He Called Me a Leech, Then Got Mad When the AI I Talked to Wasn’t Him Chapter 11

He Called Me a Leech, Then Got Mad When the AI I Talked to Wasn’t Him Chapter 11

But early the next morning, Ethan’s mother came to see me.

Mrs. Walker sat on the couch, her voice helpless and full of heartache.

“Lila, Ethan was completely out of it all day yesterday. He shut himself in his room alone,

didn’t eat, and didn’t sleep. Even now, his own applications are still blank, and he still hasn’t

submitted anything.”

“Did you two have a fight?”

“After all these years, whatever happened, you can talk it out properly. Don’t make decisions

out of anger.”

I gently shook my head, my expression calm and unreadable.

“Mrs. Walker, we didn’t fight. We just grew up. I have my own thoughts now, and my own life

choices. I don’t want to stay tied to someone else or trail behind anyone like their little

shadow anymore.”

Mrs. Walker looked at me and sighed, as if she understood what I meant.

After seeing Mrs. Walker off, I casually opened my phone and scrolled through Instagram.

At a glance, I saw Sophie’s newest post.

The photo was of a college campus in New York City.

The caption was subtle, yet painfully obvious.

[After all those twists and turns, I’m glad I’ll still be in the same city as you.]

Anyone with eyes could tell that post was Sophie confessing her feelings to Ethan.

I scrolled past it calmly, without the slightest ripple in my heart.

Silently, I wished them well.

For some reason, though, that night, Ethan ran through the heavy rain to wait outside my

apartment building and insisted on seeing me.

I went downstairs with an umbrella.

There, I saw Ethan with bloodshot eyes.

He stepped forward, his voice carrying a trace of pleading.

“Lila, can you file a formal request with the admissions office to change your submitted college choice?”

“Don’t go to Stanford. Come to Columbia with me, okay?”

I frowned at him, finding the whole thing absurd.

“Ethan, have you lost your mind?”

He pulled out a bitter smile, his gaze stubborn and desolate.

“What about you? You changed our agreed-upon college plan on your own and insisted on going to Stanford. Lila, are you sure you haven’t lost your mind?”

I shook my head lightly.

“I’m perfectly clearheaded.”

“From the day you said I was a piece of Velcro you couldn’t get rid of, and from the day you got sick of my dependence and forced me to learn to stand on my own two feet, I started figuring things out little by little.”

“Now, I really don’t depend on you anymore.”

“Shouldn’t you be happy?”

Ethan’s body stiffened. He looked like he wanted to say something but couldn’t.

After a long while, he finally tried to explain.

“When I said those things back then, I just wanted you to grow up faster and learn to be

independent. I never thought about pushing you away or giving up on you.”

I looked at him calmly and exposed the truth in one sentence.

“What about Sophie?”

“You were perfectly willing to stay in the same city for her.”

“You tolerated all her flaws, helped her with her applications, and kept her company while

joking and laughing with her.”

“Why is it that when it comes to me, even the smallest bit of dependence becomes some unforgivable crime?”

Ethan’s expression changed abruptly, and he looked like he was about to argue.

But I raised my hand and cut him off.

“You don’t need to explain.”

“Let’s part on good terms, just like you wanted.”

“Our lives don’t need to stay tangled together anymore.”

“From now on, I’ll walk my own path properly. And I wish you success in school and a bright future ahead.”

My voice was low and steady as a muffled roll of thunder sounded outside.

After saying that, I gently closed the door.

It shut out the sound of the rain falling beyond it.

It also closed the door on the long twelve years between Ethan and me.