Chapter 3

That night, I stayed in a hotel. The sterile, impersonal room was a relief after the cloying atmosphere of our house. I lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling, my mind a whirlwind of anger and pain.

The next morning, Chloe called. Her voice was laced with fake concern. "Ethan, where are you? I woke up and you were gone. And our picture... it's broken. Did something happen?"

"I just needed some space," I said, my voice cold. "I'm thinking."

"Thinking about what? About us?" She sounded close to tears. It was a good performance.

I didn't answer. A few hours later, I went back to the house to get the rest of my things. She was there, waiting. She tried to hug me, to wrap herself around me like a vine. I put my hands on her shoulders and held her back.

"Don't, Chloe," I said.

Her face crumpled. "What's wrong, Ethan? Talk to me."

"I'm not in the mood," I said, moving past her into the bedroom.

Before I left, I placed a small, elegantly wrapped box on her vanity. It was identical to the one she had given me.

"What's this?" she asked, her eyes wide.

"A gift," I said. "For our wedding day."

She looked at it, confused. "But... we postponed."

"I know," I said. "But I want you to open it on our original wedding date. Promise me."

"Okay," she said slowly, her brow furrowed in suspicion. "I promise."

Inside the box was a small, high-resolution digital photo frame. And I had already loaded it with content. It was set to turn on and begin its slideshow at exactly 2:00 PM on our wedding day, the time our ceremony was supposed to start. It contained every text message, every call log, every photo I had managed to recover. All her correspondence with Daniel. It was my gift to her. The truth.

After I left, I drove to a coffee shop and opened my laptop. I couldn't resist. I went to her social media pages. Her friends were already posting about her "new" engagement. There was a picture of her and Daniel, their faces close together. She was wearing a new ring. The caption read, "So happy for my girl Chloe and her amazing fiancé Daniel! Can't wait for the big day!" It was posted just an hour ago.

My hands clenched into fists. They were all in on it. Her whole circle of friends knew. They were laughing at me behind my back.

One of her friends, a woman named Jessica who had always been overly friendly to me, sent me a message. "Hey Ethan! So sorry to hear you and Chloe are postponing. Hope everything is okay!"

My fingers flew across the keyboard. "Everything's great. I just saw the pics of her and Daniel. They look happy. You must be thrilled for them."

The three dots appeared and then disappeared. She was typing and deleting. Finally, a message came through. "What are you talking about? What pictures?"

"The ones on your page, Jessica," I typed back. "The engagement announcement. Don't worry, I get it."

I closed the laptop. A moment later, I opened it again and went back to Jessica's page. The post was gone. They were trying to cover their tracks. Too late. I had already screenshotted everything.

Chloe called me a few minutes later, her voice frantic. "Ethan, what did you say to Jessica? She's freaking out."

"I just congratulated her on your engagement to Daniel," I said calmly.

"What? I... I don't know what you're talking about," she stammered. "Daniel is just an old friend. He's sick, I'm just supporting him."

The lies were so effortless for her. It was breathtaking.

"Okay, Chloe," I said, my voice devoid of emotion. "Whatever you say." I hung up the phone. The game was on. And I was going to win.