Chapter 3

Up until the day of the concert, Ethan hadn't come home once.

He'd occasionally send a message or two on Snapchat, reporting his whereabouts.

As if simply reporting them made him still a dutiful boyfriend.

"Nina's mood is still really low. I took her on a road trip to clear her head. Took her to an escape room today..."

I didn't reply to any of them.

I was packing things for the concert.

And cleaning out everything that belonged to me, planning to take it all with me.

Five years of our relationship had seeped into every corner of this place.

I'd thought discarding these things would hurt, but when I actually did it, I discovered that when your heart dies to a certain degree, you can't feel pain anymore.

That afternoon, as I was folding the last few pieces of clothing into my suitcase, Nina sent me a Snapchat message.

No words, just three photos in succession.

One showed Nina wearing an extremely luxurious wedding dress with a long train, wearing a tiara, smiling like a real bride.

Another showed Ethan's back as he bent down to adjust Nina's dress train.

The last was a photo of them together, Nina's hand resting on Ethan's arm, the engagement ring still on her ring finger.

Half a minute later, Nina's text came through.

[Sophia, please don't misunderstand. I've only met bad boys my whole life. No one's ever really cherished me. Ethan took me to try on wedding dresses just to let me experience what it feels like to be a happy woman. Ethan's also checking out dress styles for you in advance. This one is really beautiful. You'll definitely look even better in it than me.]

Looking at the words on the screen, my stomach churned.

I didn't reply to Nina. Instead, I called Ethan directly.

The phone rang for a long time before someone answered. In the background, I could faintly hear a sales associate saying "Sir, your wife is so beautiful."

"Hello, Sophia?"

"You took Nina to try on wedding dresses?" I asked calmly.

There was a second of silence on the other end, followed by an irritated sigh.

"From your tone, are you interrogating me? You know I grew up with Nina. I've always treated her like a little sister. She just went through such a huge blow. She's lost all faith in love. I took her to try on wedding dresses just to help her rebuild her confidence. Besides, I'm also checking out which stores have good styles for you."

Listening to this string of justifications, I actually laughed in anger.

"Ethan, since you care about her so much, why don't you go all the way and be her groom. Let's break up."

His breathing caught sharply on the other end, followed by a low roar: "Sophia, you want to break up with me? Just because I went with Nina to try on a wedding dress? Are you serious? When did you become so unreasonable!"

"Think whatever you want."

I didn't want to hear another word from him. I hung up directly.

Looking at the empty closet, I zipped up my suitcase.

I'd spent five years figuring out that a man's so-called "sibling affection" was just ambiguity and favoritism without boundaries.

Now, I didn't want it anymore.