Chapter 4

I turned around, met with those teasing, captivating eyes once again.

Leo leaned against his car, looking at me. "It's impossible to catch a cab out here at this hour. I'm heading your way anyway. Let me drive you."

I stood still, hesitating.

His eyes dropped, taking on a wounded puppy look. "Are you still mad at me, Serena? You really misunderstood me earlier."

I glanced down at my aching feet in high heels.

After a split-second pause, I pulled open the passenger door and slid inside.

A satisfied smile spread across Leo's face. "Don't worry, Serena. If you ever need intel, I can be your inside man."

Awkwardness crept up my neck, and I had no idea how to reply.

I just closed my eyes and pretended to rest.

Another batch of floating comments scrolled past:

[Confetti time! The second lead is making his move! Ready to betray the bro code to get the girl.]

[Open your eyes, girl! Stop being cannon fodder for that toxic brat.]

[Can't wait for Leo to take over!]

I kept my mouth shut, but my mind was spinning.

When we pulled up to my building, I muttered a quick thank you and hurried inside.

The cold war between Chase and me officially began.

A few days later, my company had an upcoming charity gala.

I forwarded the invite to Chase: [Come with me as my plus-one in two days.]

I handled it the exact way he always did whenever he messed up—no apology, just pretending nothing happened.

Chase blew a gasket the moment he read it.

[What do you think I am? Your dog? You snap your fingers and expect me to come running?]

[I'm a grown man! Do you think I don't have pride? You ignore me when you want, and then summon me when it's convenient?]

[Take whoever you want. I'm busy!]

Suddenly, a wave of disgust washed over me.

I texted back: [That's your choice, Chase. If you don't want to go, I'll find someone else.]

The chat went quiet for a moment before three question marks popped up: [Who the hell are you taking?]

I typed back without hesitation: [None of your business. We're done. Let's break up.]

[You love having someone worship you, right? I'm too old to keep looking up at you until my neck cramps.]

The very next second, Chase called.

He screamed into the receiver like a raging maniac: "Serena, you're the one who said break up! Whoever crawls back first is a pathetic loser!"

He was utterly convinced I would be the one to back down and beg. He slammed the phone down before I could even reply.

In the past, whenever we bickered, he used breaking up as a threat.

And every single time, I scurried back to appease his fragile ego.

This time, I only treated him the way he always treated me.

And the result...

A bitter ache settled in my chest. Two whole years of devotion, and when I finally said the words 'break up,' I couldn't even get a single word of comfort.

I was truly done.

Just to nurse his pitiful pride, I was expected to tolerate endless disrespect.

If that was love, I'd rather walk away.

Just as I was about to set my phone down and take a walk to clear my head,

A text from Chase's best friend, Leo, popped up on SnapChat.