Chapter 2

"...Right away."

During that momentary pause, the agent had feared I might back out. Snapping to his senses, he almost tore the contract page in his rush.

While filling out my information, my phone buzzed repeatedly.

Ethan’s text messages flooded in:

[Chloe, don't be impulsive. That place really isn't right for you.]

[The monthly payments will drown you. You can't carry this alone.]

[Can we please just sit down and talk like adults?]

I didn't reply.

After signing the agreement and swiping fifty grand for the earnest deposit, I stood up with my receipt.

Walking out of the lounge, I saw Ethan and Tiffany still lingering in the lobby.

Tiffany was leaning against the front desk scrolling on her phone, while Ethan stood with his arms crossed, his face dark.

Seeing me come out, he marched over. His eyes immediately locked onto the receipt. When he realized I had actually swiped the card, his pupils dilated.

"You signed it?"

"I did."

He took a deep breath and lowered his voice. "Chloe, have you lost your mind? A multi-million-dollar property in cash? Where did you even get that kind of money?"

"None of your business."

"How is it none of my business? You're my girlfriend—"

"Ex-girlfriend," I corrected him calmly.

"Chloe, I know you're mad. I messed up today by not telling you beforehand. But after five years together, you can't throw everything away over one misunderstanding—"

"One misunderstanding?" I interrupted him. "You've been secretly seeing your ex behind my back for five years, and that's just a misunderstanding? You treated me like an idiot for five years, and that's just a misunderstanding?"

A few other buyers in the lobby turned their heads to watch.

Ethan's face flushed bright red. "Keep your voice down!"

"Why should I?" My voice rose even louder. "You had the nerve to do it, but you don't have the stomach to hear it?"

Tiffany sauntered over, linking her arm with Ethan's again, and flashed me an insincere smile.

"Chloe, don't be so dramatic. You can't force these things. Ethan and I have known each other way longer than you two have."

"And your point is?" I met her gaze. "You want a medal for being his first choice?"

"I never said that."

She tilted her head, smugness practically oozing from her pores. "But look, Ethan still chose me in the end. You gave him five years, and he never once proposed. Don't you already know what that means deep down?"

The words pierced like a dagger.

It didn't shatter me, but it stung with a bitter ache.

Five years.

Five years of patient waiting. I thought he was truly worried about putting me through hardships, that he genuinely wanted to build a secure future for us.

In reality, he was just stringing me along while waiting for Tiffany to come back to him.

I tightened my grip on the signed paperwork.

"Tiffany, you're right," I smiled coldly. "It just proves he has terrible taste."

I turned and walked away.

Stepping out of the sales gallery, the bright sun warmed my skin.

Standing on the front steps, I took a deep breath, and half of the suffocating weight in my chest lifted.

My phone buzzed again, and Ethan ran out of the building, blocking my path at the entrance.

"Chloe, will you just hear me out?"

I kept moving. He reached out to grab my arm, and I slapped his hand away.

"Touch me again and I'm calling the police."

He froze.

"Chloe, there really is nothing between Tiffany and me."

He dropped his tone, almost begging. "We just ran into each other today. She dragged me here to look at properties, and I just couldn't find a polite way to say no—"

"Ethan," I called his name firmly. "Can you at least workshop your lies before telling them? You couldn't say no to her? But you had no problem saying no to me every single time?"

He went completely speechless.

I turned to leave, but he scrambled to keep up.

"Then why did you buy that condo? Are you just doing this to spite me?"

I didn't answer.

He took a deep breath, looking as if he were making a massive, heroic sacrifice. "If you really want that place, I'll help you figure out the financing. Don't carry it all alone. It breaks my heart to see you do this."

I almost burst out laughing.

"It breaks your heart?"

"You claim your heart aches for me, yet you stayed wrapped around your ex while dating me? You claim your heart aches for me, yet you dragged your feet for five years without committing? You claim your heart aches for me, yet you brought her here to shop for a home until I caught you red-handed?"

Every single word choked him into silence.

"Ethan, do you know what disgusts me the most about you?"

I stared him dead in the eye. "It's not your messy little affair with Tiffany. It's the fact that you do disgusting things while playing the devoted martyr. You were dragging your feet, but you claimed you were working hard for us."

"You lied straight to my face, but you claimed you were protecting me. That hypocritical act of yours is far more sickening than the cheating itself."