Chapter 4

No wonder he so often ignored my messages now.

I glanced at Ethan. He looked cornered, clearly wanting his phone back but not daring to reach for it.

I handed it to him.

So while I’d been waiting alone outside the theater, he’d been gaming with Lily.

Those patient, gentle smiles had been for her.

I could imagine exactly how irresistible he sounded, murmuring into his headset late at night.

Night after night, he and Lily had played together, using a game as cover for thrilling, romantic online dates.

I knew what he looked like when he was in love.

I just couldn’t accept seeing him look that way for someone else.

I stared at him.

I couldn’t connect the man in front of me to the boy who’d once pursued me so relentlessly.

When had he changed?

I didn’t know.

I didn’t want to know.

The drive home was silent again.

I stared down the road as tears slipped down both cheeks.

Apparently, when you were disappointed enough, your body cried without asking permission.

I rarely cried. Ethan frowned and clumsily tried to wipe my face. I turned away, avoiding every attempt to touch me.

He went rigid, then rushed to explain.

“Baby, Lily and I just play games together. She’s young. She doesn’t know when to watch what she says. Please don’t read into it.”

I gave a cold laugh.

“Oh, so now I’m ‘baby’? Not ‘Emma Hayes,’ with her notifications muted?”

Quick-witted Ethan Bennett, the star of our college debate team, couldn’t manage a complete sentence.

I pulled up outside a hotel and turned to him. “Are you getting out, or am I?”

He understood. He looked as though he wanted to argue, but finally got out, his expression dark.

On the third day of our standoff, I got a call from the building manager back in my hometown.

My mother had suffered a sudden medical emergency and died alone in our little apartment.

In a panic, I sent Ethan a message saying I was going home and asking him to take care of Summit.

My mother had raised me alone. I’d never imagined losing her while I was still in my twenties.

A week later, after handling her funeral by myself, I boarded the train back.

On the train, I kept searching for proof that she had lived. Her handwriting. Photos on my phone. Our messages and voice recordings.

But the more I looked, the harder I cried.

It was eight in the evening when I got home. I’d left in such a rush that I hadn’t even packed a warm coat. Hunched against the cold, I unlocked the door.

The moment I stepped inside, I froze.

Seven or eight people sat around our dining table, gathered over a steaming fondue pot.

Ethan and his friends had their glasses raised. Their laughter filled the apartment with warmth.

My sudden arrival brought it all to a halt.

They turned toward the door, smiles frozen on their faces.

Ethan shot to his feet. He’d always had sharp eyes. He immediately noticed the black mourning ribbon pinned to my chest.

Before he could speak, a sugary female voice floated out of our bedroom.

“Ethan, your dog won’t cooperate for pictures! What do I do?”

Lily walked out with her phone in her hand. My gaze traveled down from her face to the lounge pants she was wearing.

My lounge pants.

I pressed my lips together, trying to contain the emotions rising in my throat.

Summit spotted me and raced over like a child desperate for comfort.

I bent down and stroked his head, then looked back at those pants.

“Oh, Emma, I came over in a short skirt, and it kept riding up when I sat down. Ethan had to find me something to wear. Please don’t get the wrong idea.”

A short skirt in this weather. Apparently, freezing to death wasn’t a concern.

Something in my head snapped. Already stretched to the breaking point, I could no longer control the fury inside me. Anger burned through my chest, and a wave of hatred threatened to swallow me.

I turned toward Ethan, who stood frozen, and clenched my hands at my sides until my fingertips went white.

Just as I was about to explode, Lily stepped forward and grabbed my arm. “Come in, Emma. Sit down and eat with—”

Before she could finish, Summit knocked her to the floor.

My normally gentle dog must have thought she was attacking me. He went straight for her, biting without hesitation.

“Ah!”

“Holy shit!”

Screams and curses filled the room. Ethan hauled Summit off her and slapped him across the nose.

Summit yelped and ran back to me, fresh blood staining his mouth.

Some of the pressure in my chest finally eased. I patted him to comfort him, ignored the chaos around us, and led him out.

Of everything in that apartment, the dog was the only thing I still wanted.