He never even looked at me.
I agreed to meet him at a cafe.
He tried to add sugar to my coffee, but I
stopped him.
I sipped my coffee, the taste bitter. “I got
used to drinking it black.”
He stared at me, embarrassed.
“You used to love sugar.”
I shook my head. “I didn’t. I just liked it
because you liked it.”
He turned red.
Then, he noticed my bare collarbone.
He grabbed my arm. “Where’s your tattoo?”
I said, “I got it removed. It took seven or eight
sessions.”
His voice trembled. “Why?”
“I don’t like it anymore.
I looked out the window, like it was nothing.
But his eyes filled with tears. “That’s okay.
You’ll like it again.”
He gripped his coffee cup so hard, the coffee
spilled on his suit.
I looked at him.
I drank the last of my coffee.
“No, I won’t.”
I knew he understood.
I stood up.
He grabbed my arm again.
“Lily, I made a mistake. I didn’t realize I loved
you until you left. Please, give me another
chance.”
“Let me make it up to you.”
This time, I looked down at him, removing his
fingers from my arm.
“I don’t need you.” I said.
Г
I saw Ethan everywhere I went.
I got so annoyed, I stopped going out.
Then, I got a message about a package.
Ethan wasn’t around, so I decided to pick it
up.
But when I got there, it was an empty alley.
As I turned to leave, a figure stepped out of
the darkness.
I almost didn’t recognize her.
It was Chloe.
She was skinny, with lifeless eyes and bony
arms. Only her stomach was big.
She was pregnant.
I took a step back. This couldn’t be good.
She smiled. “If you’d stayed away, I wouldn’t
have had to find you. My baby’s about to be
born. But you just had to show up again.”
“I’m not trying to take Ethan from you.”
I tried to reason with her.
But she didn’t listen. The thugs moved closer.
I looked at her. “We’re sisters. Why are you
doing this? Why did you kill my mom?”
She laughed.
“Why? Because I was jealous. You got to live
the good life with that loser while I got beat
by that monster.”
“I made the right choice. But you were happy,
so I had to ruin your life.”
That was the answer.
“Do you know why my mom went to see
you?”
“She said she wanted to bring you home. She
said she was sorry.”
“She wanted to save you. But you killed her.”
Chloe stumbled backward, falling to the
ground.
She replaced that with anger. “You’re lying.
I’m not going to let you trick me. I’m going to
show Ethan how pathetic you are.”
One of the men grabbed me.
I backed against the wall.
Through them, I looked at Chloe.
When Ethan arrived, I was surrounded.
He slapped Chloe hard.
His eyes were filled with disappointment.
“You’re evil. I should divorce you.”
But then, he felt hopeful.
<
He’d saved me before.
He thought it was fate.
If he saved me again, I’d love him again.
But then, he saw me walk out of the crowd.
I stretched.
Chloe hadn’t changed.
I’d been training in martial arts for three
years.
I didn’t need to be saved. I could save myself.
Ethan knew he’d lost me forever.