Chapter 3

I said, "Andy, what are you doing here?"

Andrew's brow furrowed slightly.

I knew him too well. The second I saw that frown, I corrected myself. "Andrew. What are you doing here?"

He nodded, and his voice came out stiff. "I was harsh yesterday. I came to apologize."

I froze for a second, then shook my head. "It's fine."

"Right, you're fine," he continued. "But Emily isn't. Soph, you're not a three-year-old. How could you push someone like that?

"What if there'd been something sharp nearby, or stairs? The consequences would've been unthinkable. Lucky for everyone, Emily just twisted her ankle. Just apologize and we can move past this."

I stared at him as he spoke, too stunned to respond.

Andrew repeated himself impatiently, and his voice got louder at the end. "Did you hear me or not?"

I stared at him in disbelief, and my voice rose too. "Andrew, you came all the way to my studio just to make me apologize to Emily?"

"Yes, you made the mistake, so of course you need to apologize!"

I was shaking with anger, and I actually laughed out loud. "Why should I apologize to her? Did I tell her to take my key and open my door without permission?

"And Andrew, I grew up right beside you. You know what kind of person I am. You know I wouldn't push her, so why are you doing this? Am I really that evil in your eyes?"

Every word came out sharp and hot, and by the time I finished yelling, my chest was heaving.

Andrew's expression shifted, and when our eyes met, something in me went cold and calm.

If he'd already decided I needed to apologize to Emily, then he didn't believe me.

There was no point screaming at him about it. It wouldn't change anything.

I'd already decided to give up anyway, so I didn't look at Andrew again. I just turned around and went back into my studio.

My business partner looked surprised when I came back in, and then she glanced toward Andrew's car as it drove away. She let out a small laugh. "What happened? Did you fight with your crush?"

Before I could answer, my phone buzzed several times in a row.

Emily had sent me photos of her feet in stockings. [Honey, look at my poor feet. Are they still swollen?]

My partner saw the messages too, and she gave me the strangest look.

I laughed coldly and tossed my phone on the desk. "What crush? What male god? I'm done with him."

The photos disappeared one by one as Emily recalled them, and then she sent another message: [Soph, I'm so sorry! Your profile picture looks just like your brother's, so I sent them to the wrong person.]

Emily: [You should change your picture, okay? When your brother gets back, I'll get him to match couple profiles with me.]

I grabbed my phone without hesitation and changed the cartoon avatar of Andrew, whom I had been using together.

Emily shot back a smug emoji like she'd just won some kind of victory.

I closed out of our chat and saw that Andrew's profile picture had already changed to a little dog. Emily had a cat.

A bitter smile tugged at my lips.

The avatar Andrew and I used to have—he'd grabbed my wrist years ago and made me draw it myself. We'd kept it for five years and never changed it once.

But now, with just one casual comment from Emily, he'd rushed to replace it. Love versus indifference—the difference couldn't be more apparent.

I exited WhatsApp and booked a bullet train ticket home.

After saying goodbye to my business partner, I packed up and left.

I'd scheduled the ticket for three days out. I was giving myself three days to say goodbye to everything in this city.

I walked through the door to find Emily curled up on the couch, popping grapes into her mouth. She was still wearing those black stockings.

Andrew sat beside her, flipping through some files.

Both of them turned to stare at me. Andrew's voice came out flat and cold. "Are you here to apologize?"

I kept my eyes straight ahead and walked right past them to my room.

The second I opened the door, I froze. My room looked like a tornado had torn through it. Jewelry and makeup were scattered all over the floor, and my clothes had been yanked off their hangers and thrown everywhere.

I was furious. I stood there shaking, jaw clenched so tight it hurt.

I grabbed a few clean pieces of clothing and shoved them into my suitcase. I was pulling it toward the door when Andrew's voice cut through the air.

"Sophie, Emily called your name several times and you ignored her. Where the hell did your manners go?"

I stopped and looked at him. A cold laugh escaped my throat. "Why would I be polite to a thief? Just throw everything in my room away. Someone else touched it all, and it makes me sick."

Andrew's gaze locked onto mine. "Your stuff isn't that precious. Who'd even want to touch it?"

"Precious or not, it's mine. Once someone else has touched it, I don't want it anymore—whether it's clothes, makeup, or people. It's disgusting."

Something shifted in Andrew's expression. He stood up quickly and blocked my path. "Where are you going with that suitcase?"

I glanced at Emily, who looked nervous now, and smiled. "There's no place for me here anymore, but I've got somewhere else to go. Don't worry about it."

I stepped around him and walked out without looking back.