Chapter 3

On Monday, I reported to Harbor Wellness Clinic.

Daniel arranged for me to greet clients, organize files, and help out at the community outreach counseling center every Wednesday afternoon.

"It's a busy, sometimes chaotic environment there. Will you be okay?" He handed me a glass of warm water.

"I'll be fine."

"Call me anytime if you can't handle a situation. Conveniently, I have a lecture in the next classroom on Wednesday afternoon, so we can leave together afterward."

I nodded.

Wednesday afternoon, I went to the community activity center on the east side of the city.

The counseling center was set up in a large classroom with four tables. I arrived early and took the innermost one.

At four in the afternoon, the door opened.

Ethan and Sophia walked in.

My pen paused.

Ethan saw me too. His steps faltered for half a second, and he frowned.

Sophia was arm-in-arm with him, wearing a floral dress. She looked surprised to see me.

"Lily? What are you doing here?"

"I work here."

"You quit?" Ethan asked, his tone stiff.

"Yes."

"You're working as a therapist?" He scanned the classroom. "Does your family really need you to make such a small amount of money?"

I looked at him. "What I do is none of your business."

"None of my business?" Ethan took a step forward, lowering his voice. "Lily, who hired you to the company in the first place? Now you're out here embarrassing yourself. You're dragging my family's name through the mud."

【I was clearly heartbroken to see you working here… Why don't you understand…】

I heard his inner thoughts.

Sophia released Ethan's arm and pulled a small box from her bag.

"Lily, this is for you." Sophia opened the box, revealing a star bracelet—the one Ethan had given me that I hadn't taken. He'd picked it up again for some reason. "Ethan said he bought this for me, but I know he spent a long time finding it, and it was originally meant for you. I'm returning it."

She extended the bracelet to me, but I didn't move.

Sophia's hand froze in mid-air, a flicker of awkwardness on her face.

She bit her lip and extended it another inch.

I took a step back.

Just then, her fingers loosened—

The bracelet slipped from her palm and hit the floor.

Clink.

The star charm cracked, the chain broke, and tiny loose diamonds scattered everywhere.

Sophia gasped, her eyes instantly welling up.

"Lily… I just wanted to return your stuff… You could have just said you didn't want it. Why did you push my hand…"

I didn't even bother to explain.

Ethan rushed over, looked down at the broken bracelet on the floor, then looked up at me. "Lily, what are you doing? She was kind enough to return your things, and you treat her like this?"

His inner thoughts: 【How did she become like this… Does she really hate me so much that she'd smash the bracelet…?】

Sophia knelt to pick up the pieces, tears splashing onto the floor.

Ethan bent down to help her. After picking them up, he stood, clutching the few fragments, his knuckles white.

"Lily, you've gone too far." He looked at me. "Apologize to her."

"I didn't do anything. Why should I apologize?"

"Are you still going to deny it?" His voice suddenly rose. "Apologize!"

"I won't apologize."

A crowd had gathered around us.

Seeing I wouldn't budge, Ethan walked up to me and violently flipped over the table. Crash! Files scattered everywhere.

"I told you to apologize, didn't you hear me?"

I knelt to pick up the files.

He grabbed my wrist, his grip so strong my bones creaked. "Lily, if you keep being so unreasonable, do you believe I'll…"

He paused.

I looked up, meeting his eyes. "Believe you'll what?"

"Believe I'll leave you."

His inner thoughts suddenly exploded at that moment: 【I didn't mean it like that… I didn't want to say that… Don't go…】

I looked at him and suddenly laughed.

"Ethan, do you think I can't live without you? Well, I'm telling you now: I'm the one who doesn't want you anymore."