Chapter 1Rain poured. I texted my boyfriend complaining: "Forgot my umbrella."
Fifteen minutes later, Ethan finally replied.
[Are you guilt-tripping me?]
[What, want me to hop on a train and hand-deliver one?]
[It's long-distance. Stop being so needy.]
I froze, standing there soaked.
Meanwhile, my best friend posted.
[Thanks to my crush, my new heels stayed dry ?]
I zoomed in, hands shaking—a man cooking in her kitchen.
Ethan fucking Blake. MY BOYFRIEND.
That recipe book he's holding? I wrote it for him. Every. Single. Page.
Minutes later, Ethan texted like nothing happened.
[Why so quiet? You home safe?]
I smiled.
Sure—my NEW man's bed now.
...
Rainwater dripped down my bangs onto Ethan's profile picture.
Stephen Curry—Isla's favorite player.
I asked him one last time.
[Can you change your profile pic?]
This time, he replied instantly.
[Chloe, are you EVER gonna stop?!]
[I already moved to Portland to avoid drama. What more do you want?]
Classic gaslighting.
I didn't find out they dated until six months into our relationship.
Awkward? Sure.
But I let it go.
Everyone's got a past, right?
Until Isla became ALL we talked about.
"Got three movie tickets. Let's bring Isla, or they'll go to waste."
"Don't all you girls love desserts? It's buy-one-get-one. Perfect for Isla."
"Camping's boring. Isla loves rafting—three people fit in one boat."
Even when I brought him to meet my parents, he insisted on dragging Isla along.
"What if your parents don't like me?"
"She could help smooth things over."
But in the end, my parents and I waited two hours.
He never showed.
Because Isla twisted her ankle halfway there, and he rushed her to the ER.
That time, I'd had enough. Broke up with him.
He didn't say a word.
Just sent me his transfer paperwork.
"Is THIS what you wanted?!"
A thousand miles apart, he gave me the cold shoulder for six months.
We only got back together because Isla tricked him into meeting me.
I thought he'd change.
I had zero desire to talk to him anymore.
Tossed my phone aside and went to shower.
He went quiet too.
2 AM. My phone rang again.
Ethan's voice came through, annoyed.
"Why aren't you replying to my texts?"
I finally checked—he'd sent over a dozen messages.
Asking how I made that Scotch egg dish.
But last time, he complained it tasted bad.
So I never wrote it in my recipe notebook.
My head was pounding. I didn't have the energy to argue with him.
"Isla wants it, doesn't she?"
"How did you know—"
He cut himself off.
Next second, he sent a photo of a couch.
A thin blanket thrown messily on top.
"Don't make us sound so dirty."
"I sleep here every night. Nothing happened between us."
I squinted at the screen.
That small was barely five feet long.
Ethan's six-three. His legs would dangle off.
I turned over, my voice dry and exhausted.
"Right. You drove ten hours to pick her up from work."
"Woke up at dawn to cook her a midnight snack."
"Even shamelessly crash on her couch."
"You've done everything you shouldn't. What's left to do?"
Take off that last piece of clothing? Or those tangled-up fucks?
What's the difference?
"Chloe! What the hell is wrong with you—"
"I'll send you the recipe."
I cut him off. Flat as dead water.
Silence.
Ethan's voice softened. Unsure.
"You're not mad?"
I forced a bitter smile.
"We broke up. Whatever you do doesn't matter anymore."
"Why would I be mad?"
He froze for a few seconds.
Then his voice shot up.
"What do you mean? Are you being passive-aggressive again?"
"When did I say we broke up? Did I agree to that?"
Question after question.
Not one explanation.
I thought about the past two months.
Working overtime till midnight every single night just to save up days off to see him.
Even my parents noticed on video calls—I'd lost over twenty pounds.
And him?
I almost laughed.
"So you, my boyfriend, are at another woman's place in the middle of the night."
"Did you ask for MY permission?"
Chapter 2
"Ethan, since you're already being shameless, let's skip the whole breakup—"
"AH!"
Isla's panicked scream cut through the line.
Drowned out my words.
The call ended.
Ten minutes later, Isla posted.
Ethan's tall frame squeezed into her bathroom, washing something.
[Ugh so annoying, got my period in the middle of the night. Ruined my underwear.]
[But my crush insisted on taking care of it for me~]
I remembered what Ethan texted me last night.
Stop being so needy.
The pain had gone almost numb.
A year ago, I asked them during a game night.
"Ever think about getting back together?"
They shot each other disgusted looks.
Both said at once: "Never!"
"I'll never forget how she dumped me for being broke!"
"Ugh! Like I'd ever want you back, Mr. 'Just Drink More Water' for every problem!"
They bickered until their faces turned red.
Back then, my heart settled.
Later, Isla asked me what I even liked about Ethan.
I never admitted the truth.
I'd crushed on him for six years since college.
To get close to him, I followed his favorite bands. Sat in the back of his boring lectures.
Even secretly added his roommate on Facebook to learn what he liked.
Until his roommate told me he had a girlfriend.
She just went to a different school.
So I buried those feelings.
Never expected that my first project lead during my internship would be him.
Those buried feelings came roaring back.
During my college crush phase, I was too insecure to tell anyone.
Not even Isla.
And to Isla?
Ethan didn't even rank on her dating history.
She never bothered mentioning her exes to me.
I naively thought even if they met again, nothing would happen.
After sending Ethan the recipe, I passed out.
Woke up the next afternoon.
I told my landlord I was moving out.
Then called my mom.
"That guy you mentioned before? I can meet him when I come home."
Mom paused.
Wanted to ask something but didn't.
"Okay. When are you back? Your dad and I will pick you up."
Ever since Ethan stood them up, my parents couldn't stand him.
I used to think they were being unfair.
I laughed bitterly at myself.
Forced myself up and started packing.
The couple mugs Ethan made two years ago? Trashed.
Our carefully chosen photos together? Burned.
Birthday and holiday gifts? Listed on Poshmark.
Six years of pining. Three years together.
Should've ended this a long time ago.
"What are you doing?"
Ethan stood in the doorway, staring at the pile of trash.
I didn't look at him. Kept sorting through my closet.
"Nothing. Just getting rid of stuff I don't need."
He stood there frozen for a long time. Voice resigned.
"Do you really have to make such a big deal out of this?"
He walked over and hugged me from behind.
Waved a brand-new umbrella with the tag still on.
"I checked the weather. It's gonna rain the next few days."
"Don't forget your umbrella again."
Isla's signature perfume hit my nose.
It had never smelled so suffocating before.
"Give it to Isla. She needs it more than I do."
I pushed his arm away.
The umbrella clattered to the floor.
Ethan's face instantly darkened.
"Chloe! What's your problem?!"
"I shouldn't have listened to Isla and come here!"
Chapter 3
"Alright, alright, why are you so pissed off?"
That's when I noticed Isla was here too.
She shot Ethan a playful glare.
Then grabbed his sleeve and tugged him behind her.
Only then did she look at me.
"Chloe, do me a favor and stop being stubborn, okay?"
My eyes dropped to her fingers twisted around his sleeve.
I said nothing.
Isla paused. Then added in a coaxing tone.
"You've been wanting him to move back, right?"
"I talked him into it all last night."
"He just handed in his resignation this morning. No more long-distance for you two."
"Happy now?"
I forced a bitter smile.
I'd been begging Ethan for six months to transfer back.
Every time, he brushed me off. Said the project wasn't done.
But now? Isla asks once, and suddenly his job doesn't matter.
Isla shot Ethan a look.
"You two talk. I'm gonna use the bathroom."
She slipped into the bathroom.
I picked up the black trash bag from the floor and shoved it at Ethan.
Inside were all the things he'd left at my place.
"We broke up. There's nothing left to say."
Ethan swatted the bag away, irritated.
"Can you STOP using breakup to test me all the time?!"
"AH! There's a cockroach! Ethan!"
Isla's scream came from the bathroom.
Ethan's face tightened. He shoved past me and rushed in.
Next thing I knew, his arm was wrapped tight under her thighs, carrying her into the bedroom.
A flash of pale skin.
I glanced toward the bathroom.
Isla's underwear and skirt were still sitting on the counter.
She wore nothing underneath.
I froze, unable to process what I was seeing.
Ethan came back out, grabbed her clothes, and handed them into the room.
This time, he stayed at the door. Didn't go in.
But his ears were red down to his neck. Eyes burning.
Isla laughed softly from inside.
"Seriously? When we were dating, what didn't you see?"
"Stop pretending."
Nausea shot up my throat.
I couldn't take it anymore, stormed in and grabbed Isla, dragging her toward the door.
"Get out! Both of you, GET OUT! I don't want to see either of you!"
"Chloe, you're hurting me!"
Isla screamed, struggling.
The second she said that, I was shoved hard.
My forehead slammed into the corner of the cabinet.
Pain blinded me. Took me a minute to recover.
Through blurred vision, I saw Ethan checking Isla's reddened wrist.
When he looked at me, all I saw was anger.
"If you've got something to say, say it like an adult."
"Why do you have to be so violent?"
I held onto the wall and slowly stood up.
Wiped my forehead. Sticky.
Tears mixed with something sharp and sour dripping down my face.
"Isla, what did I ever do to you? Why do this to me?"
Why go after MY boyfriend?
"Don't forget—without my parents' help, you wouldn't have even made it to college!"
Isla's face went pale. She pushed Ethan away.
Her eyes welled up even redder than mine.
"Chloe, Ethan and I aren't getting back together. You're overthinking this."
"But you've never once turned down the way he treats you!"
No boundaries. No limits.
She pressed her lips together. Tears rolled down in fat drops.
It took her a while to speak.
"I'm sorry. I'll leave."
I didn't even get a word in.
Ethan stepped in front of her, defending her.
"What gives you the right to kick her out?"
"If Isla hadn't found out you had a crush on me, she wouldn't have broken up with me!"
"That company you got into after graduation?"
"She asked me to pull strings and get your resume in—just so we could end up together!"
"She's always treated you like a best friend. Always thinking of you."
"And all you do is nitpick and throw tantrums over nothing."
BOOM.
My brain went blank.
I stared at Ethan.
"So what you're saying is..."
"You only agreed to date me because Isla told you to?"
