Chapter 4

4

"Two thousand?" I said.

"Not enough?" She knit her brows. "How much do you want then?"

I looked at the boy.

He was clinging to her, staring at me with a mix of anxiety and desperate hope.

"Forget it. I'm not deleting it."

Her expression darkened instantly.

"Ethan, don't push your luck."

"I’m trying to be civil here. Don’t make this ugly."

"Don't make this ugly?" I repeated the words, turning back to the door.

"Chloe!" the boy panicked. "Don't let him leave! What if he leaks it? What if my parents find out? They’ll literally kill me!"

Chloe stood frozen, her face pale.

My hand was already on the doorknob.

"Wait," she called out.

I didn't turn around.

"Ethan, please. I’m begging you."

Her voice suddenly softened, turning into a desperate plea.

"Please delete the recording. This is all my fault, don't blame him. He's young, he didn't know any better. I'm the one who couldn't control myself. If you want to hate someone, hate me. Just leave him out of this."

I slowly turned around.

She stood there, holding the boy's hand. They looked like a devoted couple facing down a villain.

"He didn't know any better?"

"He seemed pretty aware of what he was doing when he was bragging about how you guys are 'true love' even though he knew about me."

She went silent.

The boy lowered his head, not saying a word.

"He's naive, but you're not," I said, looking her dead in the eye. "You knew better, and you still cheated?"

She avoided my gaze, staring at the floor.

"Chloe," the boy whimpered, tugging at her sleeve. "Make him delete it... what am I going to do..."

She looked up at me, her eyes suddenly turning cold and hostile, like a completely different person.

"Ethan," she said, her voice dropping to a whisper. "Delete the recording. If you don't, I will take your phone by force."

I stood my ground, unmoved.

She took a step forward.

I reached into my pocket, keeping my hand firmly around my phone.

"By force?" I shrugged. "Go ahead. It won't matter."

She stopped.

"I’ve already set a scheduled message on Snapchat."

"If I don't cancel it within the next two hours, the recording will automatically be sent to everyone on my contact list."

Her face went entirely white.

So did the boy's.

She pointed a shaking finger at me. "Are you out of your mind?!"

I didn't say a word.

She stood there, her lips trembling, unable to make a sound.

The boy gripped her arm so hard his nails dug into her sleeve, but she didn't even react to the pain.

The living room fell into a heavy silence for a few seconds.

"Fifteen thousand dollars," she said suddenly.

I looked at her.

"Fifteen thousand," she repeated, her voice frantic. "You delete the recording right now, and I’ll transfer fifteen thousand dollars to your Venmo immediately."

I kept quiet.

"I don't have that much cash on hand, but I can pull it together." She was practically hyperventilating now. "I have twelve thousand in my savings, and I can borrow another three thousand from a friend today. Just delete the recording and we can end this. Okay?"

The boy tugged her sleeve, looking a bit hesitant about the money, but he didn't dare speak up.

"Fifteen thousand. Transfer it now," I said.

She blinked, then frantically whipped out her phone and started tapping the screen.

I pulled out my phone and pulled up my Venmo QR code.

Her hands shook so badly she had to scan it three times before it went through. When she typed in the amount, her fingers hovered over the screen. She looked up at me.

"Sent," she said. "Check your phone."

I looked down. My phone buzzed with a notification: *Chloe Carter sent you $15,000.00.*

"Now, write me a receipt."

"A receipt for what?"

"A written confession. State clearly that this fifteen thousand is a voluntary payout to settle our breakup. Write down our relationship timeline, and write down the fact that you cheated. Sign it, and leave a thumbprint."