Chapter 4

Wednesday afternoon, I was reviewing the final transfer checklist at the office.

Chloe posted a private Instagram story, visible only to me.

In the photo, she was wearing that four-leaf clover necklace, smiling sweetly.

The caption: "Some people just remember every little thing you say. Thanks for the gift."

I took a screenshot with a blank face and saved it to a photo album titled "Letting Go."

That album already held dozens of screenshots.

Late-night takeout orders he'd placed for Chloe;

The jacket he'd lent Chloe;

Their backs, secretly holding hands during a company team-building event, hidden from everyone else.

Sarah said I was torturing myself.

But I wasn't.

This was my reality check. Whenever I thought back on the past seven years, and felt even the slightest waver in my resolve, I'd open that album and look through it.

Afterward, my heart would turn completely cold.

Before I left work, Ethan sent a message.

"I have a dinner meeting tonight, you don't have to wait up for me."

I replied: "Okay."

Before, if he said he had a dinner meeting, I'd always stay up for him, prepare a hangover remedy, and help him out of his alcohol-soaked clothes.

Now, I just wanted to go to bed early.

At eleven that night, my phone vibrated.

It was a call from Ethan.

"Ash..." He was slurring his words, clearly drunk.

"What's wrong?"

"I... I'm at the Siren Lounge. Can you come pick me up? My head really hurts..."

The background was noisy, but I clearly heard a woman's voice.

"Ethan, slow down, I've got you."

It was Chloe.

I calmly said, "Since Chloe's there, let her take you home."

"No! I want *you* to pick me up! You're my fiancée!" He yelled into the phone like a spoiled child.

"I'm tired, I'm already asleep."

I hung up immediately and turned off my phone.

The next morning when I turned it on, the screen showed over a dozen missed calls and messages from Ethan.

"Ashley, you've changed. You never used to ignore me."

"I threw up the whole way home last night. Chloe took care of me all night."

"What exactly is this tantrum you're throwing?"

I looked at the messages and found them utterly ridiculous.

*I've changed?*

Yes, I finally stopped being an on-call, no-boundaries babysitter.

I didn't reply to him. Instead, I clicked on the email from HR.

"Regarding the Appointment of Ashley Lynn as New York Branch Director"

Effective date: The tenth of next month.

I clicked confirm.

Less than twenty days until I left this city, left this man.

That weekend, Ethan suddenly said he wanted to take me to a newly opened resort nearby for a hot spring.

"Things have been so tense between us lately. Let's go relax, think of it as an early honeymoon."

He loaded luggage into the trunk, looking at me pleadingly.

I watched his busy back and calmly said, "Okay."

The car drove out of the city and onto the highway.

Ethan's phone suddenly rang.

He glanced at the screen, a flicker of panic in his eyes, and hung up.

But the phone rang again quickly, as if it wouldn't stop until he answered.

I leaned back against the passenger seat, eyes closed, and said, "Answer it. Maybe it's urgent."