After that unpleasant encounter, Ethan never
contacted me again.
Actually, he hadn’t paid attention to me since
his first love returned.
Their posts flooded my social media feeds.
Drone light shows over the Hudson River, a
<
path paved with 99,999 roses.
Olivia, with tears in her eyes, kissing my
boyfriend.
A perfect couple.
Just like he said, no amount of
companionship could compare to her.
Good.
I thought so too.
I started packing, getting ready to leave.
Three years in this apartment, I’d
lot of atiiff
nain to
Join the bookshelf
<
accumulated a lot of stuff. It was a pain to
throw it all away.
wanted a clean break. I didn’t want any more
entanglement with him.
Even though he probably didn’t care.
No matter how long I’d been with him, it wasn’t worth a single smile from his first love.
But then again, who wasn’t?
After several trips to the dumpster, the
apartment was still full.
I argued with the building manager about the
Join the bookshelf
www
く
Chapter 4
It hadn’t been long since I left, but the
apartment was unrecognizable.
Every trace of me was gone.
Olivia, wearing an apron, rushed towards me.
“Sarah, what are you doing here?”
“Ethan and I are having friends over. It’s not
really a good time for you to be here.”
“We have guests to entertain, we can’t really focus on you right now. Why don’t you go
home?”
<
I slapped her across the face.
“Are you out of your mind? This is my home!
You brought a bunch of people here without
my permission, eating the food I cooked, and
you’re asking me why I’m here? Are you
drunk?”
Olivia, knowing she was in the wrong, shrank
back.
I grabbed my phone to call the police, but
Ethan grabbed my arm, his eyes cold.
He looked closer, his brow furrowing. “Your
hand… it’s hurt.”
く
I yanked my arm away.
I stumbled forward.
In the short time I’d been gone, every memory
I’d carefully preserved had been erased.
Each step deeper into the apartment felt like
a punch to the gut..
The pine scent I loved was gone, replaced by
a cloying perfume.
My books were gone, replaced by photos of
Olivia.
The teddy bear on the bed was gone,
く
replaced by a custom–made doll of the two
of them.
Even the pictures of my cat were gone.
Everything that mattered to me, gone.
He promised the bear would always be there
for me.
But even it was gone.
Olivia had destroyed almost everything that
held meaning for me.
My mom and Olivia’s mom had a history.
Join the bookshelf
く
Years ago, when my mom was pregnant with
my little brother, my dad had an affair with
Olivia’s mom.
She wasn’t content being the other woman,
always trying to take my mom’s place.
Her constant scheming caused my mom so
much stress that she lost the baby.
I was away at college at the time.
