Chapter 3

On the second day after our breakup, Logan sent me a few texts.

[You've had enough time to cool off. You should have your head on straight by now.]

[Let's get back together.]

I frowned at the screen.

[Logan, we broke up.]

I locked my phone and went back to work.

When I stepped out of the office that evening, Logan was actually waiting outside with his car.

I couldn't even remember the last time his car was parked outside my building.

Two years ago?

When we first started dating, he’d happily drive an hour out of his way just to pick me up and drop me off.

Then one day, running late, he suggested I take the subway instead.

After that, his car never appeared outside my office again.

Logan waved from across the street, calling my name with a bright smile.

"Chloe! Over here!"

I couldn't understand how, after screaming at each other like that, he could stand there grinning as if nothing had ever happened.

Maybe he thought a night of sleep magically erased everything.

With a cold expression, I walked over.

But the moment I pulled open the passenger door, my stomach sank.

Someone was already sitting there.

Logan's coworker, Hailey.

She greeted me with a sweet smile:

"Hi, Chloe! Logan said it was on the way, so he offered to give me a ride. Plus, tomorrow's the weekend. He told me you two have been bickering, and thought another girl might be able to help smooth things over."

I didn't return her smile, replying coldly:

"Then you should be sitting in the back with me, not hogging the passenger seat that belongs to his girlfriend."

I turned on my heel to leave, but Logan grabbed me and gently shoved me into the back seat.

He chuckled, trying to play it off:

"Come on, I went completely out of my way to pick you up!"

"Hailey gets carsick easily, that's why she’s in the front. It’s just a seat, don't make a mountain out of a molehill."

I stopped fighting it.

Whatever. We were broken up anyway. Anyone could sit in that seat for all I cared.

I might as well use this ride to make things crystal clear and collect the rest of my things from the apartment.

Along the way, Hailey wouldn't stop chattering.

"Chloe, I heard you and Logan got into a fight just because he didn't put his shoes away."

"If you ask me, you're overreacting. Guys are just like that. When you come home, you can just tidy up after him."

"Mm," I muttered, acknowledging her noise.

Sensing my dismissal, Hailey pressed on:

"Chloe, Logan is known as the ultimate loyal guy at our company."

"New interns ask for his number and invite him out to dinner all the time, and he turns them all down. He always tells them he has a girlfriend. It's just a few chores—you can easily take on a little more. Men with that kind of integrity are practically extinct these days."

I scoffed softly and asked casually:

"Judging by the way you talk, you seem pretty interested in him yourself?"

Hailey tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, glancing back at me with a smirk.

It was a clear provocation.

"A guy that good? Of course any girl would want him."

"You better make up with him quick, Chloe. Otherwise, some eager intern might sweep him right off his feet."

Logan, oblivious, puffed up with pride.

He threw fuel on the fire:

"You hear that, Chloe?"

"Stop being mad at me, or someone might steal me away!"

I didn't say a word.

I kept my head down, scrolling through my phone in absolute silence until we arrived.

Hailey shamelessly insisted on coming upstairs with us, and Logan didn't stop her.

The moment we stepped inside, Logan proudly showed off the apartment:

"Look! While you were gone, I cleaned the entire place top to bottom!"

I scanned the room.

It really was much cleaner. The floors were mopped, the trash was taken out, and even the shoes were lined up neatly.

Yet, all I felt was a heavy sigh leaving my chest.

A deeper sense of helplessness washed over me.

See? He always knew what bothered me. He always knew how to do it right.

He just never wanted to do it... or he was waiting for me to do it for him.

Ignoring him, I walked to the bedroom to pack my remaining things.

Panicking, Logan grabbed my arm, completely bewildered.

"Wait, what are you doing? I cleaned the whole damn apartment!"

"And you still want to break up?!"