his perfect match. I didn’t fit any of them. But when his 23rd birthday came, I thought it was my turn. I dressed in his favorite dress, my heart racing, only to watch him walk in with her. Perfect, flawless, everything he wanted. I was never meant to be his dream girl, but I wasn’t prepared for how it would feel to be nothing more than a memory.
Chapter 1
From age eighteen to twenty-three, Valerie Garcia slept with her childhood friend, Nicholas Watson, for a whole five years.
They've slept together countless times, but he never agreed to make their relationship official.
This was because he had a nearly impossible standard for a girlfriend—168 cm tall, 48 kg, naturally blonde hair, flawless skin, almond-shaped eyes, and dimples when she smiled... a total of 37 criteria that had to be met.
Nicholas said, "If I still haven't met my dream girl by twenty-three, I'll be with you."
She didn't believe such a girl existed, so she agreed.
She waited year after year until his twenty-third birthday. He tagged everyone in the group chat, "Dinner at seven tonight. You guys are about to meet the woman I'm going to marry."
The group chat exploded instantly. Everyone congratulated her. "Five years! It's official at last!"
"Val's patience finally paid off!"
She put on full makeup, changed into his favorite white dress, and got to the
