Chapter 2

After hanging up, I went straight home to pack my things.

I wanted to give Ethan a proper goodbye. After all, we had been together for seven years. Everyone in our social circle called us a match made in heaven. Whether we called off the engagement or just broke up, I wanted to leave with some dignity.

But I didn't expect the door to open to Maya first.

She was directing movers to carry her things inside, looking at me with pure disdain.

"Put everything in the master bedroom!"

"Yes, all of it. Be careful, that's the limited-edition bag Ethan bought me today!"

Ethan stood right behind her, watching her with a doting smile.

The moment he noticed me sitting on the couch, his expression instantly shifted.

He stammered an explanation.

"Maya's mental state is really unstable today. I was worried something might happen to her if she stayed alone, so I let her move in with us. The master bedroom connects to my study, where I keep my medical equipment and files. It's easier to monitor her there. Let's let her have it for now."

"Chloe, I'm sorry to make you suffer, but could you crash in the guest room for a bit?"

I didn't argue.

I was leaving anyway. Whoever Ethan wanted to put in his bed in the future was none of my business.

I stood up and said, "Go wash your hands. Dinner is ready."

At the dining table, Maya shamelessly claimed the seat right next to Ethan.

I was pushed to the far end of the long table, looking like a stranger in my own home.

Maya clung to Ethan's arm, whining for him to feed her.

"Ethan, I want that shrimp. Peel it for me."

"Feed me, or I won't take the meds you prescribed."

"It's a promise, then. Tonight, you have to hold me and do that deep therapy session. The last one was so helpful!"

...

I watched them coldly, silently chewing on my dry rice.

My stomach felt like it was filled with cold stones, dragging me down.

Finding a gap in their conversation, I spoke up.

"Ethan, there's something I need to tell—"

Before I could finish my sentence...

"Pah!"

A mouthful of half-chewed food, dripping with saliva, was spat directly onto my face.

Maya pointed at the fish dish in front of her, screaming in exaggerated terror.

"Why the hell is there ginger in this?!"

"You bitch! You know I'm allergic to ginger! Are you trying to kill me?!"

I froze, completely stunned.

Before I could even react, Maya grabbed a handful of spinach from the plate. Slimy green juice dripped through her fingers.

In a few quick strides, she rushed over to me.

"You want to poison me? Let's see how you like an allergic reaction!"

Instinctively, I tried to pull back, but Maya was too fast.

She violently pried my jaw open with one hand, while her other hand stuffed the disgusting, crushed spinach leaves deep into my mouth.

"Mph—"

My eyes widened in horror. A suffocating wave of nausea and panic hit me instantly.

I tried to spit it out, struggling with everything I had.

But Maya ruthlessly crammed the spinach further down my throat, ignoring my struggles.

My stomach churned violently.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ethan. He sat there, completely indifferent, watching Maya abuse me.

It was as if he were watching two kids having a silly food fight.

It wasn't until my face turned from pale to red, then to a suffocating purple, and my eyes began to bulge with burst capillaries, that Maya finally loosened her grip on my neck.

She smeared the last bit of slimy spinach across my lips and pulled her hand back in disgust.

"Cough! "Cough, cough!"

The moment she let go, I bent over, coughing violently.

Slimy leaves mixed with saliva flew out, but most of it had already slid down my esophagus.

My throat burned like fire. Breathing became harder by the second. It felt as if an invisible hand was squeezing my windpipe shut.

"Help... help..."

I reached out weakly toward Ethan.

But before my hand could even get halfway up, Maya stomped her stiletto heel right onto the back of my hand.

The sharp heel pierced straight through my skin. An agonizing pain shot through my body, making me shiver.

But the lack of oxygen was so severe that I couldn't even scream. I could only collapse onto the floor, groaning weakly.

Ethan noticed my face didn't look right.

He started to get up to check on me, but Maya quickly grabbed his arm.

"Ethan, don't you dare go over there! It's just a little allergy, she won't die. If you show care to this bitch again, I'll be furious! Didn't you promise to do my therapy session tonight?"

"Come on, let's go back to the master bedroom!"

She dragged him away.

Before leaving, Ethan cast a casual glance back at me. He offered a half-hearted, dismissive comfort.

"Chloe, don't take it to heart."

"Maya just has a temper. Just try not to make her angry in the future."

With that, Ethan wrapped his arm around Maya and headed upstairs.

At that moment, the pain and suffocation almost drowned me.

I had been abandoned by Ethan.

Unable to draw a single breath, my body spasmed helplessly on the cold floor.

I was left there to die.