Chapter 3

I didn't have many belongings in the apartment. Most of the stuff belonged to Chloe—her clothes, her jewelry. It was easy to pack.

What was funny was that even though we had been together for ten years, we slept in separate bedrooms. I had never even stepped into hers.

I thought I never would, but since my car keys were on her desk, I had to open her door.

The moment I walked in, I froze.

The pastel-pink room was filled with photos.

From their teenage years up to pictures taken just months ago, the only two people in those frames were Chloe and Julian.

Anyone walking in would think this was a bedroom for a married couple.

But I was her actual boyfriend. I was the man who was supposed to spend the rest of his life with her.

I thought my heart was numb, but my fists clenched so hard they shook.

As I backed out of the room, my heel accidentally hit the button of a recording plushie on the floor.

"Julian, when are you going to take me away? Being around him every single second makes me feel absolutely disgusted!"

Chloe's sweet, whiny voice echoed through the room.

*Disgusted?* So she felt disgusted being with me?

Then, Julian's lazy, arrogant voice played.

"Just bear with it a little longer. Once you marry him, all his money will be yours. We won't have to work a day in our lives!"

Instead of rejecting this disgusting plan, Chloe laughed happily.

"You're so smart! When that happens, no one can stop us."

"Julian, I love you so much. Do you love me?"

After a pause, Julian let out a dry, awkward chuckle.

"Of course I love you. You're the only woman I'll ever love."

The recording stopped. There was a sticky note on the plushie, written in Chloe’s handwriting:

*“I am the love of his life.”*

I didn't even know how I walked out of that apartment.

My entire world felt like it was crumbling.

I used to think she was just a spoiled girl who didn't know how to love.

But from the very beginning, she was just plotting to take my money and run away with another man.

My years of devotion were nothing but a joke.

I used to think of this apartment as our home, the anchor that kept me going.

It turned out the anchor was made of cardboard.

With trembling fingers, I opened my chat with Chloe. It was a wall of blue bubbles—just me talking to myself.

She had never once replied to my care or love.

The only times she messaged me were to ask for money or to tell me to stop causing trouble for Julian.

I remembered the first time I met Julian. He had poured a cup of hot coffee over his own head and blamed me.

Chloe had slapped me in front of everyone.

"Do you have to make his life miserable? What did he ever do to you! Why do you hate him so much!"

"I thought you were a sweet, understanding guy. It was all an act!"

I had tried to explain, but she only looked at me with cold disgust while Julian smirked from her arms.

The memories flashed before my eyes.

I closed my eyes tiredly, took one last look at this place, sighed, and walked out.