Chapter 5

Around ten in the evening, the lock clicked.

Caleb was back.

He carried two large bags of my favorite snacks, his face painted with the perfect amount of worry and exhaustion, as if he were a hero who had rushed back just to save me.

"Ethan, look what I got you! Your favorite beef jerky and cheese crackers."

He tossed the bags onto the coffee table. The loud rustle aggressively shattered the silence of the room.

"Don't take today's stuff to heart," he said, walking over and reaching out to pat my shoulder. "That bitch Christine didn't deserve you anyway! I already chewed her out for you!"

I sat on the sofa and casually leaned aside, dodging his touch.

His hand froze awkwardly in mid-air, a crack appearing on his perfect mask of 'concern.'

"Ethan, what's wrong? Are you still hurting?"

I didn't answer. I just looked up, slowly studying him.

I looked at his face, his eyes, and the watch on his wrist that belonged to me.

This was a face I had looked at for seven years, yet right now, it made me physically sick.

He quickly adjusted his expression, continuing his sickening act with a voice full of fake sympathy.

"I know you must be feeling terrible right now. It's okay, I'm here for you."

"Once this all blows over, I promise I'll introduce you to someone way better. Someone a hundred times better than Christine!"

[Ugh, what a loser, sitting there like a corpse.]

[The Miller family's wealth is finally mine.]

[Christine was so worried about me when I fell on the stage. She spent hours comforting me in her car just now.]

[Once you pack your bags and get lost, the first thing I'm doing is throwing all your trash out. Such an eyesore.]

[And that cheap silver ring his dead dad left him? So tacky. I'm sick of wearing it anyway. Tomorrow, I'll have Christine buy me a Rolex.]

The voice in his head grew louder, more vicious, and more arrogant.

But with every word, my mind became terrifyingly clear.