Chapter 4

After the interview, Chloe clung to my arm, apologizing.

"Rainey, I just thought it was fun. Please don't be mad at me!"

Ethan chimed in:

"Yeah, you know how she is. She's just a wild card. Don't take it personally, Rainey."

I shook my head.

"I'm not mad. In fact, I'm here to break up with you."

A firework exploded in the sky, and Ethan instantly covered Chloe's ears.

He turned his head and yelled over the noise:

"What did you say, Rainey?"

Before I could repeat myself.

Chloe was already dragging him toward the drop tower.

I have a massive fear of heights. Every time Ethan wanted to go, I refused.

But this time, I suddenly wanted to push myself.

Not for anything else.

Just to find a bit of courage.

The courage to completely walk away from these toxic relationships.

There were only two seats left. Ethan smiled and placed Chloe's hand in mine.

"You two are the closest. Go ahead."

I closed my eyes.

The next second, Chloe's blood-curdling scream of "Help!" shattered the night.

The operator slammed the emergency stop.

Everyone saw it then—her safety harness wasn't buckled.

Chloe was sobbing, shaking violently in her seat.

Ethan ran over, his face pale.

He scooped Chloe up into his arms, bridal style, and glared at me.

"Rainey, how can you be so cruel? You were sitting right next to her! How could you not check her harness? Were you trying to kill her?"

Chloe seemed to snap out of it, pushing Ethan's chest weakly.

"Don't blame her... you know hurting her hurts me too. Ethan, just go!"

The hushed whispers of the crowd snapped me back to reality.

Ethan sighed. "Fine, whatever you say."

"Rainey, go home first. Chloe's in bad shape. I need to stay and watch over her."

I took a deep breath.

I went home and pulled out the relationship journal Ethan used to write for me.

I couldn't remember the last time he wrote in it.

But tonight, I wrote the final entry.

"October 14th. We are officially over."

Chloe's birthday. The day I cut her off.

For the next week, I was fully occupied with my relocation paperwork.

Ethan didn't contact me once.

Until one evening, he finally called.

"Rainey, where's that heirloom cross necklace my grandmother gave you?"

"I've searched the whole apartment, and I can't find it anywhere."

I asked him:

"Are you at the apartment?"

"Yeah. Chloe's still having nightmares. I remembered that cross is blessed and brings peace. I want to give it to her to help her sleep."

I was stunned.

His mind was entirely consumed by finding a cure for Chloe's nightmares.

He didn't even notice that all my belongings were gone.

That necklace was given to me the first time I met Ethan's grandmother.

She said it was reserved for her future granddaughter-in-law.

I was going to return it, but I hadn't had the chance.

Ethan's voice kept droning on.

"Chloe says she's scared, so I need to rush back to her place."

"Leave work early and go find the necklace. While you're at it, do the laundry. The clothes in the basket are starting to smell."

"Oh, and don't forget to grab those donuts Chloe likes from downtown. She's too stressed to eat anything else."

I summoned the very last bit of my patience.

"Ethan, we broke up."

There was a long pause on the other end.

"Is this because I carried her at the amusement park?"

"Rainey, she almost died! Can you stop making a mountain out of a molehill?"

"She didn't even blame you for not checking her harness!"

Seeing that I remained silent, Ethan added:

"Alright, Rainey, stop overthinking. Chloe and I love you the most."

Whether they loved me or not, I didn't care.

But I knew one thing: Ethan, you loved her.

I hung up and blocked him everywhere.