Chapter 1

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My girlfriend told me her company was holding a week-long retreat in the mountains with a strict no-phone policy.

She was supposed to come back tomorrow, so I decided to surprise her by going to her apartment tonight.

But when I reached her door, I heard noises inside.

She had always told me she lived alone.

In the next second, a young guy’s voice drifted out from inside. "Stop moving. Let me see your Snapchat."

My hand froze in mid-air, right above the doorknob.

Then came her voice, filled with giggles. "Stop it. I didn’t even take a picture of you."

My body went completely rigid. I pulled out my phone and dialed her number.

She picked up, her voice still carrying a lazy, amused tone. "Hey, babe? What's up?"

"I’m standing outside your apartment. Open the door."

Inside, the apartment went dead silent.

1

I hung up the phone.

I reached into my bag and pulled out the spare key.

She had given me this key two years ago. I still remembered her exact words back then:

"Take it. Come over whenever you want. It’s going to be our home sooner or later anyway."

But I had never used it without letting her know first.

I slid the key into the lock, turned it, and heard a sharp click.

The door swung open.

The hallway light was on. Next to the shoe rack sat her sneakers, alongside a pair of men's white sneakers I had never seen before.

I didn't step inside. I just stood in the entryway.

From the living room came the frantic rustling of clothes, fabric rubbing against fabric, and hushed, panicked whispers.

I took two steps forward.

A pair of men’s jeans—a very youthful style—was tossed casually next to the sofa.

A single white sock lay on the floor nearby.

On the coffee table, there were two wine glasses and a half-empty bottle of Cabernet.

And then, I saw them.

She was scrambling up from the sofa, frantically pulling her dress over her shoulders. Her zipper was only half-done, and her hair was a complete mess.

A young guy was shrinking back behind her, a faint red mark visible on his shoulder.

I stopped right in the middle of the living room.

A numb thought popped into my head: *It was a good thing I called first.*

If I had just burst in, what would I have seen? Would it have been even more disgusting than this?

"Ethan..."

She finally spoke, her voice tight and trembling.

"Why are you..."

"I thought you were at a corporate retreat?" I interrupted her.

She froze. Her dress was finally on, but her hair remained wild.

She looked down at herself, then looked up at me. The expression on her face was hard to describe. She looked like a thief caught red-handed, yet desperately trying to pretend nothing was wrong.

"I... I came back early," she stammered.

"Oh," I nodded. "Came back early to continue your 'training' here?"

She went quiet.

The boy crept out from behind her, his head low as he scrambled to grab his jeans from the floor and pull them on.

He looked very young. His hair was dyed a light brown, and his cheeks were flushed with a slight post-drink glow.

His hands shook so violently that it took him several tries just to buckle his belt.

I stared at him.

He sneaked a quick glance at me before darting his eyes away.

"And who is he?" I asked.

Chloe opened her mouth, but only a couple of muffled syllables came out. She shut it again.

She stood there, her hands twitching as if she didn't know where to put them, before finally clenching them into fists at her sides.

The silence in the living room was suffocating.

The boy got his pants on, slipped into his white sneakers, and made a soft scuffing noise against the hardwood floor.

He glanced at her, then at me. With his head buried low, he bolted into the bedroom and slammed the door behind him.

*Bang.*

I stared at the closed door, then turned my gaze back to her.

"Talk to me," I said.

"Ethan, I..."

She took a step toward me, then hesitated.

"I messed up."

"I asked you who he is."

"Just a friend."

"A friend?"

She lowered her head, refusing to look at me.

I let out a dry laugh. I didn't know if I was laughing at her or at myself.

Eight years. I had known her for eight years, and we had been together for eight. From high school to college, and now into our professional lives. I thought I knew her better than anyone.

But I had never seen this side of her.

"It won't happen again," she said suddenly. She looked up at me, a desperate plea in her eyes. "Seriously, Ethan. It was a one-time thing. It will never happen again."

I didn't say a word.

She suddenly spun around and began frantically rummaging through the living room.

She ripped open the drawers under the coffee table, checked the TV stand, and stuffed her hands under the couch cushions.

I watched her, having no idea what she was doing.

After a moment, she pulled out a small, red velvet box.

She walked over and held it out to me.

"I bought this for you," she said, her voice barely a whisper. "I was planning on giving it to you in a few days."

I glanced down.

It was a jewelry box with a designer logo stamped on top.

Inside was a luxury watch.

I held the box in my hand, staring at it for a few seconds.

Then, I walked over to the trash can and threw the watch, box and all, right into the garbage.

"Ethan!" she cried out.

"I don’t want your trash," I said.

I turned around to face her.

The expressions on her face kept shifting, as if she wanted to scream but couldn't find the words. The overhead light hit her face, and for the first time, she looked like a complete stranger to me.

"We’ve been together for eight years," I said. "And this is how you treat me?"

She looked down and kept her mouth shut.

"Eight years," I repeated.

"Chloe, eight years. Since our junior year of high school. I moved to this city just to be with you. I brought you dinner when you had to work late. I took days off to take care of you when you were sick. I even stayed at the hospital to watch over your dad so you could rest. I thought we were just waiting to get married—waiting until we saved enough, waiting until the apartment was furnished, waiting for everything to be stable. What exactly were you waiting for?"

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