Theater: NovelMaster | Language: English | NEW
Synopsis
Seven years into our relationship, Ethan and I planned to make our marriage official at City Hall right after our pre-wedding honeymoon.
Yet the second I opened the hotel suite door, my best friend Sadie was rolling around on our king-sized honeymoon bed, wearing nothing but a slinky silk nightgown.
"Chloe, you guys are finally here! Did you really think you could sneak off for a romantic getaway without me?"
"Ethan texted me the room number! I'm staying too!"
My expression darkened. I turned to look at Ethan.
He gave an awkward, sheepish laugh. "Sadie just went through a breakup, Chloe. I only thought it'd be good for her to get some fresh air."
Five years. It was always like this.
Every time Ethan and I had a private date, Sadie always found an excuse to tag along, and Ethan indulged her every single time.
When we took our engagement photos, he let her crowd into the frame and steal the spotlight.
When we bought matching couple's hoodies, he turned around and bought the exact same one for her.
He even had a spare key cut for our new place and secretly gave it to Sadie behind my back.
I turned on my heel to leave, but Ethan grabbed my arm in a panic.
"Chloe, please don't be like this. You and Sadie are practically sisters. What's the big deal if we all hang out together?"
The next second, his inner voice slammed straight into my head like a physical blow:
*[Why is she freaking out so hard? Wait... does Chloe know Sadie confessed her feelings to me?]*
My pupils shrank. I whipped my head around and stared him dead in the eye.
"Did you turn her down?"
Ethan froze.
I gritted my teeth, repeating each word with icy precision.
"When Sadie confessed her feelings to you, Ethan... did you reject her?"
Ethan went dead silent.
I let out a bitter, self-mocking laugh. I walked back to the entryway, set the keycard on the console table, and walked out.
In this supposed honeymoon of ours, I was the third wheel all along.
When I reached the hotel lobby, it wasn't Ethan who stopped me, but the concierge.
"Ma'am, the tropical storm made landfall earlier than expected."
"You really need to stay indoors. Heading out right now is extremely dangerous!"
I glanced outside. The violent wind was tossing debris everywhere, bending the palm trees almost flat against the ground.
There was no way out.
Left with no choice, I sank onto one of the lobby sofas and opened my phone, frantically checking for return flights.
It took Ethan and Sadie forever to finally saunter down the stairs to look for me.
"Ethan, look! Chloe's right there. I told you she wouldn't actually leave!"
Sadie waved at Ethan, then slid onto the couch right beside me.
"Chloe, are you really mad at me?"
"That confession was just a stupid dare from Truth or Dare! I was completely messing around with Ethan."
She reached out to link her arm through mine, but I flinched away.
She smiled awkwardly, pulling her hand back.
Seeing that, Ethan chimed in to back her up.
"She's telling the truth, babe. Sadie and I have been friends for years. If anything was going to happen between us, it would've happened ages ago. Besides, she just got dumped! Why would she suddenly fall for me?"
Right then, his inner voice echoed in my head again.
*[Thank God Sadie and I came up with this excuse upstairs.]*
*[Chloe's never even seen Sadie's fake ex-boyfriend anyway. There's no way she figures out it's a lie.]*
I heard every word.
I turned to Sadie and held out an open palm.
"Show me his picture."
"Wasn't your boyfriend always dragging Ethan out to play basketball and video games? Telling you it was 'guys' night' so I couldn't come? Now that you're broken up, don't tell me I'm not even allowed to know his name or what he looks like."
Sadie instinctively shoved her phone behind her back.
"We broke up! I deleted everything already. Why are you bringing this up out of nowhere?"
I let out a cold smirk and reached for her phone.
"Did you delete them, or did this guy never exist in the first place?"
Sadie jumped up with a dramatic shriek, pretending to dodge, but she barely put up a fight.
Before my hand even brushed against her, her phone was already in my grip.
Just as I was about to unlock the photo album, a violent shove hit my back.
"Chloe! Have you lost your damn mind?!"
"Didn't you see Sadie hit her stomach on the table?! All over a stupid phone? What the hell is wrong with you!"
Caught completely off guard, I crashed face-first onto the polished marble floor. My knees hit the stone with a sickening crack. Cold sweat broke out across my forehead from the blinding pain.
I struggled to prop myself up. By the edge of the coffee table, Sadie was huddled on the floor, clutching her stomach and tugging Ethan's sleeve with tear-filled eyes.
"Ethan, my stomach hurts so bad..."
"I think I bruised it..."
Ethan was completely enraged, barking at me without holding anything back.
"Fine! I'll tell you the truth! Sadie made that boyfriend up using a burner account! And those basketball games and gaming nights? It was just the two of us hanging out! We only kept it from you because we didn't want you overthinking everything!"
"Sadie and I are just friends! How many times do I have to say it before you get it through your head?!"
Without giving me another glance, Ethan scooped the whimpering Sadie into his arms and walked away without looking back.
As he turned the corner, his irritated thoughts crashed into my mind once again.
*[What an irrational bitch.]*
*[I should've just dated Sadie from the very beginning.]*I sat paralyzed on the cold floor for a long time until one of the hotel staff rushed over to help me up.
"Ma'am, are you okay? We have some soothing medicated liniment at the front desk. Let me get you cleaned up."
I nodded numbly and booked a separate room under my own name.
The second this storm cleared, I was leaving.
While the staff member was helping me up to my new room, Ethan called.
I declined it.
Almost immediately, text messages began bombarding my screen.
[Where the hell are you? Get back to the suite and apologize to Sadie.]
[We're literally about to sign our marriage papers in a few days. Can you stop this childish paranoia?]
[I got you some pain relief balm from the desk. Come back, say you're sorry, and I'll rub it on your knee.]
...
I didn't reply.
I just stared blankly at the massive, ugly purple bruises spreading across my kneecap.
A frantic pounding on the door snapped me out of my trance.
I pulled it open. It was Ethan.
He held a small bottle of liniment in his hand. The moment our eyes met, his tone was sharp and impatient.
"Hiding by yourself again? Chloe, can you grow up for once?"
"Every single time you get upset, you run off and hide. I'm exhausted. I don't have the energy to keep chasing you down."
My mind drifted.
I remembered the year I failed my college entrance exams. I had hidden in a park, crying my eyes out alone in the dark.
Back then, Ethan searched half the city until well past midnight to find me. He had smiled, reaching out his hand:
"Chloe, no matter where you hide, I'll always find you."
I shook my head and started to pull the door shut.
"You don't have to look for me anymore."
Ethan's face darkened. He shoved his foot into the doorframe and forced his way inside.
But when his eyes fell on the massive bruise blooming across my leg, his harsh expression softened. He knelt down in front of me, popping the cap off the liniment.
"Why is it bruised this badly?"
"Stop being stubborn. Let me put some ointment on it. After this, cancel this room and come back to the suite. We're on our honeymoon, Chloe. You staying in a separate room looks ridiculous."
Looking down at the crown of his head, I heard his thoughts drift into my mind again.
*[This must hurt like hell. I need to be gentle.]*
A lump formed in my throat. My heart almost softened.
Then, his next thought shattered everything.
*[Still, Chloe needs to learn a lesson. She can't keep walking all over Sadie just because Sadie's too sweet to fight back.]*
*[Ugh, next time I hang out with Sadie alone, I'll have to come up with a better excuse.]*
My entire body went rigid. I yanked my leg back.
Ethan looked up, startled. "What's wrong?"
Before I could answer, the door swung open.
Sadie was leaning weakly against the doorframe, clutching her stomach, offering me a fragile, saintly smile.
"So this is where you guys are! I was looking everywhere for you!"
"Ethan, did you smooth things over with Chloe? See, I told you the three of us don't have any real secrets. As long as you two are happy, it doesn't matter if I took a little hit."
Ethan immediately dropped the bottle of liniment, jumped up, and rushed over to support her.
He frowned deeply. "Why are you out of bed? Didn't I tell you to rest in the room?"
"What do you mean 'took a hit'? You think I'd let Chloe treat you like that? Don't worry, Chloe and I already talked. She's going to apologize to you right now."
With that, Ethan turned to glare at me.
"Chloe, hurry up and say you're sorry to Sadie."
I looked at the half-rubbed liniment drying on my knee, my voice flat and hollow.
"I didn't push her. She tripped herself. And we never agreed on an apology."
"Also, Ethan... I'm your fiancée. If anyone deserves your loyalty, it's me."
Ethan froze, choked by my words. His inner voice buzzed with uncomfortable conflict.
*[She's not wrong about that...]*
*[But Sadie and I... Ugh, why is it so damn hard for her to just swallow her pride and apologize once?!]*
Hearing that, I looked up, staring straight into his eyes.
"It's not hard for me to admit when I'm wrong. But you two were the ones who lied. We're supposed to get legally married in days, and you're sneaking around behind my back on private dates with another woman."
"Ethan, do you honestly think that's acceptable?"Ethan didn't say a word. He looked like he was wrestling with his own conscience.
Just as I tried to focus on reading whatever else was going on in his head, Sadie cut in with a giggly, playful laugh.
Miraculously, her stomach ache had vanished. She walked over and grabbed my hand.
"Oh, come on! What's with all the drama? We've known each other since high school, Chloe. Are you really worried about me?"
"Alright, let's just let it go! Talking about it makes me hungry anyway, especially after that little bump. Let's head down to the hotel restaurant! I heard their salmon is incredible. Let's go!"
Sadie shot Ethan a pointed look.
Catching her cue, Ethan stepped up beside me. Without giving me a real answer, the two of them flanked me on either side, practically dragging me toward the elevator.
On the surface, it looked like a picture of three close friends.
But barely a few steps down the hallway, Sadie suddenly clutched her side and groaned in pain again.
Ethan immediately dropped my arm, his entire focus snapping straight back to her. He held her waist, and the two of them walked faster and faster.
With my bruised knee throbbing, I could only limp behind.
Within seconds, their figures disappeared down the corridor.
By the time I dragged myself into the restaurant, Ethan and Sadie were already cozied up together on one side of a booth.
Sadie looked up at me with an innocent smile.
"Chloe! Ethan and I will just squeeze together on this side. You take the other side—it's way more spacious!"
I didn't say a word. I sat down across from them in silence.
The waiter brought the menus.
Ethan took them all.
He handed the first one to Sadie beside him, kept one for himself, and only tossed the third one across the table to me last.
Before I could even open it, Sadie was rattling off orders like a machine gun.
"Pan-seared foie gras, garlic butter prawns, the tomahawk steak, steamed sea bass, and the chef's sashimi platter..."
Ethan chimed in, adding a couple more sides, and snapped his menu shut.
"That'll be all for now, thanks."
It wasn't until the waiter walked away that they seemed to remember I was sitting right there.
Ethan tried to recover with an awkward grin.
"Oh, Chloe, I can call the waiter back. Did you want to add anything?"
*[Why didn't Chloe speak up earlier?]*
*[Pouting again? Why does she have to be so damn difficult all the time? Honestly, Sadie is so much easier to deal with.]*
I closed my menu and looked at Ethan coldly.
"No need. That's plenty."
Ethan visibly exhaled in relief.
The dishes arrived quickly.
Ethan and Sadie started chattering excitedly about an online game they both played.
I didn't play it, so I couldn't join in.
I kept my head down, picking at my food, watching Ethan peel shrimp after shrimp and pile them onto Sadie's plate.
Only when the mountain of shrimp on Sadie's plate threatened to tumble over did she playfully slap his arm.
"Ethan, stop giving all the shrimp to me! That's way too biased!"
"What about Chloe? Peel some for her too!"
Ethan blinked, as if suddenly remembering my existence, and pushed a peeled shrimp toward my plate.
"Here, Chloe. Eat up. They're super fresh."
*[I'm just so used to peeling them for Sadie.]*
My appetite vanished completely.
I put down my fork, ready to head back to my room.
"Chloe, wait," Sadie called out softly.
"Actually... the real reason I tagged along on this trip was to ask you for a huge favor."
"I..."
Sadie trailed off, looking down as if the words were too humiliating to speak.
Ethan gently patted the back of her hand, stepping in to speak for her.
"You know how toxic Sadie's mom is with forcing her to get married. Remember when Sadie tagged along to our engagement photoshoot? She panicked and told her family that she and I were the ones tying the knot. Well, now her mom refuses to believe it without a legal certificate. So I was thinking... what if Sadie and I go to City Hall first?"
"Once the mandatory thirty-day divorce waiting period passes, I'll marry you right after."
The table went dead silent.
Both of them stared at me, waiting for my reaction.
I sat there, stunned for a long while.
Then, I burst out laughing.
"Sure. Go ahead. Go get married."
"Ethan, we're done."With that, I stood up to leave.
Ethan's hand shot out, clamping around my wrist like a vice.
"Chloe, what kind of ridiculous nonsense are you spouting?!"
"You know what Sadie's family is like! If she doesn't marry, her parents will sell her off to some random guy just to fund her brother's wedding! You two have been friends for years—can't you show a shred of empathy?!"
I laughed out of sheer fury, violently wrenching my wrist from his grip.
"Empathy for her? Who's going to have empathy for me?!"
"Our honeymoon isn't even over, and my fiancé is telling me he wants to legally marry another woman and make me wait for him to divorce her! Ethan, do you even hear how insane you sound?!"
Sadie jumped to her feet, tears streaming down her face as she played the peacemaker.
"No, please! Don't fight because of me! I'll just go back and let my parents marry me off to some gross old man for cash! Please, don't ruin your relationship over this!"
Hearing that, Ethan's hero complex flared up completely.
He turned to Sadie, making a fierce vow:
"Sadie, don't worry. I will sign those papers with you!"
"As for Chloe, this is between her and me. I'll handle it. As your friend, there is no way in hell I'm watching you get thrown to the wolves."
Watching the two of them perform their grand melodrama of sacrifice in front of me, I turned to walk away.
Suddenly, Sadie threw herself onto the floor right in front of me, grabbing onto my legs and sobbing hysterically.
"Chloe, please help me! Just let me borrow Ethan this one time! I'm begging you!"
"I swear, the second the papers are signed, we'll file for divorce the next day! I won't hold onto him, I promise! We've been best friends for so long, please just help me!"
I turned my head away, looking out the floor-to-ceiling windows at the howling storm outside.
"Ethan and I are over."
"Why are you begging me? Whatever you two want to sign, do whatever you want."
Hearing that, Ethan lunged forward to grab me again.
"Chloe! What is that supposed to mean?! Sadie only begged us because she had zero options left! How can you be so heartless, willing to watch her entire life get destroyed? Take that breakup back!"
"I won't. I'm breaking up with you."
I sidestepped him, but before Ethan could reach for me again, Sadie suddenly sprang up from the floor and slammed her shoulder hard into mine, wailing:
"It's all my fault! I ruined everything between you two!"
"Just leave me alone! I might as well just go die!"
I stumbled from the impact, hitting the floor once again.
Through the tears of pain, I saw Sadie sprint out of the restaurant and into the raging rainstorm outside.
Ethan didn't hesitate for a single second. He bolted after her, his silhouette instantly swallowed by the downpour.
From start to finish, he didn't look back at me once.
A nearby server rushed over to help me up.
I waved a hand, declining the help.
Clawing onto the edge of a chair, I dragged myself up, limped back to my room, and packed my bags.
The front desk informed me that once this wave of rain cleared, the storm would officially pass.
I checked my phone—my flight was confirmed on schedule.
Right before leaving the resort, I ran into Ethan in the lobby. He was soaked through.
He glared at my suitcase, barking at me instantly:
"Can you act like an adult for once?! Running away again?"
"Sadie is missing! It's pouring rain and freezing out there, and it's dangerous! You're coming with me to find her right now!"
"You need to tell her to her face that you don't mind me helping her with the marriage certificate!"
*Help him look for her?*
Me, a woman who could barely walk, going out into a storm to look for a girl who threw a tantrum and ran off on purpose?
It was absurd.
I stumbled slightly as he yanked my arm, but I pried his fingers off one by one.
"My leg is injured. I'm not going."
"Ethan, I already told you. I'm not running away. I am breaking up with you."
Ethan glared at me, his chest heaving.
"Oh, stop the drama! You can push through the pain and walk, can't you? You drove Sadie to this point—don't you feel a single ounce of guilt?!"
"I'm asking you one last time: are you coming with me to find her or not?!"
I gripped the handle of my suitcase tightly.
"No. And I don't want you to go, either."
"Think carefully, Ethan. If you walk out into that rain for Sadie right now, you and I are completely finished."
Ethan sneered, his arrogance flaring up.
"Finished? You think threatening to break up is going to scare me every single time?"
"Fine, Chloe! You want to break up? We're broken up!"
He stormed out into the rain. Watching his back, I picked up his irritated inner voice one last time.
*[We're about to get married. Does she really think she can scare me with a breakup? She's just bluffing.]*
*[Whatever. Let her throw her little fit. I'm not wasting my time chasing after her this time. I have to find Sadie first!]*
I smiled faintly.
This time, Ethan would never find me again.
I checked out.
The rain had softened to a drizzle. I hailed a cab and headed straight for the airport.
Minutes before boarding, my phone buzzed with several frantic texts from Ethan.
[I found Sadie. We're heading back to the lobby. Come down so we can talk this out.]
[The front desk said you checked out?! Did you seriously leave? Why the hell are you running home?!]
[Where are you?! Fine, I won't sign the damn papers with Sadie! Just get your ass back here!]
...
The messages kept flooding in, but I didn't care anymore.
I typed out one final reply:
[We are done.]
Then, I pulled up both Ethan's and Sadie's numbers and social media accounts. Blocked. Deleted. Erased.
Ethan, I really don't want you anymore.
Chapters (4)
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Watch & Promotions
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