Chapter 3

After Ethan left, I packed his things.

Clothes, shoes, laptop, books, and all his miscellaneous workout gear.

I put them all into boxes and stacked them in the corner of the living room.

Then I called him.

"Your things are packed. When are you coming to pick them up?"

Silence on the other end.

"Skylar, are you really sure about this?"

"Yes."

"We've been together for three years."

"So?"

He was silent again. "I'll come tomorrow."

"Okay."

I hung up the phone and sat on the couch, looking at the stack of boxes.

Three years.

Three years of my life, packed into these few boxes.

Suddenly, I felt so tired. Not physically tired, but emotionally drained.

My phone rang. It was my mother.

"Sweetie, coming home for dinner this weekend? Your father bought your favorite steak."

"Mom, I'm busy this week. Maybe next week."

"What are you busy with again? You haven't been back in three weeks."

"Work's busy."

"No matter how busy work is, you should still come home. Oh, by the way, how are the wedding plans with Ethan going? Maybe you two should just get your marriage license first."

I paused. "Mom, we broke up."

The other end of the line went quiet for a few seconds. "What happened?"

"Personality differences."

"Personality differences?" My mother's voice rose. "You've been together for three years, and now you're saying personality differences?"

"Mom, I don't want to talk about this."

"Sweetie, listen to me. Ethan's a good guy. Ambitious, and he treats you well. Arguments are normal. Don't just talk about breaking up at the drop of a hat."

"Mom," I cut her off. "He bought emergency contraception for his secretary."

The phone line went quiet again.

After a long moment, my mother said, "Do you have proof?"

"I saw it with my own eyes."

"Did he explain?"

"He explained it away. Said his secretary asked him for a favor."

"Well, there you go. He's just soft-hearted, just helping out. You've been home too long and are overthinking things..."

"Mom," I interrupted her. "If it were Dad, what would you think?"

She stopped speaking.

"Mom, I know you mean well. But this... I can't get past it."

I hung up the phone.

That night, I sat alone on the balcony, watching the city lights for a long time.

The city night was bright, full of lights everywhere.

Behind every light, there was a home.

I had a home too.

But in that home, one person was missing.

It wasn't that Ethan had left.

It was that I had sent him away.