The boutique guesthouse right across from our campus just launched a couple’s promotion. If a couple stays there for three days and participates in their social media promotional photoshoot, they can win a luxury trip to Miami. I was so excited. I immediately shared the Instagram post with my boyfriend, Ethan, telling him how much I wanted to go to Miami. To “surprise” me, Ethan kept me in the dark. Instead of asking me, he signed up for the couple’s event with my best friend, Ashley. The two of them lived and ate together in that guesthouse for three days, successfully winning the vacation package to Miami. I stood there, clutching a promotional poster that showed the two of them passionately kissing, and confronted him. But Ethan just threw the two plane tickets right in my face. “Who do you think I did all this for?!” Today was my 21st birthday. I didn’t get a birthday dinner with my boyfriend. Instead, I saw my boyfriend, Ethan, and my best friend, Ashley, walking out of the guesthouse together. At first, my brain couldn’t process it. But when my eyes fell on the giant poster standing at the entrance, I froze. On the poster, Ethan and Ashley were holding each other tightly, looking like a deeply in love couple. In the bottom right corner, there was a cheesy slogan: [A love so deep, we’ll spend a lifetime sharing it.] Furious, I ripped down a flyer and went straight to Ethan. Before I could even open my mouth to demand an explanation, his phone rang. It was Ashley. The moment Ethan hung up, he turned to me and barked orders: “Chloe, Ashley has terrible period cramps. She’s in so much pain. Go run to the pharmacy and get some Advil right now. I’m going to go check on her first.” As he spoke, he frantically started searching his backpack for a heating pad. Seeing that I wasn’t moving, Ethan’s brows furrowed in annoyance. “Chloe, hurry up! Ashley is literally crying from the pain.” It was only then that he finally noticed the poster clutched in my trembling hands. His face instantly went pale. I unfolded the poster and pointed directly at the two of them kissing. “When did you and Ashley start sleeping together?” Hearing this, Ethan practically jumped in defensive rage. “Chloe! I can’t believe you would say something so disgusting!” He snatched two plane tickets from his pocket and threw them right at my face. “Who do you think I did all this for?! Didn’t you say you wanted this Miami trip?” “What do you mean, ‘sleeping together’? We are completely innocent! The photographer used a camera angle to make it look like we were kissing.” “Ashley is in so much pain right now. As her roommate, all you care about is throwing a childish tantrum! How can you be so selfish?!” He practically screamed that last sentence. I stood there, stunned into silence. He had never raised his voice at me like this. Clearly, he was the one who did something wrong, yet he was turning it around to make me the bad guy. After yelling at me, he turned on his heel and ran toward the pharmacy to buy medicine for Ashley.
I walked aimlessly through the campus, completely numb. Memories of Ethan and me kept flashing through my mind. We were high school sweethearts. We met on the school debate team. We used to prep for tournaments together and travel for competitions. Sometimes, practice would run late, and we’d miss the last bus. Since Ethan lived “near” me, he’d always offer to drive me home. Later, I found out from a mutual friend that Ethan’s house was in the exact opposite direction of mine. He wasn’t on the way at all. He drove thirty minutes out of his way just to get me home safely, then drove forty-five minutes back to his own place. I never called him out on it. Instead, I kept letting him drive me home. Whenever he bought Starbucks, he always brought an extra iced latte for me. When we went to a haunted house, he’d grab my hand tightly, looking even more nervous than I was. We had this beautiful, unspoken tension between us, neither of us brave enough to break the spell. Until the night after our high school graduation party. I had a bit too much to drink and tripped on the stairs. Ethan panicked. He rushed over, crying as he pulled me into his arms, and drove me straight to the ER. At the hospital, he asked the doctor three times to make sure I only had a minor scratch before he finally calmed down. Ethan knelt in front of my chair. At that moment, I saw the entire universe in his teary eyes. “Chloe, be my girlfriend. Let me take care of you forever.” I nodded eagerly, my heart bursting with joy. When our college admission results came out, my SAT scores were much higher than his. I turned down an admission offer from Boston University just so I could stay in our hometown and attend the local state college with Ethan. I thought our love was rock-solid. But I had been blind to the warning signs. Our relationship probably started rotting the moment Ashley entered the picture.
Ashley was my college roommate. She was sweet, gorgeous, and had a very bubbly, outgoing personality. Whenever Ethan bought things for me but couldn’t get into the female-only wing of the dorms, Ashley would happily volunteer to bring them up to me. I don’t even know when it started, but whenever Ethan bought me treats, he started buying an extra portion for Ashley. He’d tell her, “Thanks for taking care of my girl.” I didn’t think much of it. Ashley really did help me out a lot in daily life. Then, Ethan added her on Snapchat. Ethan told me that Ashley was an orphan and had no family support, so we should show her more care and warmth. I knew about this, and at first, Ethan didn’t hide it. He’d casually show me their Snapchat conversations. But gradually, he showed me less and less. Sometimes, when Ashley snapped him, he would turn his phone away from me. Once, Ashley and I both cut our hands during a gardening workshop. When Ethan found out, he rushed over and immediately took Ashley to the campus clinic. I had to walk there by myself. The moment I stepped into the clinic, Ethan glared at me, his voice laced with anger. “Ashley is hurt! Why did you get here so late? Didn’t I tell you to look after her? How could you let this happen?” I had never seen Ethan so angry at me. I took two steps back, completely shocked. It wasn’t until the nurse came over to bandage me that he realized my cut was much deeper and bleeding far worse than Ashley’s tiny scratch. In the end, he apologized, acted cute, and I let it go. In reality, I should have realized it long ago. Something was already broken between us. I was no longer his priority.
Since I was no longer his number one, why should I keep holding on to him? I turned around coldly and walked back to my dorm. When I opened the door, I saw Ashley sitting comfortably on her bed, happily eating a tub of Ben & Jerry’s. She didn’t look like she was in pain at all. My gaze shifted to the unopened box of Advil on her desk. So, she wasn’t even having cramps. Sensing my gaze, Ashley looked up. A smug, victorious smile spread across her face, and she let out a soft chuckle. “Honestly, Chloe, you are so dense. It took you this long to figure it out?” “Ethan and I are in love. You should do yourself a favor and back off.” “You saw it yourself. Ethan only cares about me now. We literally lived in the same room for three days. Except for actually sleeping together, we’ve done everything intimate couples do.” “You should have seen him. He was too guilty to touch me, but he was so turned on his face was bright red. I couldn’t bear to see him suffer like that, so I used my hand to help him out.” Deep down, I had already suspected their relationship wasn’t clean. But hearing Ashley say these disgusting things so casually felt like a rusted blade twisting in my chest. I forced back the tears threatening to spill. Just then, my phone buzzed. It was Ethan. “Chloe, come downstairs. I’m waiting outside your dorm.”
I don’t even know what I was feeling as I walked down the stairs. When I got outside, I saw Ethan wearing a ridiculous giant teddy bear costume, acting goofy. He was holding a bouquet of roses and two cute little plushies. Just like every other time we fought, he jogged toward me playfully. He spoke in a funny, high-pitched voice: “Ethan was bad. Ethan made Chloe mad. Let’s kick Ethan’s butt!” He threw one of the plushies on the ground and started stomping on it to make me laugh. Looking at him, my tears finally broke through. I didn’t even know what I was crying for. Maybe for the dead relationship we once had, or maybe for my own pathetic stupidity. In the past, whenever Ethan acted cute and apologized, my heart would instantly melt, and I’d forgive him. But not this time. His heart belonged to someone else now. He didn’t deserve my forgiveness. Suddenly, Ashley appeared out of nowhere. She pulled me up and gently wiped my tears. “Chloe, Ethan really went through a lot to get this Miami trip for you.” “The promotional poster required a kiss, but we put a piece of plastic wrap between our lips! It was just a camera angle.” “Even though we stayed in the same room for three days, every time Ethan felt tempted, he took a freezing cold shower to calm down. We absolutely did nothing to betray you.” Listening to Ashley’s pathetic excuses, which only served to confirm their emotional affair, my anger flared. I violently pushed her hand away. “Ethan! I sent you that post because I wanted to go with you! Who the hell told you to take another woman?!” Ethan rushed forward, catching Ashley as she stumbled back from my push. “Why?! I did it to surprise you!” Ethan yelled back, holding Ashley protectively. Seeing Ashley crying in Ethan’s arms made my blood boil. “For me? Cut the crap, Ethan. You did it for your own selfish desires. Don’t use me as an excuse.” “And what was that about taking cold showers because you were tempted? Did Ashley make you lose your mind that much?” “She literally just told me everything. Except for the actual sex, you two did everything!” Ethan’s face flashed with panic. He turned to ask Ashley, but before he could speak, Ashley’s eyes rolled back, and she fainted right into his arms. Ethan had no choice. He scooped her up and ran toward the campus health center in a panic. I watched their retreating figures, wiped my tears, and turned away without looking back.
I walked slowly to the campus sports arena, where the final spring Career Fair was being held. This was the last major recruiting event of the semester. I told myself I had to grab this chance. Thankfully, I had been preparing my resume and portfolio for months. The interviews went incredibly well. However, the final offers wouldn’t be announced for a few days. As I walked out of the arena, I ran into Professor Davis, my academic advisor. Seeing me, he looked shocked. “Chloe? You’re here for the career fair…?” My grades had always been top of the class. Last month, Professor Davis had offered to personally refer me to a Fortune 500 company in New York. But back then, my head was so full of Ethan that I didn’t want to leave him for a big city. So, I turned down the offer. Now, standing here, I felt incredibly embarrassed. I could only offer a sheepish smile. “Professor Davis, I thought about it. I’m still young. I should go to a big city, challenge myself, and get some real experience.” Professor Davis could tell I was hiding some pain, but he didn’t pry. He just patted my shoulder gently. “Young people should see the world. Whether it’s a job or a man, never tie yourself to just one option.” I nodded quickly, agreeing with every word. Taking advantage of the moment, I asked him for a three-day leave of absence. Since I was a senior and my credits were almost complete, he approved it instantly. Leaving the career fair, I didn’t go back to the dorm. Instead, I used my savings to book a flight to Miami. I needed a getaway. Ethan’s grades had always been mediocre. He had no ambition.
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