Chapter 4

Suddenly, the dozens of photos my coworkers had spammed in the group chat rushed into my mind.

In every single one of them, Austin was holding Summer, smiling with a warmth I hadn't seen in years.

Maybe I was the only one who ever felt happy in this relationship.

I placed the photo face down on the cabinet and started packing my bags.

My clothes, my shoes...

When I got to my jewelry, my hands paused.

The necklace hanging in the center of the rack was the birthday gift Austin gave me last year.

I cleared out all the gifts we had exchanged over the years.

Since we were breaking up, there was no point in keeping any of it.

For the first and second year, our gifts were mutual and thoughtful.

But for the third year, there was nothing from Austin. Not for our anniversary, and not for Valentine's Day.

Because he had "accidentally" addressed them to Summer.

I sent Austin a text.

[I threw away the things you gave me. The things you bought for me are in the bedroom closet.]

[Do whatever you want with them.]

By the time I finished packing, he still hadn't replied.

I opened Snapchat. The party had just ended, and everyone was raving about how fun it was.

Summer had posted a story.

[You said she was just a compromise, a responsibility you couldn't shake. It's okay. I will wait for you forever...]

No views, no replies yet. She had customized her settings so only I could see it.

I tapped the heart icon, closed my phone, and rolled my suitcase toward the door.

What they did next was none of my business.

But the moment I opened the door, I ran straight into a panting Austin.

Seeing me, he let out a sigh of relief.

But in the next second, his brows furrowed, his voice filled with annoyance.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming back? I was looking all over for you."

I didn't answer. I just found it hilarious.

Looking all over for me?

More like he had finished his fancy dinner, accompanied Summer through the entire celebration, and only came looking for me when he finally had some free time.

Austin pushed past me into the apartment.

Under the bright hallway light, he finally noticed my suitcase.

His face fell.

"Where do you think you're going this late?"

I looked at him, completely expressionless.

"I'm moving out. I'll come back for the rest of my stuff later."

Hearing this, Austin didn't beg me to stay. Instead, a familiar look of impatience washed over his face.

It was the exact same look he gave me whenever I got upset over him calling me Summer, back when he would half-heartedly promise he didn't love his ex anymore.

He took a deep breath, trying to play the patient partner, and pulled the ring box from his pocket.

"Fine. I swear I only love you, okay?"

"Today was genuinely an accident. And I only took the team to dinner because the deposit was non-refundable. I didn't want to waste the money."

He brushed it off as if he had just grabbed a casual burger with coworkers.

"I explained everything to Summer, too. Look, I even got the ring back."

"Let's just drop it."

Austin grabbed my hand, trying to force the ring onto my ring finger.

But it was incredibly loose.

The moment I let my hand drop, the ring slid right off my finger and clinked onto the floor, rolling to Austin's feet.

The air went dead silent.

Looking at Austin's stunned face, I let out a mocking laugh.

"Another accident? Did you get the wrong size when you ordered it too?"

When that ring was on Summer's finger, it had fit flawlessly. Like it was custom-made for her.

For once, Austin looked guilty.

He picked up the ring, coughing to hide his embarrassment.

"It was an oversight. I'll get it resized tomorrow."

"Don't bother," I cut him off coldly.