Chapter 2

Leo's questions and concern became an outlet for my rage.

The alcohol loosened my tongue, and all the frustrations I'd bottled up just came spilling out.

I grabbed Leo, pouring out my heart.

"You know, when I was pursuing Chloe, I knew she had insecurities. I gave her every single dime of my salary, keeping only five hundred dollars for myself. For three years, I wouldn't even buy a shirt over a hundred bucks, but I gladly let her use my money to buy designer bags worth thousands."

"Her brother was a complete deadbeat – no degree, no skills, just good at wasting his parents' money and talking big. To stop Chloe from being bled dry by her mom to support her brother, I hustled countless connections, pulled every string I could just to get that deadbeat a cushy office job."

"When her parents were sick in the hospital, I was the one who hired nurses while I was at work. After work, I tirelessly cooked meals and personally looked after them. Chloe didn't have to lift a finger; I handled everything."

"Now, I'm financially free. I haven't changed, I don't smoke, I drink responsibly, I have no bad habits. I bought a house and a car. She feels bad her ex was scammed and beaten up – I get it. But how dare she push her luck? Letting him live in my house was bad enough, but then taking my clothes and luxury watches, my prized possessions that she *knew* were important to me, and giving them to him without my permission?"

"Hah, you know what? Every time I wanted to get angry, she'd just bat her eyelashes and I'd melt. I'd tell myself she was just too kind. But it was my endless forgiveness that led to me walking in on them, tangled in *my* bed, today."

"And after I caught them, she demanded *I* apologize to him!!!"

"Why the hell should I!!!"

*CRASH!* I slammed the bottle down, shattering it on the floor. Alcohol splashed out, wetting everything within a foot.

Looking at the mess, it felt just like my life lately.

Chaotic and ruined.

The manager, Mike, heard the commotion and came over. To avoid further trouble, Leo quickly explained:

"My friend just broke up with his girlfriend, he's having a rough time. I'll cover all the damages, sorry about that."

Mike was understanding and arranged a private booth for us. Once Leo had heard the full story, he vented alongside me. Then, he suddenly yelled.

"Holy crap, Ryan! Chloe just posted something. It's messed up, look!"

I snatched his phone. Chloe had posted a selfie of her and Noah kissing under fireworks.

\[*Your life is brilliant, and I'll be here to guide you through this darkness.*]

I realized she had blocked me.

I couldn't take it anymore. I smashed the phone against the wall. My chest heaved violently, a lump in my throat almost choking me.

That night, I drank until my stomach bled.

In a haze, I heard Leo calling Chloe.

"Ryan's in the hospital from drinking too much. Are you seriously not going to come see him?"

There was a hint of worry on her end, but not much.

"What? Ryan went drinking again? Well, you take good care of him. I can't leave right now, there's a patient here I need to attend to constantly."

Leo scoffed:

"Patient? More like your little lover clinging to you, unwilling to let you go. You two are squatting in Ryan's house, taking over his things, sleeping in his bed, and now he's this heartbroken, you can't even be bothered to come see him? That's just sick."

After Leo hung up, I heard a heavy crash and Chloe's shriek on the other end, then the call disconnected.

I drifted into unconsciousness.