Chapter 4

With that, I stood up to leave.

Ethan's hand shot out, clamping around my wrist like a vice.

"Chloe, what kind of ridiculous nonsense are you spouting?!"

"You know what Sadie's family is like! If she doesn't marry, her parents will sell her off to some random guy just to fund her brother's wedding! You two have been friends for years—can't you show a shred of empathy?!"

I laughed out of sheer fury, violently wrenching my wrist from his grip.

"Empathy for her? Who's going to have empathy for me?!"

"Our honeymoon isn't even over, and my fiancé is telling me he wants to legally marry another woman and make me wait for him to divorce her! Ethan, do you even hear how insane you sound?!"

Sadie jumped to her feet, tears streaming down her face as she played the peacemaker.

"No, please! Don't fight because of me! I'll just go back and let my parents marry me off to some gross old man for cash! Please, don't ruin your relationship over this!"

Hearing that, Ethan's hero complex flared up completely.

He turned to Sadie, making a fierce vow:

"Sadie, don't worry. I will sign those papers with you!"

"As for Chloe, this is between her and me. I'll handle it. As your friend, there is no way in hell I'm watching you get thrown to the wolves."

Watching the two of them perform their grand melodrama of sacrifice in front of me, I turned to walk away.

Suddenly, Sadie threw herself onto the floor right in front of me, grabbing onto my legs and sobbing hysterically.

"Chloe, please help me! Just let me borrow Ethan this one time! I'm begging you!"

"I swear, the second the papers are signed, we'll file for divorce the next day! I won't hold onto him, I promise! We've been best friends for so long, please just help me!"

I turned my head away, looking out the floor-to-ceiling windows at the howling storm outside.

"Ethan and I are over."

"Why are you begging me? Whatever you two want to sign, do whatever you want."

Hearing that, Ethan lunged forward to grab me again.

"Chloe! What is that supposed to mean?! Sadie only begged us because she had zero options left! How can you be so heartless, willing to watch her entire life get destroyed? Take that breakup back!"

"I won't. I'm breaking up with you."

I sidestepped him, but before Ethan could reach for me again, Sadie suddenly sprang up from the floor and slammed her shoulder hard into mine, wailing:

"It's all my fault! I ruined everything between you two!"

"Just leave me alone! I might as well just go die!"

I stumbled from the impact, hitting the floor once again.

Through the tears of pain, I saw Sadie sprint out of the restaurant and into the raging rainstorm outside.

Ethan didn't hesitate for a single second. He bolted after her, his silhouette instantly swallowed by the downpour.

From start to finish, he didn't look back at me once.

A nearby server rushed over to help me up.

I waved a hand, declining the help.

Clawing onto the edge of a chair, I dragged myself up, limped back to my room, and packed my bags.

The front desk informed me that once this wave of rain cleared, the storm would officially pass.

I checked my phone—my flight was confirmed on schedule.

Right before leaving the resort, I ran into Ethan in the lobby. He was soaked through.

He glared at my suitcase, barking at me instantly:

"Can you act like an adult for once?! Running away again?"

"Sadie is missing! It's pouring rain and freezing out there, and it's dangerous! You're coming with me to find her right now!"

"You need to tell her to her face that you don't mind me helping her with the marriage certificate!"

*Help him look for her?*

Me, a woman who could barely walk, going out into a storm to look for a girl who threw a tantrum and ran off on purpose?

It was absurd.

I stumbled slightly as he yanked my arm, but I pried his fingers off one by one.

"My leg is injured. I'm not going."

"Ethan, I already told you. I'm not running away. I am breaking up with you."

Ethan glared at me, his chest heaving.

"Oh, stop the drama! You can push through the pain and walk, can't you? You drove Sadie to this point—don't you feel a single ounce of guilt?!"

"I'm asking you one last time: are you coming with me to find her or not?!"

I gripped the handle of my suitcase tightly.

"No. And I don't want you to go, either."

"Think carefully, Ethan. If you walk out into that rain for Sadie right now, you and I are completely finished."

Ethan sneered, his arrogance flaring up.

"Finished? You think threatening to break up is going to scare me every single time?"

"Fine, Chloe! You want to break up? We're broken up!"

He stormed out into the rain. Watching his back, I picked up his irritated inner voice one last time.

*[We're about to get married. Does she really think she can scare me with a breakup? She's just bluffing.]*

*[Whatever. Let her throw her little fit. I'm not wasting my time chasing after her this time. I have to find Sadie first!]*

I smiled faintly.

This time, Ethan would never find me again.

I checked out.

The rain had softened to a drizzle. I hailed a cab and headed straight for the airport.

Minutes before boarding, my phone buzzed with several frantic texts from Ethan.

[I found Sadie. We're heading back to the lobby. Come down so we can talk this out.]

[The front desk said you checked out?! Did you seriously leave? Why the hell are you running home?!]

[Where are you?! Fine, I won't sign the damn papers with Sadie! Just get your ass back here!]

...

The messages kept flooding in, but I didn't care anymore.

I typed out one final reply:

[We are done.]

Then, I pulled up both Ethan's and Sadie's numbers and social media accounts. Blocked. Deleted. Erased.

Ethan, I really don't want you anymore.