Chapter 4

On the second day of my countdown, I arrived at the cafe right on time.

In person, Victoria was even more beautiful than in her photos. Her eyes held an undeniable air of arrogance and self-assurance.

She scanned me up and down, a faint, condescending smirk playing on her lips.

"Please, sit down, Chloe."

I calmly took my seat opposite her and ordered an iced Americano.

"I’ll get straight to the point," she began, leaning forward.

"Ethan and I are each other's first loves. We only broke up in college because of a misunderstanding. Now that I’m back, we both want to start over."

I slowly stirred my coffee, remaining completely silent.

Taking my silence as weakness, she pressed on. "I know you've sacrificed a lot for him over the past seven years, but you can't force love. He wants you to... exit gracefully."

I looked up, meeting her gaze. "Did he actually tell you to say this to me?"

She hesitated for a split second. "He just couldn't bring himself to tell you directly. After all, you two have been together for so long."

I let out a soft laugh. "Victoria, do you know something?"

"Ethan and I have been together for seven years. His phone, his laptop, and every single one of his accounts share the exact same password: 061599."

"It took me seven long years to realize what those numbers meant," I said slowly. "And then I realized... June 15th, 1999. It's your birthday. He never forgot you."

A triumphant, smug smile spread across her face.

"But," I pivoted, holding her gaze, "are you sure you want to risk your future on a man who is so easily unfaithful?"

Her smile faltered. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean," I leaned in, staring directly into her eyes, "if he can betray me for you today, he can easily betray you for someone else tomorrow."

Her face instantly turned pale.

"Besides," I took a slow sip of my coffee, "I don’t want him anymore. If you love recycling trash so much, he’s all yours."

I stood up, pulled a twenty-dollar bill from my purse, and tossed it onto the table.

"The coffee's on me. Happy ever after to you both."

Without waiting to see the fury on her face, I turned and walked out.

When I got back to the apartment, I was surprised to find Ethan sitting on the sofa. His face was incredibly dark.

"Did you go see Victoria?" he demanded the second I stepped through the door.

Wow. Word travels fast.

"Yes, I did," I admitted freely.

"What did you say to her?! She was crying hysterically on the phone!"

I let out a harsh, mocking laugh. "Ethan, tell me, in what capacity are you interrogating me right now?"

"Are you acting as the cheating boyfriend who wasted seven years of my life, or the hypocritical ex-boyfriend trying to protect his precious first love?"

He froze, completely thrown off by my bluntness.

"Chloe, I..."

"Save your breath," I cut him off. "I know everything."

I walked into the bedroom and wheeled out my pre-packed suitcase.

"Where do you think you're going?" He scrambled off the couch, panic finally creeping into his voice.

"I'm going home," I said calmly. "Ethan, we are over."

He rushed forward and grabbed my arm tightly. "Just because of Victoria? I can explain! That’s all in the past, I swear!"

I violently shook his hand off and sneered. "The past?"

"Then why has your password been her birthday for seven years? Why did you rush to the airport the second she landed? Why did you never, not once, talk about marriage with me?"

The rapid-fire questions left him utterly speechless.

"I gave you so many chances, Ethan," I whispered, my voice finally cracking. "Even yesterday, I was waiting for you to tell me the truth. But you chose to lie to my face."

He took a miserable step backward.

"I admit... I messed up," he muttered, his head hanging low. "But Chloe, what we had for seven years was real! I loved you!"

"Loved me?" I laughed, though tears finally spilled over my cheeks. "And what about now?"

He remained silent.

His silence was the loudest answer he could have ever given.

"Take care of yourself," I said, grabbing the handle of my suitcase and heading for the door.

"Don't go!" He lunged forward, wrapping his arms around me from behind, clinging to me desperately.

"Give me one more chance, Chloe! I promise I'll block Victoria. I'll never speak to her again! Let's just start over!"

This was the very first time in seven years that he had ever begged me like this.

But I simply reached back and peeled his fingers off me, one by one.

"Goodbye, Ethan."

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