Chapter 1

I sat on the couch, checking the clock over and over.

The pork rib soup had been simmering in the kitchen for hours.

When the clock struck midnight, I quietly messaged my friend and confirmed that I wanted the apartment.

Ethan Carter and I had been together for five years, yet everything I owned fit into a single suitcase.

We’d known each other since childhood and started dating in college.

But somewhere along the way, our relationship had changed, and my heart had slowly grown cold.

I’d realized long ago that Ethan’s so-called busy schedule was just an excuse to stay away from home.

He was good at hiding things. His lousy friends weren’t. They were always posting pictures of their nights out on Instagram, where I could see them.

And in every post, there was a girl named Chloe Reed.

I’d fought with him about her countless times. Nothing changed. Instead, he blamed everything on me and dismissed my pain.

“Can you stop being so unreasonable? She’s just a student whose tuition I’m helping cover. Stop making everything sound so dirty!”

In his eyes, Chloe could do no wrong. I was always the vicious, jealous one.

A week ago, Chloe had called him because she was sick. Ever the devoted caretaker, Ethan stayed out all night.

The next morning, I saw her showing off on Instagram.

The photo showed a man cooking in her kitchen, his back to the camera. “Nothing beats having a man who cooks for you.”

When he came home, he looked exhausted and collapsed onto the bed.

I stared coldly at the lipstick stain on his collar. “What’s that?”

He barely glanced at it. “I had a business dinner. Someone must’ve brushed against me,” he said impatiently.

Then he looked at me accusingly. “Why didn’t you make me any soup?”

Whenever he came home tired, I used to serve him a hot bowl of soup to settle his stomach. It was my way of waiting up for him.

But I did that because I loved him. Because I wanted to. That didn’t make it my daily obligation.

I forced a pale smile and swallowed a few stomach pills right in front of him.

Years of delaying dinner while I waited for him had left me with chronic stomach trouble.

He immediately fell silent, looking a little stunned.

“My stomach hurts. You’ll have to make your own soup.”

It took him a few minutes to seem to remember. I’d told him my stomach pain was terrible and asked him to stay with me and take me to the hospital.

But he’d been too busy getting ready. Spraying cologne in front of the mirror, he hadn’t even glanced at me. “It’s the same old problem. Take some medicine and sleep it off. It’s not like it’ll kill you.”

Then he’d straightened his tie and hurried out, all dressed up and eager to see Chloe.

That was when I knew there was no going back.

I stopped making him soup. Stopped fussing over him. Stopped texting to ask when he would be home.

Our arguments had always gone like this, except I was usually the one who couldn’t stand it and begged to make up.

He loved seeing me meek and desperate, like an obedient dog he’d trained.

This time, I didn’t give in. I took a trip by myself instead.

Only when Ethan texted me first and offered to celebrate my birthday did I reluctantly come back.

Of course I knew he didn’t mean it. He was simply used to having me around. When his dog stopped wagging its tail at his feet, the owner naturally gave the leash a tug.

Hurt me, then toss me a little affection. I knew the routine too well.

It was how I’d lived for years.

Once, the mere promise that he would spend my birthday with me would have kept me happy all day.

But things had changed. So had we.

This time, I was going back to end it. I was truly tired.

Still, when I dressed up carefully and arrived at the restaurant, only for him to abandon me for a supposed business meeting when he was really going to see Chloe, it hurt a little.

Even though I’d known it would happen.

Chloe could always call him away, no matter the occasion.

She would always come first.

Disappointment built up little by little. Now it had finally overflowed, and I’d accepted the truth.

So when I saw them kissing passionately, I felt nothing.

I even thought they made a perfect pair.

By the time I finished packing, it was only one in the morning.

I drank the soup in the kitchen and took a long, relaxing bath.

When I came out, Ethan was home. He seemed to have drunk so much he barely knew where he was.

Looking at the vomit on the floor, I sighed and cleaned it up anyway.

After I changed his clothes and helped him into bed, he suddenly wrapped his arms around me.

But the name on his lips was Chloe’s.

I pushed him away coldly, only for him to speak again.

“Lily, I love you. It’s just…”

He stopped there. His words didn’t move me.

Without a flicker of emotion, I left the room.