Chapter 3

The day Leo came for his company interview, he performed terribly. Chloe openly disliked him.

I didn't pay much attention to the underqualified candidate either.

But somehow, he was still hired, despite his poor performance.

And slowly, he transformed from an unnoticed junior employee into Chloe's special assistant.

The moment I truly started to suspect something was when the matching ring, meant only for Chloe and me, appeared on Leo's finger.

Initially, when I confronted her, Chloe would patiently explain things and try to make me happy.

But as time went on, all I got was her impatience.

My repeated reluctance to let go, my tolerance, my constant attempts to please her –

They only made her favoritism towards Leo more blatant.

Company dinners only featured dishes Leo liked.

Leo only worked half-days a week; the rest of the time, he spent with Chloe, going out and having fun.

And Chloe, in turn, dumped all of Leo's assistant duties onto me.

Chloe started mentioning him more and more frequently in front of me.

At first, it was unconscious praise and admiration.

But later, it became comparisons, and she’d start complaining that I wasn't as romantic or sweet-talking as he was.

Then, during a company afternoon break, Chloe mentioned her bubble tea tasted good.

Leo said he wanted to try it, and without a word, Chloe handed her drink to him.

He didn't even bother to change the straw and took a big sip, his lips pressing over Chloe's lipstick mark.

What's more, Chloe took the bubble tea back and continued to drink from the same straw.

In that moment, my heart felt like it was being squeezed by an invisible hand, a painful, bitter ache.

From then on, Leo’s transgressions as her "male best friend" became more and more frequent.

He went with Chloe for her skincare appointments, helped her apply lotion.

When Chloe twisted her ankle, he carried her straight to the infirmary, even though I, her boyfriend, was standing right there.

Even the birthday celebration Chloe had promised me was canceled because Leo caught a cold.

But every time I expressed my displeasure about these things,

Chloe would impatiently say,

"Lucas, you're so twisted, always seeing the worst in everything. Leo and I just have a pure friendship. Don’t project your sleazy thoughts onto him."

However, as time went on, her voice lacked conviction when she said it.

What truly chilled me was a major industry event.

The organizers required attendees to bring their partners, but Chloe never told me. She simply took Leo.

I only found out later, after several people asked if Chloe and I had broken up.

When I confronted her, Chloe was even angrier than I was.

"I was just helping Leo expand his network, and also training talent for the company. Why are you, a grown man, so petty about this?"

That time, we gave each other the silent treatment for a long time.

So long that I genuinely thought we would break up for good.

Until she sent me a text late one night:

"Hubby, my stomach hurts so bad."

My carefully constructed facade of indifference crumbled in an instant.

And so, the terrible cycle of me questioning, her getting angry, me trying to win her back, and her forgiving me, started all over again.

I closed the ring box and tossed it into the trash.

Deep in my drawer, there was also a crumpled apology letter Chloe had written to me when she was 18, because she’d forgotten to reply to one of my messages.

Back then, she really cared about me.

But now, she only cared about Leo.

I took out the apology letter, tore it into pieces, and threw them into the trash.

After clearing out decades of shared history, the apartment felt so much emptier.

My heart felt as though it had been emptied along with it.

The company WhatsApp group chat was still buzzing with photos of Leo celebrating Chloe's birthday and making her laugh.

Knowing Chloe's favoritism towards Leo, colleagues were eagerly sweet-talking them.

"OMG, Chloe and Leo are so perfect for each other!"

"You should find a boyfriend like Leo, not like Lucas, who’s so petty and always grumpy."

"Lucas only got where he is because of his family. Unlike Leo, who made it on his own. There's no comparison between them."

I couldn't be bothered to look anymore.

I called my lawyer directly and asked him to withdraw all my investments in the Liu Group.