Chapter 4

Back at my desk, I unlocked my phone and saw a new post Kyle had just uploaded to his Instagram story.

It was a picture of a coffee table covered in empty liquor bottles.

The caption read: *Some people walk away, and suddenly all the drinks in the world aren't enough.*

A comment underneath asked: *Bro, did Serena really dump you?*

Kyle had replied with a flood of crying emojis.

Looking at the screen, I felt nothing but disgust at his desperate theatrics.

He was putting on a show for his entire social circle.

*Look at me, look how deeply in love I am, how could she be so heartless?*

When I got home after work and pushed open the front door, I froze.

Kyle was sitting on the living room sofa. On the coffee table in front of him sat two iced lattes and a box of pastries.

He was dressed in a crisp, newly bought white button-down, his hair freshly styled, looking sharp and boyish again.

Seeing me come in, he stood up, his posture slightly cautious.

"You're home?" His voice was remarkably soft. "I brought you coffee from that cafe you love."

I didn't close the door behind me. I stood right by the entryway, watching him silently.

Seeing that I wasn't moving, he took a few steps forward and reached out to hold my hands.

I immediately stepped back.

His hands hung in midair. The nervousness on his face rapidly hardened into embarrassment, and then into raw humiliation.

"Serena." He took a deep breath. "I know I messed up. I really do. Everything I said that night was total garbage. I hate myself for it. Just give me one more chance, one last chance, please?"

His eyes turned red, and his voice began to choke up.

If this had happened in the past, seeing him like this would have shattered my resolve.

But today, as I stared at his teary act, I noticed a tiny detail.

The corners of his eyes were completely dry.

He was performing an emotional breakdown, but there wasn't a single real tear.

"Kyle," I said, my voice eerily calm. "We are finished."

His facade instantly collapsed.

"What the hell do you actually want?!" he bellowed, every ounce of gentleness vanishing into thin air. "I came here groveling, begging on my knees, and you’re still treating me like trash?! Who the hell do you think you are?!"

He stepped right into my personal space, his eyes blazing with fury.

"Let me tell you something, Serena! A thirty-one-year-old woman landing a guy like me was a stroke of damn luck! Fine, you want to break up? Go ahead! I can’t wait to see what kind of loser you end up with next!"

He grabbed the iced latte from the table and hurled it onto the floor right in front of me.

The plastic cup burst open. Coffee splattered across the hardwood, splashing against the walls, and the pastry box flipped upside down into the mess.

"Don’t you dare come crying back to me!" he yelled, pointing a shaking finger at my face, a manic gleam in his eyes. "You dump me, and nobody on earth will ever want you!"

Watching his rabid tantrum, the very last shred of sentimentality I held for him vanished into thin air.

"Get your things and get out within the week," I said coldly.

"I’m not leaving! This is my home!"

I pulled out my phone and held up the screen, displaying my text history with my attorney.

"I’ve already consulted legal counsel. You are classified as a gratuitous guest. If you don’t vacate the premises, I will call the police and have you physically removed for trespassing."

Kyle stared at me as if he were looking at a complete stranger.

"You... you’re really going to call the cops on me?"

"I’ve never been more serious in my life," I scoffed. "You’re the one who thought my words meant nothing."