Chapter 3

"Chloe’s taste used to be trash. How did she ever date a waiter?"

"Good to know even someone as perfect as Chloe makes mistakes. I feel much better now."

"This guy has decent looks, but his class is miles below Julian's."

The hushed gossip made Chloe’s face flush with embarrassment.

She took a deep breath, walked over, and looked down at me with a pained expression. "Ethan, I know you’re a sentimental guy and that you’ve waited five years for me. I appreciate your devotion, but I’m with Julian now. I need you to let go and move on."

She then turned to Leo with an apologetic smile.

"Leo, for my sake, could you let him go? I’ll buy you a brand-new pair of shoes."

Leo didn't answer right away. Instead, he looked at Julian, who was scowling beside her.

Julian wrapped a possessive arm around Chloe's waist. "Chloe, you’re too sweet. You should stay far away from a pathetic ex like him. Otherwise, he’ll just keep taking advantage of your kindness to blackmail you."

Julian glanced around at the crowd and chuckled. "Let me introduce him. Ethan actually went to an Ivy League school. Back when we graduated, he was so smug.

I begged him to refer me for a job, but he was terrified I'd outshine him. He took a high-paying job for himself and dumped me with a brainless clerical role."

He patted my shoulder, pretending to be generous. "I never expected you to end up as a waiter. Times are tough, I get it. For old times' sake, I can offer you a job as a security guard at my firm."

I brushed his hand off my shoulder and dusted off the spot he’d touched with disgust. "Julian, when you begged me for that referral, I handed your resume straight to HR. You were rejected because of your own incompetence. They only offered you that minor clerical job as a favor to me."

Julian’s voice instantly went up an octave. "My incompetence? If I’m incompetent, how am I standing here today?"

He slapped his forehead and smirked. "Oh, right, I forgot. How could a bottom-feeder like you understand high society? Everyone at this party is elite."

He crossed his arms proudly, waiting to see envy on my face.

But I just gave him a cold glance. He wasn't worth my time.

Chloe, who had been staring at her phone, suddenly pushed Julian away. She stepped in front of me, pointing an accusing finger.

"You changed your number and didn't even tell me?"

Ah. She must have tried to text me to get me to leave, only to realize my old number was out of service.

I was thoroughly baffled. "Why would I tell you? Like you said, we broke up five years ago. We’re strangers."

"But you swore you would keep that number forever! The one I picked out for you!"

After graduating college, we had crossed paths at work. She had just broken up with Julian back then. Perhaps to quickly forget him, she wanted to jump into a new relationship.

Since I had loved her for a long time, I didn't want to miss the chance.

To make Julian jealous, she had taken over every aspect of my life, and I had happily let her.

She had spent a fortune to buy a custom phone number containing both of our birthdays. "This is our special bond," she had told me.

Touched by her gesture, I had promised, "As long as I live, I’ll never change this number. Every time I see it, I’ll think of you."

But in this life, when Chloe chose Julian over me, I had overheard her telling him, "That phone number has your birthday in both solar and lunar calendars. I kept it to remind myself that I only belong to you."

That was the moment my love for her died. I realized I was nothing but a pawn in their twisted game.

Chloe let out a heavy, frustrated sigh. "Ethan, stop playing games. Even if you’re trying to erase me from your life to get a reaction out of me, it’s not going to work. Honestly, seeing you reduced to a waiter breaks my heart."

"I know it was wrong of me to break up with you. How about this? Julian knows the manager of this hotel. I’ll have him bump your salary by two thousand a month. Just stop stalking me."

I looked at her self-righteous face and almost laughed out loud.

"Chloe, I didn't stalk you here. And I don't need your charity. My job is extremely stable."

My flat refusal made Chloe’s face darken even more.

Suddenly, Leo gasped. "Wait! Where is my watch? Did you steal it?!"