Chapter 3

My nose prickled as I fought back tears, barely keeping myself upright against the sink.

In the crushing silence, I finally spoke, "Let's break up."

My voice was quiet, but it took every ounce of strength I had.

Ryan's face instantly drained of color. He pulled me tightly into his arms, whispering again and again, "Baby, I'm so sorry. Please, don't break up with me. What did I do wrong? I'll change, I promise."

I forced a bitter smile, but I was too exhausted to push him away.

"Did you ever actually try to keep your distance from Sophie, like I asked?" I said.

His face fell, and he was just about to say something when I cut him off.

"And what about your WhatsApp? Aren't you going to explain that?" I pressed.

His arms around me went rigid, his eyes darkening with disbelief as he stared down at me.

"When did you find out? Did Ethan tell you?" he asked.

I didn't want to hear any more of his excuses. I just said again, "Let's break up."

Before I even finished speaking, Sophie suddenly began to slap her face.

"I'm sorry, Emma. It's all my fault. I shouldn't have taken your bracelet. Please, don't break up with Ryan."

Tears streamed down her cheeks from the pain, and her cheeks quickly turned bright red.

Her voice trembled as she said, "I'm really sorry. I shouldn't wear the bracelet you prayed for."

So, she did know what that bracelet was for.

I furrowed my brows, icy chills gnawing at my bones.

Ryan couldn't watch any longer.

Every time Sophie slapped, his hands trembled.

After a moment, he finally let go of me and stopped Sophie, concern etched on his face.

"That's enough, it's not your fault," Ryan said.

His voice was raspy and strained as he gently wiped away the tears from Sophie's face.

Sophie's eyes filled with grievance as she whimpered softly, instinctively nestling into Ryan's embrace.

She said in a pitiful expression, her voice a mix of fragility and complaint, "If you really hate me, Emma, I'll leave right now. I don't want you and Ryan to argue over me."

I saw through her hypocrisy, so I fired back. "Then go ahead. Want me to help you pack your stuff?"

Her cries grew louder and even more desperate, choking on her own sobs as she struggled to breathe.

Ryan looked at her with such heartache, his jaw clenched tight as he said through gritted teeth, "You know Sophie's family is struggling, and you still want to kick her out? How can you be so cruel?"

They looked like tragic lovers from some old drama, shooting me resentful glares, making me out to be the villain for my cold heart.

I shot them a cold, satirical glare.

"Oh, cruel? Is that what you think?" I sneered. "Alright then. Let me show you just how 'cruel' I can be."

While they stared at me in shock, I flung open the bedroom door, hell-bent on tossing every last bit of Sophie's stuff out.

The whole room was a mess, full of telltale signs of what they'd done last night.

The air was thick with a sickly-sweet scent that made my stomach turn.

In the trash can, under crumpled tissues, were condoms that had been used.

My mind went totally blank—every last shred of reason just collapsed right then and there.

This was the so-called "nothing going on" between them? Turned out they'd been screwing each other more times than I could even imagine.

All that careful planning for a surprise meetup crashed and burned, turning into nothing but a grand showcase of betrayal.

Turned out, in this love story, I was the only actor left—putting on a one-person show from start to finish.

The harsh glare of the overhead lights was so blinding that it hurt to even open my eyes.

"Did you ever love me?" I squeezed my eyes shut, my voice shaking as I demanded.

Even with my back to him, I could practically picture Ryan there, that torn-up look on his face, brows all scrunched up as he hesitated.

His answer came out mumbled, "I've always loved you."

When I looked back, Ryan was still wrapped around Sophie.

My fingers dug so hard into my own palms that I left uneven grooves.

I was just so tired.

Before I could even think, I snatched up the trash can by my feet and dumped the whole nasty thing over both of their heads.