The Long Goodbye Chapter 2

I finally made it onto the plane.

After sitting down, dizziness hit me because I hadn't had time for breakfast.

I reached into my pocket out of habit and found three chocolates.

Ever since I fainted from low blood sugar a long time ago, Ethan got in the habit of putting chocolates in my pocket every day.

The sweetness melted on my tongue, easing the dizziness.

But then, a lingering, dense bitterness rose up.

Seven years together.

How did Ethan and I end up here?

In the beginning, I really thought Chloe was just a nepotism hire he was forced to tolerate because of his godfather.

That was why Ethan had to keep "business and personal separate" with me at work, while giving her special treatment.

When my department head, Rob, made my life hell, nothing happened. But when Rob spoke rudely to Chloe? He was fired immediately.

Behind my back, coworkers called Chloe the "Boss Lady." And I was just Ethan’s secret underground girlfriend.

I forced myself to understand his predicament. But the special treatment followed us home.

Ethan abandoned me time and again for her phone calls.

The massive fight happened one night.

I saw a photo in a small work group chat.

Ethan, who told me he was working overtime, was watching a midnight movie with Chloe.

It was The Beloved—the exact movie I had begged Ethan to see with me, only to be ruthlessly rejected.

I had tugged on his sleeve, pleading. "Everyone goes to see The Beloved with their beloved! Let's go."

Ethan hadn't even lifted his eyelids. "Watching that kind of brain-dead romance is a waste of life."

But in the photo, he looked dashing and full of smiles. Not a hint of impatience.

The messages in the chat scrolled by fast, blurring before my eyes.

When Ethan came home, I asked him in a flat voice, "Was The Beloved good?"

A flicker of surprise seemed to pass through his eyes.

Or maybe I saw it wrong.

He was completely indifferent, expressionless. "Are you stalking me?"

My heart felt like it was being smothered by a wet, heavy towel. I couldn't breathe.

"Do I need to stalk you? Sweet photos of you two are flying all over the company group chats!"

My chest heaved uncontrollably. "Ethan, if you want to break up, just say it. You don't have to lie to me like this!"

Ethan’s expression didn't change. He was as calm as an outsider.

"If you don't even have basic trust in me, then I have nothing to say. Zoe, I've been busy all day. I don't have the energy to fight with you."

No guilt. No explanation.

Compared to my pathetic state, he was so composed.

He even calmly placed the paper bag in his hand on the table.

The words The Beloved printed on the bag were like sharp ice picks, stabbing straight through my heart.

The emotions I had suppressed for so long, wrapped in massive grievances, came crashing down on me.

Finally, they snapped the last string of my rationality.

I grabbed the bag and smashed it onto the floor to vent my anger.

It wasn't sealed.

Round, handmade chocolates rolled out, scrambling over the floor.

They made a series of soft thuds.

I didn't even look at them. I just stared at Ethan with red eyes.

We locked eyes, a standoff.

After a long moment, he slammed the door and left.

I stood there like a statue, dazed, until something rolled against my foot.

I looked down. Stunned.

It was chocolate.

The floor was covered in round, handmade chocolates.