He shielded her from the flames, cocooning her in his arms, whispering frantically to her while I stood twenty feet away, watching my boyfriend of seven years act like I didn't exist.
When I confronted him later, he didn't apologize. Instead, he let Chloe carve her initials over ours on our anniversary tree.
When I tried to stop them, he shoved me into the dirt to comfort her over a broken nail.
"You are dead to me, Ava," he screamed. "Jealousy makes you ugly."
He thought I would beg. He thought I was an appliance he could unplug and plug back in whenever he wanted. He was arrogant enough to believe I would always be there, waiting for his scraps.
He was wrong.
While he was playing hero to his mistress, I didn't cry.
I booked a one-way ticket to Portland, snapped my SIM card in half, and vanished.
By the time he realized the silence in his apartment wasn't peace, but abandonment, I was already gone.
Chapter 1
Ava POV
I stared at the carving in the corner of the hardwood floor, the initials 'E & A' encircled by a heart that looked less like a promise and more like a scar.
Seven years. That was how long it had taken Ethan to convince me that I was the center of his universe, and exactly seven weeks for Chloe Vance to prove I was just a placeholder.
"You're overreacting, Ava," Ethan said, his voice flat. He didn't even look up from his phone. "She's a business partner. Her brand is vital for the merger."
I stood in the doorway of the living room we had bought together, watching him text her. I knew it was her. His face had that soft, unguarded expression that used to be reserved only for me.
"Business partners don't call at two in the morning," I said. My voice did not shake. I had spent all my tears in the bathroom an hour ago. "Business partners don't need you to comfort them because they had a bad dream."
Ethan finally looked at me. His eyes were cold, stripped of the warmth I had relied on for my entire twenties.
"You're being suffocating," he said.
The word hit me like a physical slap. Suffocating. I was the woman who ironed his shirts, who managed his schedule, who forgave him when he forgot my birthday last year because of a "crisis."
I walked over to the table and snatched up his keys.
"Where are you going?" he asked, a hint of annoyance sharpening his tone.
"To dinner. With your parents. Like we planned for a month."
He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I can't go. Chloe needs help with the press release."
"It's my mother's birthday dinner, Ethan."
"Send her my regards."
I endured the dinner alone. I sat wedged between my parents and his, spinning excuses for the empty chair beside me. I told them he was working hard. I told them he was building our future.
Then, my phone buzzed.
It was a notification from Instagram. Chloe Vance had posted a story.
It was a video. She was laughing, holding a glass of wine. In the background, a man was cutting a steak for her. I knew those hands. I knew the watch on the wrist. I had bought it for him.
"Ava?" my mother asked. "Are you alright? You look pale."
I looked up at the four hopeful faces around the table. The lie died in my throat.
"He's not coming," I said. "And he's not working."
I stood up. The humiliation washed over me, hot and prickly. I felt like a fool. A trusting, blind fool.
"I have to go."
I drove home in silence. When I walked through the door, Ethan was on the couch, still on his phone. He didn't even flinch when I slammed the door.
"Did you enjoy the steak?" I asked.
He froze.
"We need to talk," he said, standing up. "About us. About... everything."
"There is no us," I said. The realization was sudden, sharp, and absolute. "Not anymore."
"Don't be dramatic. I was going to tell you-"
"Tell me what? That you love her? That I am boring? That seven years means nothing compared to seven weeks of excitement?"
He looked at me with a pity that was worse than hate. "It isn't what you think, Ava. We... we have just outgrown each other. Chloe understands me. She challenges me."
"And I don't?"
"You are comfortable," he said. "Safety is boring."
I felt my heart crack. Not break-shatter.
I walked past him into the bedroom. I pulled my suitcase from the closet.
"What are you doing?" he asked, leaning against the doorframe.
"Leaving."
"Stop it. It's late. You're being irrational."
I ignored him. I packed my clothes. I packed my essentials. I went to the nightstand and opened the drawer. Inside was a small velvet box. The ring he had given me three years ago. The one he promised to replace with a wedding band "when the time was right."
I took it out.
Ethan took a step forward. "Ava, let's talk about this in the morning."
I walked to the kitchen. He followed me. I opened the trash can under the sink. It smelled of coffee grounds and old takeout.
I held the ring over the bin.
"That cost five thousand dollars," Ethan warned.
I dropped it.
It landed with a soft thud on a pile of orange peels.
"You can fish it out," I said. "It suits you better down there."
I grabbed my bag and walked to the door.
"If you walk out that door, Ava, do not expect to come back," Ethan shouted. "I won't chase you."
I opened the door. The night air was cold.
"That is exactly what I am counting on," I said.
I closed the door. I didn't slam it. I just clicked it shut.