Chapter 3

Ethan kept blowing up my phone, so I just switched to airplane mode and went back to sleep.

I had no idea how long I'd been out when someone slipped under the covers and pulled me into a hug. The coldness clinging to him snapped me awake.

It was Ethan.

He whispered in my ear, "Natalie, don't be mad. I'm back now."

I tried to break free from his arms, but Ethan just hugged me even tighter.

He murmured, "Come on, don't be mad. Just get some rest. When you wake up, we'll go get married. I remember you said you wanted to do it after our sixth anniversary."

His sweet words didn't mean anything to me anymore. The wedding invitation had Emily's name on it. The person he wanted to marry was Emily, not me.

So I stayed silent, holding no hope for what tomorrow might bring between us.

At 8:30 sharp, I arrived at the office and headed straight for my boss's office.

She looked up at me and asked, "Not getting married anymore?"

I replied firmly, "Nope. I'm not letting a man derail my career again."

She patted my shoulder and said, "Congrats on escaping the drama, Ms. Reed."

When I was transferred to the overseas branch, I would take over as General Manager. It was a big step up for me.

Back at my desk, I was catching up with my colleagues when my phone buzzed. It was a voice message from Ethan.

I tapped it open and heard his anxious voice.

Ethan said, "Natalie, Emily just fainted at home. I have to go check on her. You go ahead to the city hall and wait for me."

After closing the chat, I took Emily off my block list and checked out her social media.

Sure enough, she'd just posted a new photo with a caption: [Thank you for always coming to me, no matter when I call.]

Scrolling down, I saw her social media was full of pictures of Ethan.

Honestly, she seemed more like Ethan's girlfriend than I ever was.

Just before I got out of work, Ethan sent me a message.

He texted: [Natalie, Emily has to stay in the hospital for a few days, and there's no one else to take care of her, so I'm here with her. Let's talk about the marriage license in a few days.]

I'd seen this coming, so I wasn't disappointed. It was just another reminder. Ethan hadn't loved me, not once in these six years.

Honestly, it couldn't have been easy for him, loving Emily while being stuck under the same roof with someone he didn't care about at all.

When I got home from work, I saw Ethan coming out of the bedroom, holding a sketchpad and a pencil.

I raised an eyebrow and asked, "Weren't you supposed to be at the hospital taking care of Emily?"

Ethan's eyes lit up when he saw me. He said, "I'll go later. Right now, there's something more important. Check this out. I designed a dress for you."

I stopped in my tracks and couldn't help but remember that post Emily had put up and then deleted.

"What made you suddenly want to design a dress for me? Weren't you always too busy for that?" I asked.

For six years, every time I asked Ethan to design something for me, he'd always come up with some excuse to brush me off.

Turns out, it was never about being busy. He just didn't want to do it for me, period.

Ethan shifted awkwardly, fidgeting with his sketchpad.

He said, "Since we couldn't get the marriage license today, I figured you'd be upset. I wanted to make it up to you, and..."

I could tell the real reason was about to come out.

Ethan added, "And, well, Emily's in the hospital. She wants you to go look after her."

Upon hearing this, I couldn't help but scoff, finding the request utterly absurd.

I gave Ethan a cold stare and curled my lips into a mocking smile. I asked, "Just that? That's all you want from me?"

Ethan shifted uncomfortably, but still nodded.