Chapter 3

"Are you crazy? You actually broke up? Even returned the wedding dress?"

My best friend, Sophia, sat across from me, so shocked she spilled her coffee.

I calmly stirred the ice in my cup. "We broke up. This time, it's for real."

"No way..." Sophia swallowed, looking at me like I was an alien. "Chloe, don't get mad at me for being blunt, but breaking up just like that? That's not like you at all. You used to be completely obsessed with him."

"That was then, this is now. I find him disgusting." I took a sip of my iced Americano. The bitter taste spread through my throat, yet it cleared my head completely.

Sophia sighed, reaching out to cover my hand. "If it's over, it's over. You should've dumped that jerk ages ago. But the question is, can you really let him go?"

*Can you really let him go?*

I had asked myself that same question countless tear-filled nights in the past.

Could I really let go of Liam?

Five years ago, I was a chubby girl, bloated from long-term hormone medication, and insecure to my core.

That day, I was working part-time at a convenience store when a wealthy woman in designer clothes insisted I had stolen her diamond ring, which she claimed had fallen on the counter.

She pointed her finger at me, cursing: "It was you, you fat pig! Look at your pathetic self, probably never seen anything this expensive in your life, have you? Hand it over, or I'm calling the cops!"

I was speechless, sweating nervously, surrounded by onlookers who were all pointing fingers at me.

"It wasn't me, I really didn't take it, the surveillance camera is broken, but I really didn't take it..." I was so anxious I started crying, but no one believed me.

Just as the woman raised her hand to slap my face, a hand with distinct knuckles firmly gripped her wrist.

I opened my eyes and saw Liam, dressed in a white shirt.

He stood in front of me, his voice clear and firm: "Ma'am, although the surveillance camera is broken, I was standing behind the shelves the whole time. I saw with my own eyes your ring fall into a pocket in your own handbag. If you continue to be unreasonable, I will report you for slander."

The woman froze, rummaged through her bag, and indeed found the ring. She eventually slunk away.

As the crowd dispersed, I nervously clutched the hem of my shirt, unable to utter a complete thank you.

He turned to me, smiled, his eyes sparkling.

He gently said, "Don't be scared. If you didn't do it, no one can wrongly accuse you."

In that moment, Liam became the only light in my otherwise bleak life.

Later, I desperately worked to lose weight, desperately tried to be good to him. I thought I had found a lifeline, that I, someone who had been unlucky for over twenty years, finally deserved a little bit of love.

The day I confessed my feelings, Liam's eyes welled up. He pulled me into a hug.

"Chloe, you don't need to change anything for me. You're adorable when you're plump, and beautiful when you're thin. As long as it's you, I love you."

I remembered those words for five years.

I thought it was a mutual salvation.

Until Ashley returned home, until she, as my "sister," forcefully wedged herself into our lives.

That's when I realized Liam's tenderness was never exclusive to me. He could shine his light on me, but he could just as generously cast it upon Ashley.

And I? I was just a cheap prop he used to feel good about himself and showcase his kindness.