Chapter 2

I went to the apartment to pack. Three years of living on almost nothing had left me with very little worth keeping.

There were cheap matching bracelets Ethan had bought online, a paper ring folded from a napkin, and a box of breakfast bars we’d once split across two days. I kept those things because I’d thought they meant we were making a life together.

When the stall was new, we were so broke that I divided one breakfast sandwich into three meals. Ethan would laugh and call me a crybaby when I got hungry. Then he’d kiss me until I forgot the empty fridge and the rent notice on the door.

I’d believed that kind of closeness meant something. I’d thought we were holding on to each other because we had nothing else.

I dumped the bracelets and the paper ring into the trash. My suitcase still looked empty.

The one thing I wanted was my silver ring. André’s wife, Marie, had given it to me before she died. It was plain, worn smooth where her thumb had rubbed it. “Give it to the person who loves you best,” she’d said.

I’d given it to Ethan.

The ring wasn’t in the apartment. It was at the shop with my documents, so I took the bus to Pike Street Market.

A man was sitting in Ethan’s chair behind the counter. He had a cigarette tucked behind his ear and no intention of buying anything.

“You here to work, fish girl?” he asked. “I need twenty pounds of eel, cleaned and chopped fine.”

I recognized him from the livestream. His name was Grant. He’d been the one laughing when Ethan said he’d never marry me.

“We’re closed,” I said.

Grant stood and reached for my face. I caught his wrist and pushed him away from me. His shoulder bumped the counter.

“You’re going to regret that,” he snapped. “Do you know who I am?”

“No,” I said. “And I don’t care.”

He raised his voice, demanding compensation for his coat and the inconvenience. I looked at the bank balance on my phone. I still had the money I’d saved for Ethan’s house.

“How much?” I asked.

“Two hundred grand.”

I sent it.

Grant stared at his phone. “That’s just the coat.”

I sent the rest of what I’d saved, down to the last dollar.

Ethan appeared at the entrance. He’d come to check on his friend. He saw the transfer confirmation on Grant’s screen, then looked at me.

“Mia, what are you doing?”

I pointed to the livestream phone still propped by the cutting board.

“I heard everything.”