Chapter 3

I mumbled, "It was you, you didn't hear me. "

Nate cut me off, sounding impatient.

"Emmy, stop being so childish. You need to practice speaking properly. You can't even speak your own language without stuttering, what are you gonna do when you go overseas and have to speak English? I can't always be there to help you, " he said.

I clenched my fists. "Mind your own business. I don't, "

"You always throw a tantrum like this. I'm not asking you to be as amazing as Olivia, but you can't depend on me for everything and not do anything yourself, " he sighed helplessly.

On the other end of the line, Olivia called out to him excitedly.

He said he had something important to take care of and hung up in a hurry.

"I'm not planning to go overseas anymore, " I finished the rest of my sentence quietly.

Staring at the group photo of the three of us on my phone screen, the image felt so harsh to look at. I quietly deleted it and replaced it with a picture of myself.

Three's a crowd, and I'm done being the third wheel.

*****

After packing my things, I decided to wait for Nate to come back so we could talk things out.

I waited until midnight.

I opened WhatsApp, and the group chat with the three of us was dead silent.

Scrolling up, the whole screen was a sea of my own green messages, no one had replied at all.

My eyes prickled with tears.

My finger hovered over the red "Leave Group Chat " button for a second, then I hit confirm.

They won't even realize I'm gone.

The next morning, I opened my door and saw Olivia coming out of the guest room.

She had on a loose men's shirt, barely buttoned up, and when she covered her mouth to yawn, her smooth thighs were completely exposed.

That shirt was the birthday present I bought for Nate last year, after working summer jobs for two months.

Out of nowhere, a sharp ache stabbed through my chest.

I asked in a hoarse voice, "When did you get here? "

"Emmy, you really are so carefree. Slept like nothing in the world could bother you. " Olivia said with a grin.

Olivia grinned and ruffled my hair. "You have no idea, we were up until 2 AM last night crunching those dumb numbers. Thank goodness Nate actually has a heart and brought me here so I could finally get some sleep. "

I lowered my gaze and turned my head to avoid her hand.

She paused, then laughed. "Alright, I'll stop with the nerd talk, you wouldn't get it anyway. "

She winked, her smile full of mischief. "You know, that Nate of yours actually has a six-pack. But honestly, they're so rock hard, using them as a pillow nearly gave me a headache."

A cold wave washed over me. I shot a look at the half-open guest room door, eyes wide in disbelief. "You two slept together? "

Olivia shrugged, totally unfazed. "It's not the first time, honestly. When you're pulling all-nighters for research, you get so wiped out you crash together. It's nothing. "

She gave my nose a playful tap. "Relax, girl. I did a little test for you, even with a hottie like me in his arms, he kept his cool and didn't make a move. "

I stood there, frozen, my nails digging hard into my palm before I slowly let go.

It's fine.

Even if they hooked up, it had nothing to do with me anymore.

I let out a soft sigh and walked past her.

"Don't tell me you're jealous? " Olivia quickly grabbed my arm and threw up her hands with a helpless grin. "Please, I'm here to be number one, I wouldn't fall for Nate even if he was the last guy on earth. "

Suddenly, the guest room door swung open, and Nate leaned against the doorway, chuckling. "Oh yeah? So who was the one last night who couldn't keep their hands off my abs and chest? You were practically drooling. "

Olivia lunged at him, playfully smacking his arm. "Please, I was studying your pecs for science, alright? "

Nate slipped an arm around her back, letting her goof around. "Oh really? Then how come you messed up drawing the muscle cross-section last time? "

Here we go again.

They started showing off their collection of mistakes from the last final, like they knew them by heart.

It's like I wasn't even there anymore.

Feeling drained, I pressed my fingers to my brow and turned away.

The sound of the door unlocking startled them.

Olivia nudged Nate with a sly grin. "Emmy looks pretty down. Aren't you gonna go make her feel better? "

He frowned at me. "Emmy, are you still mad after a whole day? The world doesn't revolve around you, you know. When are you going to grow up already? "

I gave a wry, self-mocking smile.

Just yesterday, Olivia had teased him, "So, does not needing you to haul my equipment anymore mean I'm finally grown up? "

He had said, "It means I'm no use to you anymore. "

So why is it always different when it's me?

He was the one who used to say he'd look after me forever.

Now he's the one telling me to grow up and handle things myself.

I gave up the liberal arts I loved, bet everything, my youth, my future, on this one shot, and spent three years retaking the college entrance exam, all for him.

After all the pain, all the sacrifices, chasing after him every step of the way, in the end, this was all I got.

What a joke.

I let out a soft, bitter laugh.

I met his gaze head-on, making myself say it, clear and steady, one word at a time. "I'm grown up now. Let's break up. "