Chapter 4

I woke up in Ethan's arms.

Waking up like this made me happy, but I was also a little on edge.

All I did was send him a short text in the middle of the night. And he actually came all the way from campus to take care of me.

Did that mean he actually cared about me?

Ethan was still asleep, his arms locked around me.

I shifted a little. His hand instinctively patted my back, as if he were soothing a kid to sleep.

Man, this was messing with my head. My heart felt all soft and mushy inside.

Ethan's lashes fluttered. He blinked awake and pulled me even closer. His voice was rough with sleep. "Just sleep a little longer."

And like that, those annoying live comments popped up again.

[What's Ethan doing? Didn't he have a date with the main girl? She's already blowing up his phone.]

[Well, they're still together. If he didn't come to take care of her when she's sick, he'd come off as heartless. Ethan must have his own reasons for doing this.]

I grabbed his phone. A flood of messages popped up on the screen: [Ethan, we agreed to meet at the cafeteria at eight this morning.

[Where are you? Wow, you really don't care, huh? Showing up late and all.]

What was I even expecting?

If I didn't break up with him, was I waiting for Ethan to dump me for someone else? Then they would join forces to wreck my company and throw me behind bars.

I steeled myself and said to Ethan, "Ethan, let's break up."

Ethan snapped to attention. "Is this about your childhood friend?"

What did Alex have to do with anything?

I suddenly realized it was that post he made yesterday.

Since he already misunderstood, I might as well play along. "Yeah, our families are talking about an arranged marriage."

Ethan's face went pale. "He can't take care of you."

I shot back, "How do you know he can't? Alex has always looked out for me, ever since we were little.

"Besides, it's a business marriage. Nobody expects it to be perfect."

Ethan looked down, his voice low and serious. "Alright, I'll leave as soon as I can."

If we were breaking up, let's make it clean. All this so I wouldn't go broke and end up in jail.

After Ethan left, the house was so quiet that it felt wrong.

He took some of his personal belongings with him. The room suddenly felt a lot emptier.

This place was packed with memories of us. Staying here alone would make me miss him even more.

Maybe I should sell the place.

*****

I was scared I'd reach out to him, so I blocked him and deleted Ethan's contact info everywhere. Then I clutched my phone on the sofa and sobbed uncontrollably.

I called Alex, "I broke up with him. It's over for good."

Alex could hear me bawling my eyes out through his headphones. "Hey, chill out, drama queen.

"I'll come pick you up. You can stay at my place for a few days. My mom's been asking about you anyway."

When Alex showed up, my eyes were so swollen from crying.

When we got to his place, his mom complained, "Emily, your eyes were already big and pretty. Why would you even get double eyelid surgery?"

*****

I crashed at Alex's place for five days. I'd already decided to sell the house.

The place was right next to Ethan's school. I bought it way before Ethan, and I even got together.

After I finally won him over, I had him move in so we could live together.

It was close to campus, so it was easy for him to commute.

Since we'd broken up, there was really no point in keeping it. Just walking in would hit me with all the feels. There was no point in keeping it around.

I planned to go back for a few days and pack up the stuff I wanted to take with me.

*****

That night, I had Alex drop me off.

I unlocked the door and stepped inside. The place was pitch-black, and I caught a glint of eyes staring at me from the couch.

I freaked out and flicked on the lights.

It was Ethan. He was drunk. His face was flushed, and he was slumped on the couch.

When he realized it was me, he slurred, "Emily, you're back."

Then he staggered over, smelling of alcohol, and pulled me into a hug.

He buried his face against my neck. "I miss you so much."

[I'm getting more and more confused, guys. The male lead is totally into the female supporting character.]

[Wait, maybe not. Let's see what happens next.]

He was swaying, so I hugged him back to steady him. "What are you doing here?"

He slurred, "I came to return the keys."

I helped him onto the bed and frowned. "How much did you drink? You reek of alcohol."

Ethan stared at me, not blinking, as if he was afraid I'd disappear if he looked away. "Just a little."

He propped himself up. Suddenly, he leaned in and kissed me. His breath reeked of alcohol.

I gently pushed him away. "We're already broken up."

Ethan acted like he didn't hear me at all. He grabbed my hand and pulled me right up to him. "Emily, I feel awful. Help me, please."

Ethan had never acted like this before. He got really clingy when he was drunk. My heart gave in again.

The truth was, being a softie was seriously draining.