Chapter 4

He rubbed his hands together, his tone filled with a needy desire to be praised.

"It was a bit far, and I had to wait in line for a while, so it’s cold now. Hold on, let me go heat it up in the kitchen for you."

He reached for the bag.

"Don't bother."

Ethan's hand froze in mid-air. He turned to look at me.

I sat up, propping myself against the headboard, pulling the duvet up to my chest.

"Why didn't you reply to any of my messages last night? I was worried sick about you," he frowned.

"I already explained it to you. Harper is literally just my childhood friend. We grew up together; she's like a sister to me. She was hurt, so I helped her out. Isn't that normal?"

"Can you please stop making a mountain out of a molehill?"

"A mountain out of a molehill."

I repeated the words, tasting the bitterness in them.

"Okay, okay, I'll stop," Ethan said, realizing his choice of words might have been too harsh. He quickly changed his tone.

"It’s my fault. I messed up. I should have explained it to you beforehand so you wouldn't misunderstand."

"I'm apologizing to you. Sincerest apology, okay?"

"The Instagram post was just a joke. I deleted it first thing this morning. See?"

He pulled out his phone, tapped the screen a few times, and held it up to my face as if this was the ultimate proof of his sincerity and compromise.

I didn't even blink.

"Ethan, in your eyes, am I really just a dramatic, unreasonable girlfriend?"

He froze, his hand holding the phone hovering in the air. "That's not what I meant..."

"Then what did you mean?" I cut him off. "Where is your coat?"

Suddenly, he became incredibly restless. His eyes darted around, and he scratched the back of his neck.

"Oh, that... last night, when we went to the karaoke bar, Harper didn't wear enough layers and said she was freezing. So I let her borrow it. It's just a coat, Chloe. Are you seriously going to pick a fight over this?"

Just a coat.

To buy him that coat, I had given up on buying the perfume I had been eyeing for months.

I had compared prices at three different department stores, begged the sales associate for a discount, and bought it with excitement, just wanting him to look nice and stay warm this winter.

"No," I shook my head gently. "It's not worth picking a fight over."

"Nothing is worth it anymore."

Ethan's frown deepened. He seemed to detect something unusual in my quiet tone.

"Chloe, don't talk like that. It makes me feel uneasy."

His voice even carried a hint of desperate pleading.

"I really know I messed up. I promise, I won't meet up with Harper alone anymore, and I'll never peel shrimp for her again."

"I'll ask for my coat back right now. From now on, I'll listen to you. Whatever you say, goes. Can we please just be okay?"

I looked into his eyes, my heart surprisingly peaceful.

"Ethan, let's break up."