Chapter 3

Three days after she moved out, Chloe texted me on Snapchat.

"Ethan, I left a few things at your place. When can I come by to grab them?"

I didn't reply.

She texted again: "Don't be like this. Can't we just end things on good terms?"

I still didn't reply.

Then her calls started coming in.

One, two, three times.

I blocked her number.

She probably thought I would be the same old Ethan—the guy who softened up the moment she pouted.

But she didn't realize that this time was different.

I wasn't just angry. My heart had gone completely cold.

For three long years, I had treated an ordinary girl like a literal princess.

Whatever she wanted, I never said no.

When she complained her salary was too low to buy designer bags, I quietly transferred money into her bank account every month.

When she complained that I was too busy with work, I turned down three multi-million-dollar tech projects just to stay home with her.

And what did I get in return?

She ran off with a delivery guy just because he said a few sweet words of encouragement when dropping off her meals.

Fine.

I was going to let her experience what that "true love" really cost.

On the fourth day, Chloe finally showed up at the lobby of my office building.

I was sitting in the corner cafe on the ground floor, watching her wander around through the glass window.

She didn't know which floor I worked on, so she had to ask the front desk receptionists one by one.

Justin tapped on my office door later that afternoon. "Sir, she's downstairs. Do you want to see her?"

"Not yet."

I watched her walk from the east entrance to the west entrance, and then to the north gate, wandering around for a solid forty minutes.

The June sun was brutal. Her carefully applied makeup was beginning to melt, and her face was flushed red from the heat.

Finally, I pulled out my phone and sent her a quick Snapchat message: "Look up. Left window on the second floor."

She snapped her head up, squinting through the glare.

I stood by the glass, giving her a brief wave.

Then I turned and walked downstairs.

She was standing near the lobby entrance, her face slightly sweaty and her hair a bit messy.

The moment she saw me walk out, she instinctively tried to smooth down her hair.

"Ethan..."

"Your stuff is in my car. Wait here."

I went down to the parking garage and brought up a cardboard box. Inside were a few pieces of her clothing, some books, and her half-empty skincare bottles.

She reached out to take it, but I didn't hand it over right away.

"Is this everything?" she asked.

"Everything."

She blinked, surprised by how cold and straightforward I was.

"Also," I reached into my pocket and pulled out a set of keys, letting them jingle. "Here are the keys to the apartment. I've officially terminated the lease."

The keys clinked loudly as they dropped into her palm.

She stared down at them, her lips trembling slightly, but she didn't say a word.

I knew exactly what she was thinking.

We had chosen that apartment together.

She had fell in love with the bay window, the sunny balcony, and the cute coffee shop right downstairs.

I had signed the lease immediately, paying six months of rent upfront without hesitation.

And now, there were still over two months left on it.

"I took back the security deposit," I said calmly. "I calculated the rent daily. I'm refunding you for the exact days you actually stayed there."

"You don't have to..."

"Two hundred dollars," I interrupted her, pulling the cash out of my wallet and tucking it into the side of the box. "Take it."

She didn't reach for it.

I looked at her hands—the hands I had held countless times—which were now tightly clutching the strap of her brand-new cheap purse.

"Chloe," I said, putting the box down. "Three years. Whatever I owed you, we are completely even now."

She snapped her head up, her eyes rimmed with red.

"Ethan, what is your problem?"

"Exactly what I said."

I turned around to walk back into the building.

"Ethan!" she yelled behind me. "Why are you acting like this? You only make a few grand a month! You spent almost everything on me these past three years! Do you even have any savings left? You're just..."

I stopped in my tracks.