Chapter 4

"What time do you get off tomorrow? I booked a table at that restaurant near your office to celebrate our third anniversary."

I intentionally blocked her view, preventing her from seeing the new messages on her phone.

Maybe she felt guilty for flaking on me today, because she agreed immediately.

"Sure. I'll head over right after work."

Our actual anniversary was the day after tomorrow. I deliberately chose tomorrow because I wanted to see who she would choose when forced to make a decision between me and Julian.

The next day, I took a half-day off. I went to the mall to pick up the Bvlgari necklace I had ordered, then arrived at the restaurant early. I ordered the dishes.

All I could think about was making sure Chloe could have a hot, comforting meal the second she got off work.

She had a terrible stomach.

They said it was because in high school, Julian told her she would look prettier if she lost some weight.

So, she starved herself for six months, giving herself chronic stomach issues.

During our three years together, I paid obsessive attention to her meals.

I knew exactly what she could and couldn't eat.

I knew which foods helped her digestion, and which ones would trigger her pain.

Because I had seen her curled up in agony, cold sweat drenching her neck, unable to speak a single word.

I had stayed up night after night by her hospital bed, watching the IV drip.

Seeing her pale face resting against my chest made my heart ache.

I believed no one in this world loved her more than I did.

Not even herself.

As the dinner rush hit, the restaurant filled up.

I took a photo of the table full of food and sent it to her. She replied saying she was still working overtime and would be late.

I told her it was fine, that I'd have the waiter reheat the food when she got here.

But after putting my phone down, I couldn't help but look toward her office building.

Her company was only a five-minute walk from this restaurant.

I watched her colleagues walk out of the building one by one, saying goodbye to each other.

The streets were bustling. I sat by the window, my eyes glued to the sixteenth floor of her office building.

I tried to convince myself that as long as the lights were on, she wasn't lying.

But the tables around me cleared and filled up again.

The waiter refilled my glass of wine over and over.

Yet, I kept staring at that sixteenth floor.

Until the very last light on that floor was turned off, plunging it into darkness. Only then did I call Chloe.

"Are you done with work? Should I pack the food and pick you up so we can eat at home?"

There was a pause on the other end.

"The year-end workload is just crazy. Everyone in the office is still working. Why don't you head home and eat first? Tomorrow... let's celebrate our anniversary tomorrow. It'll be my treat, to make it up to you."

I was about to say "no need," when I heard a voice in the background of her call.

"Chloe—"

It was Julian's voice.

Raspy, and clearly drunk.

Chloe seemed terrified that I would hear him. She quickly blurted out that her colleague was asking for files and hung up.

The cold dial tone beeped in my ear.

It felt like a harsh wake-up call, telling me it was time to wake up from this beautiful dream.