Chapter 2

The next morning, when I woke up, Ethan was already gone.

On the dining table sat a cold breakfast. He hadn't even bothered to leave a note.

This had become the norm in our relationship. He had grown so used to my unconditional devotion that he took everything I did for granted.

I walked into the study and booted up his laptop.

The password screen appeared. I typed: **061599**.

It unlocked instantly.

On the desktop was an unnamed, encrypted folder. I entered **061599** again, and it opened.

Inside were hundreds of photos of Victoria Sterling.

They were meticulously organized by year, tracing her journey from her innocent college days to her current life as a sophisticated working woman.

The latest photo was taken just last night at the airport arrivals gate.

Ethan was holding a massive bouquet of white roses, and Victoria was throwing herself into his arms.

So, his "crucial business dinner" last night was actually a trip to the airport to welcome his first love home.

I opened Instagram and searched for Victoria's profile.

Sure enough, she had posted a new photo last night.

The caption read: *“Seven years later, back on home soil. And his first embrace still feels just as warm as the day I left.”*

The photo showed the airport terminal, with a man’s arms wrapped tightly around her waist from behind.

The designer suit jacket he was wearing in the photo was the exact birthday present I had bought for Ethan last month.

I closed the folder, cleared the browser history, and walked back to the bedroom to start packing.

I didn't have much. One large suitcase was enough to fit all my essentials.

I left behind every designer coat, bag, and piece of jewelry he had ever gifted me.

Anything bought with his money could stay here for the next girl.

At 3:00 PM, a text from Ethan popped up: *“Working late tonight, babe. Don't wait up for dinner.”* He added a kissing emoji.

I replied with a simple: *“Okay.”*

Nothing more.

In the past, I would have bombarded him with questions: *Where are you working? Do you want me to bring you takeout? What time will you be home?*

But now, none of it mattered.

I called a moving company and scheduled a pickup for six days from now.

Ethan didn't come home that night.

He didn't text to explain, and I didn't bother to ask.

Instead, I spent the next day finalizing my resignation at work.

Ethan and I worked in the same industry; in fact, my company was one of his startup's major business partners.

Years ago, in order to help him secure resources and clients, I had turned down a massive promotion at a top-tier firm just to stay at this company, where I could easily funnel clients to him.

Now, it was time to leave.

When I handed in my resignation letter, my boss was in absolute shock.

He tried repeatedly to get me to stay, but seeing my absolute resolve, he finally signed the papers.

"If you ever want to come back, Chloe, my door is always open," he said sincerely.

I nodded gratefully, packed up my personal belongings, and walked out of the office building under the confused stares of my coworkers.

On the drive home, I made a detour and stopped by the coffee shop where Ethan and I had first met.

Seven years ago, right here.

"Excuse me, you dropped your book."

Those were the first words he ever said to me.

It was a cliché, cheesy pickup line, but back then, it had made my heart skip a beat.

Back then, he was just a broke college student with nothing to his name, and I was a sheltered rich girl who knew nothing of the world.

For him, I had nearly cut ties with my wealthy family, choosing to live in poverty just to help him build his company from scratch.

Looking back, I was so incredibly, tragically stupid.

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