It was a shame, I thought, that life was full of
regrets. Until this moment, I hadn’t regretted
loving Ethan. It had been a part of my life, good
and bad. But now, I regretted not seeing him for
who he truly was: a man who, deep down, had
never valued me.
Liam pulled me into his arms, his eyes full of
concern. I smiled weakly. “I’m fine, Liam.”
“Go wait in the car. I’ll handle this.”
“I’m staying with you.” I held his hand tighter.
He looked at me for a long moment, then
kissed me hard. “Chloe, I’ve always lived my life
without roarnto
Dut right n
Irogrnt not
<
without regrets. But right now, I regret not
stealing you away from him sooner.”
“Steal me away? You think you’re some kind of
hero, swooping in when she’s vulnerable? What
kind of man are you, Liam?”
“The kind who knows she deserves better than
you. You never appreciated her, Ethan. Not for
a single one of those seven years.”
That seemed to be the final straw. Ethan’s
control snapped. He lunged at Liam. Liam
retaliated, and within seconds, they were both
throwing punches. Security guards rushed in to
separate them, but they continued to glare at
each other, chests heaving.
“Can we stop this?” My voice cracked with a
mixture of anger and tears.
Ethan’s face was livid. “Chloe, you saw that. He
started it.”
<
“I’m not letting this go.”
- ))
“Yes, he started it. Liam, apologize to Mr. Grant. We’ll discuss how to resolve this later.”
“Chloe, he was the one who-” Liam started to
protest.
I squeezed his hand and spoke calmly. “Mr. Grant, I apologize on Liam’s behalf.”
“Chloe, you’re taking his side?” Ethan took a
step closer. “He hit me first, Chloe.”
“What do you want to do about it?”
“Chloe, I’m hurt.” He pointed to his face. “See?
This really hurts…”
I looked at the cut on his cheek. “I’ll call an
ambulance. We’ll cover all the medical
expenses.”
76
<
“Chloe, you know that’s not what I want.” He
reached for me, but I dodged his hand.
“Chloe…” The anger melted from his face,
replaced by a look of pure anguish. I felt…
nothing.
Liam suddenly hissed. “Chloe, I think my face is
messed up!” I turned to him. His lip was split,
his eye swollen, blood trickling down his chin. It
looked worse than it probably was. I dabbed at
the blood with a tissue.
“Serves you right,” I muttered, but my touch
was gentle. “You need stitches.”
“You’ll come with me? I hate needles.”
I rolled my eyes but nodded. He grinned and
pulled me close. “Kiss it better. It really hurts.”
I stood on tiptoe and lightly kissed the cut.
Ethan didn’t say another word. He watched as I
fussed over Liam, as I kissed his wound. The
setting sun cast long shadows, a poignant backdrop to his final realization: Chloe was truly
gone. Ashley’s words had come true. He’d been
so sure he was the one in control, the one who
could easily walk away. He’d been wrong. Chloe had been the string holding the kite. The string
had broken, and the kite was lost, adrift, with
no way home.
I watched Ethan walk back to his car, his
silhouette disappearing into the twilight. The
sky turned a soft, dusky blue. As his car drove
away, I felt like the last seven years of my life,
from seventeen to twenty–four, were fading
with him, gone forever. I knew, from this day
forward, his name would become just another
name, a part of my past, not something I would
actively forget, but not something I would ever
actively remember either.
“Chloe…” Liam’s arms wrapped around me.
I turned, looked up at him, and smiled. “Let’s
- go. To the hospital.”
The night Liam proposed, he drank a lot, said a
lot of things. But I only remember two
sentences.
“Chloe, we won’t have a seven–year itch.”
“Chloe, we’ll never break up.”
People believe their promises when they make
them. Later, when they break them, they
wonder how anyone could have been so foolish
as to believe. But I wanted to believe Liam.
More importantly, I wanted to believe in myself:
that I deserved to be loved, that my heart
wouldn’t be broken again.
On our engagement day, I received a gift from
- LA. It was the wedding dress, the one Ethan
had had repaired. There was a card inside.
“Chloe, I’ll always be waiting for you.”
unwavering, but his words revealed a hint of
possessiveness. “Too bad. I’m not giving him
the chance.”
That night, the dress disappeared. I didn’t care.
It didn’t matter anymore.
Three years later, our daughter, Amelia, was
born. Shortly after her birth, Ethan sent a
mountain of expensive gifts. I asked Liam what
to do with them. He was still confident, still
possessive.
“Our daughter doesn’t need any of that. Donate it to an orphanage. Seriously, the guy’s getting old, still single, obsessing over someone else’s
wife and kid. What a loser.”
I smiled. “Why do you care?”
He grinned, suddenly happy, and twirled me around, right there in the living room, in front of the staff. “Chloe, I love what you just said. Say
it again !!
“Say what? Put me down! I’m getting dizzy…”
He sat down, holding me tight, showering me
with kisses. “You said, ‘Why do you care?“”
I laughed, touched by his insecurity. Olivia had
told me about Liam’s struggles after I’d moved
in with Ethan. He’d never mentioned it, never
shown a hint of vulnerability.
“Why do you care? We have our own lives to
worry about.” I said the words to appease him,
then wrapped my arms around his neck, kissing
his ear. “Honey, Amelia’s two months old. Let’s
go to bed early tonight.”
Ethan’s Epilogue
When Chloe’s daughter was three, they came
back to LA for a few months. Our mutual
friends had constant gatherings. I didn’t go, of
course, but afterwards, I always asked about
her.
く
They told me Chloe had spent two years
studying in Paris while Liam traveled back and
forth between Hong Kong and Paris without
complaint. They said she’d started her own
magazine in Hong Kong and was now the
editor–in–chief. Liam supported all her decisions, only complaining when she worked too late. She could’ve been a pampered housewife, but she wasn’t. She was more beautiful than ever, but her beauty was more than skin deep now. They were happy. Their daughter was adorable, a miniature version of
Chloe. She never knew I kept a picture of Chloe
at age five in my wallet.
LA is a big city, but our social circle was small.
Yet Chloe and I never crossed paths. Until one
afternoon, I saw their daughter, Amelia, in a
hotel lobby. She was hiding behind a fake rock,
secretly eating ice cream, her cheeks puffed
out like a chipmunk.
I stopped, unable to look away. I heard Chloe
<
I stopped, unable to look away. I heard Chloe
calling her name. Amelia froze, her eyes wide
with panic.
On impulse, I walked over, crouched down, and
whispered, “Afraid your mom will catch you
eating ice cream?”
She nodded, her big eyes darting around.
“Want me to help you hide?”
She hesitated, studying me carefully.
I picked her up. She was small and soft and
warm in my arms. Her tiny hands played with
the buttons on my suit. “Do you know me?” she
asked.
My throat tightened. The world blurred around
- me. If I could go back, I would change
everything. Chloe would be my wife. We would
be married in LA, with a family of our own. Her
name wouldn’t be Amelia She’d be ours
<
I blinked back tears, forcing a smile. “Yes, I
know you.”
“Do you know my name?” She hugged me. “It’s
a secret, okay? My name is Amelia. Daddy Liam
and Mommy Chloe made me when they kissed!”
“That’s a beautiful name.” I kissed her soft
cheek. “We can’t hide for too long. Your mom
will worry.”
She nodded seriously. “Just one more bite. Just
one.” She took a huge bite, grinning
mischievously.
I stroked her hair. “Go find your mommy.”
I watched her walk away, her princess dress
swirling around her like a blooming flower, until
she reached Chloe and was scooped into her
arms. I didn’t look at Chloe. I was afraid I might
cry, right there in the crowded lobby. Chloe
wouldn’t care. but Liam would find it pathetic.
wouldn’t care, but Liam would find it pathetic.
My life had been pathetic. And now, even that pathetic life was just a fantasy.
(The End)
