Chapter 2

“Evelyn spent four years picking fights with you, and now she plays the saint and you actually buy it?”

Nathan caught up to us in the hallway, directing his fire at her.

Evelyn leaned against the wall, arms crossed. “Make your divide-and-conquer strategy a little more obvious, Nathan. I'm worried Nora might miss it.”

Nathan ignored her and turned to me.

“You were never like this. She asked me out once, got rejected, and holds a grudge. She’s deliberately driving a wedge between us. Stop letting her drag you down.”

“She’s not wrong,” I said quietly.

Nathan paused. “What?”

“If you want to take care of Chloe, do it yourself. Her job, her apartment, her emotional meltdowns—none of that is my responsibility.”

I pulled my phone from my purse and opened the Notes app right in front of him.

“Also, over the past four years, I drafted three pitch decks for your business competitions, revised your grad applications eleven times, and delivered seven presentations on your behalf.”

“Back then, I thought I was helping someone I cared about. Since we aren’t together, consider this an invoice for consulting fees.”

Nathan stared at the screen, bewildered.

A moment later, he scoffed.

“Nora, are you seriously sending me a bill?”

“Yes.”

“Since when do we keep score?”

He reached out to grab my phone, but I took a step back.

His hand hung suspended in midair, fingers curling inward.

“You won awards from those competitions too. And you offered to help with my applications. After four years, you’re using this to humiliate me?”

“I’ll email you the itemized invoice tomorrow.”

“Nora!”

His voice rose sharply, only to drop when a server walked past.

He cared deeply about appearances. Even when furious, he refused to let strangers see a scene.

“You helped me because we worked well together. The startup was our shared plan.”

“Once the LLC is formed, you’ll be the co-founder. All that effort turns into equity. Are you seriously tearing apart our future over a few thousand dollars?”

When he said our shared plan, a sudden numbness shot through my fingertips.

In my previous life, during the hardest six months of launching his company, I dragged myself to meeting after meeting with venture capitalists.

To secure our final chance at funding, I downed drink after drink on an empty stomach and ended up in the ER with acute gastric bleeding.

When I woke up, the only person sitting by my hospital bed was Evelyn.

Nathan had been out on the edge of town setting off fireworks for Chloe.

She had mentioned never having had a real birthday party, so he spent the night giving her one.

The next day, he came to the hospital, tucked my blanket in, and told me we secured the investment—that our future was secure.

I never asked him whose future mattered more that night.

“I don’t want the co-founder title anymore,” I said.

Nathan’s expression shifted. “What did you say?”

“The project is yours. The future is yours. The invoice total is seven thousand dollars, due within seven business days.”

“I don’t agree to this,” he blurted out.

Evelyn let out a dry laugh. “A debtor who thinks he calls the shots. Classic.”

Nathan glared at her, then stepped closer to me, his voice softening again.

“If Chloe bothers you, I can compromise. In the beginning, she won’t join core operations. She’ll just handle basic administrative tasks.”

“You’ll still be the lead partner. Every major decision goes through you.”

This was his signature move.

Hand me a loftier title and more responsibility, then make me shoulder everything that came with it.

He had placated me the exact same way before.

When Chloe moved into our home, he handed me the joint bank card, telling me I was the woman of the house and didn’t need to sweat a houseguest.

Yet when a real choice had to be made, the woman of the house was abandoned in the mud, while the houseguest was carried away on his shoulders.

“My condition is that she does not enter our shared life,” I said.

“She has no family to lean on!”

“And that makes it my problem how?”

Before he could offer another rehearsed excuse, I locked my screen and took another step back.

Nathan’s prepared speech withered on his tongue.

“Your moral debts aren’t mine,” I said. “As for the co-founder role, send an official contract and compensation package to my email. With zero romantic strings attached, I might consider it.”

He fell silent for two seconds.

“You know a startup can’t afford market-rate salaries right out of the gate.”

“Then don't hire talent you can’t afford.”

His jaw tightened.

“Nora, you spent four years building this with me. Walking away now tanks the project. How does that benefit you?”

So the hard work he had once called teamwork was instantly labeled my fault the moment I stopped giving it away for free.

Evelyn walked over and linked her arm through mine.

“The benefit is she never has to clean up your messes again.”

“Shut up, Evelyn,” Nathan snapped. “She’s been with me for four years. You don’t get to pull her away with a couple of cheap lines.”

“Been with you for four years?” Evelyn repeated, her smirk fading into a cold stare. “She was your classmate, your unpaid workhorse, and your partner. You just asked for a girlfriend, Nathan, not property rights.”

Nathan didn't answer her.

He simply stared at me, waiting for me to step in and smooth over his embarrassment like I always did.

I looked away. Just as I was about to leave, footsteps approached from around the corner.

Chloe stood there in worn clothes, her eyes red.

Clutching an insulated thermos to her chest, she stopped a few feet away from Nathan, not daring to come any closer.

“I’m sorry… It’s all because I didn’t go to college. I made you two fight…”