Chapter 3

After blowing up at the dinner, I felt amazing. That night, I slept like a baby.

The next morning, I even took the time to put on some makeup before heading into work.

I’d barely sat down when Ryan called me into his office.

“Why didn’t you pick up my calls last night?”

I flopped onto his couch lazily. “I don’t like hearing dogs bark.”

"Claire, you’re really going to make such a big deal out of this?"

A big deal?! This man was still calling it a "small thing"?

And to think, this guy was my boyfriend. My mistake, clearly.

I stood up, walked right up to Ryan, and slapped him across the face. His shock barely registered before I yanked his hair down, forcing him to bend over in pain. I took the opportunity to kick him in the stomach.

“A small thing? I’ve been busting my ass working overtime every day, not for money, but what, to earn some good karma? You handed my bonus to some other woman, and you have the nerve to call it a small thing?”

I let go of him, but not before giving him one last kick to the gut.

Ryan winced, fury in his eyes. “Claire, we’re done.”

“Oh, don’t get it twisted,” I sneered. “I’m dumping you. You and Emma have been screwing each other behind my back, haven’t you? You two deserve each other—garbage belongs with garbage. Moonlighting as a cupid now, huh?”

Ryan straightened himself, dusting off his shirt, trying to keep his cool. “I’ve been done with you for a long time. You’re all work, no femininity. All you care about is the job.”

“Please, Ryan. You’re a bottom-feeder who thinks he’s a king just because he’s splashing around in some shallow water. Do you think you’re worthy of calling me out?”

I rolled up my sleeves. Today, I wasn’t just talking. “Ryan, you’ve always been a punching bag. I’m just here to finish the job.”

We started brawling right there in the office. Sure, he had the upper hand physically, but I had claws—long nails and a sharp bite—and I wasn’t afraid to use them. I clawed at his face, pulled his hair, even bit him when I had the chance.

It was a full-on spectacle, and soon enough, the noise had attracted our coworkers.

Emma was the first to burst in. She gasped when she saw the scratches and blood on Ryan’s face and neck. She rushed to stand between us, arms spread wide like a human shield. “Claire, if you’re angry, take it out on me. Don’t hurt Ryan, he’s just following the rules!”

She was so noble, wasn’t she?

Well, if she wanted the heat, fine. I was ready to take it out on her.

But before I could lay into Emma, a close coworker of mine pulled me aside. “Claire, you’ve already hit him and said what you needed to say. If you keep going, you’re the one who’s going to get hurt in the end. You can see Ryan’s just setting everything up for his new girl.”

I glared at her, confused. I had thought Ryan and I had kept our relationship on the down-low. How could she know about this?

“Oh, everyone knows,” she said with a knowing sigh. “But the way he’s setting things up for Emma? It's so obvious he’s paving the way for her.”

“When did you find out about the two of them?” I asked, my confusion turning to curiosity.

She looked at me like I was an idiot. “They’ve been flaunting it all over Instagram Stories for the past month! Don’t tell me you didn’t know.”

Well. That was nice to hear.

I, the official girlfriend, had found out just yesterday.

Right now, I felt like I could morph into King Kong and slap the hell out of both of them.