Chapter 2

I followed him out and got into the passenger seat of his car.

The passenger side was decorated with pink accessories, a tiny succulent sat in the cup holder, and a polaroid of Hailey was clipped to the sun visor.

Even the air freshener had been swapped for a sweet, floral-fruity scent that I absolutely hated.

Ethan explained, "Hailey gets motion sickness. These things help her feel better."

"She's basically just a kid, she likes all this cute stuff. Don't take it personally."

I pulled myself together and buckled my seatbelt.

"Aren't you going to take those down?" Ethan finally couldn't help but ask.

I stared straight ahead. "Why would I? It's not my car."

I didn't care anymore.

If I didn't even care about Ethan himself, why would I care about his car?

Halfway there, Ethan's phone rang.

He put on his Bluetooth earpiece. On the other end, Hailey's voice whimpered:

"Ethan, the power is back on, but I haven't had dinner yet. I'm so hungry."

Ethan's voice immediately softened. "What do you want to eat? I'll bring you something."

After hanging up, he immediately took a turn at the next intersection, changing direction.

"Hailey has low blood sugar. She'll faint if she doesn't eat," he explained to me as an afterthought.

"I'll just drop off some food for her first. It'll be quick."

Watching the city lights pass by, I said calmly, "It's fine. Just pull over here. I'll take an Uber to the hospital myself."

Ethan slammed on the brakes, pulling the car over to the curb.

"Chloe, do you have to be like this?" he gritted his teeth.

"I'm just delivering food. I'll be right back to take you to the ER. Can't you be a little understanding?"

I didn't say a word. I unbuckled my seatbelt and prepared to get out.

He threw a chocolate bar into my lap, his tone dismissive. "Eat this first. I'll be right back."

I waited by the side of the road for an hour, but Ethan never returned.

I didn't wait any longer. I called an Uber and went to the nearest hospital.

After X-rays and a diagnosis, it turned out to be a hairline fracture.

As the doctor wrapped my arm in a cast, I looked at it and felt a sudden urge to laugh.

By the time I got back to the apartment, it was already 3:00 AM.

Ethan was sitting on the living room sofa, waiting for me with a dark face.

"Where were you? Why didn't you answer my calls?" he demanded.

I shrugged. "My phone died."

He noticed the cast on my arm, and then hurriedly picked up a jewelry box from the table and handed it to me.

"What did the doctor say? Is it bad?" he asked, opening the box.

"I remembered you really liked this designer bracelet, so I bought it for you."

I glanced at it. The style of the bracelet was almost identical to the one Hailey wore.

I turned and walked toward the bedroom.

"I don't like it anymore," I said flatly. "Give it to someone who does."

While I had been waiting for his call earlier, I had scrolled past Hailey's new Instagram post.

[Working late tonight. At least I have warm food and an even warmer person with me.]

The photo showed a lavish spread of late-night food, and in the frame was a man's hand—wearing the watch I had gifted Ethan for our wedding anniversary.

Seeing my cold attitude, Ethan's face darkened.

He followed me into the bedroom and grabbed my uninjured arm.

"Chloe, what the hell is your problem?" he sneered.

"Hailey is like a little sister to me. Why do you have to keep attacking her?"

As if remembering something, he looked at me with pure disdain.

"Didn't you use the exact same 'college junior' excuse to get close to me back then?"

"Since when did you start hating the competition?"

"Acting like a jealous teenager over a young girl... don't you find yourself pathetic?"