His GPS Always Navigated To My Best Friend’s Apartment Chapter 03

His GPS Always Navigated To My Best Friend’s Apartment Chapter 03

“Rachel, freeze right there.”

I stopped in my tracks and turned to face him.

“What kind of attitude is that?” Ethan snapped, his voice sharp. “Chloe came all this way to visit as a guest, and you can’t even be bothered to say hello? Who are you throwing that sour face at? Is this how I taught you to behave when hosting people?”

Looking at his high-and-mighty posture, I found it almost laughable.

“I already said I don’t mind. Carry on.”

“You—”

Ethan choked on his words, wanting to blow up, but he forced the rage down since Chloe was standing right there.

“Fine. As long as you know your place,” he muttered with a cold sneer, sitting back down on the rug. “Go slice some fruit and bring it out. Chloe’s been working hard in the kitchen all afternoon, and she’s thirsty.”

“I just finished a grueling shift at the office, and I’m exhausted. If you want fruit, slice it yourself.”

Leaving the words behind, I pushed open the bedroom door, walked in, and clicked the lock shut behind me.

The hallway outside fell silent for a few seconds before Ethan’s suppressed, furious voice drifted through the door.

“Just ignore her. She’s riddled with toxic habits!”

I slipped on my noise-canceling headphones to drown out the rest of the world and pulled open the nightstand drawer. Inside lay every single gift he had given me over the past three years.

The first year was a silver necklace, now completely tarnished and blackened.

The second year was a tube of lipstick in a garish, unwearable shade.

The third year—just a few days ago—he had given me a pair of pearl earrings, completely forgetting that I didn’t even have my ears pierced.

I swept everything into a plastic bag and tied the top in a tight knot.

The days spent handing over my files flew by.

Three days until my departure.

Ethan broke his usual routine and came home exactly on time, holding a bakery box in his hand.

“Our three-year anniversary is the day after tomorrow. You’ve been behaving yourself these past few days without throwing any tantrums,” he said, setting the box down. “Consider this cake a reward for good behavior.”

It was a chocolate cake, decorated with thick layers of rich peanut butter frosting.

“Why aren’t you eating it? It’s from that exclusive, boutique bakery that always has a massive line. Chloe said it’s the absolute best, so I specifically asked her to go grab it for us.”

He handed me a plastic fork, raising his chin as he waited for my gratitude.

I stared at the center of the cake. The most perfect, beautiful corner had already been scooped out, leaving a faint smear of lipstick on the remaining edge. I didn’t reach for the fork.

Ethan followed my gaze, his face remaining entirely untroubled.

“Chloe had a sudden bout of low blood sugar on the drive back, so I let her take a bite first to stabilize herself. You aren’t seriously going to throw a fit over a single bite of cake, are you?”

Looking into his deeply affectionate eyes, a wave of pure revulsion washed over my stomach.

“I’m severely allergic to peanuts.”

My voice was quiet, steady. “When we first started dating, I had a serious allergic reaction after drinking the peanut butter latte you bought me.Did you completely erase that from your memory?”

A brief flash of embarrassment flickered across Ethan’s eyes, and he slowly pulled his hand back.

“Rachel, do you absolutely have to ruin the mood at a time like this?” He rubbed the bridge of his nose, his voice dripping with utter exhaustion.

“I work all day long, and I didn’t even stop to grab a bite of dinner tonight just so I could rush home and give you this cake.”

“Chloe went out of her way to look out for you, exhausting herself just to help patch things up between us. Is an allergy really such a catastrophic issue? Is it really that serious?”

He slammed the plastic fork heavily onto the table.

“Do you really have to trample all over the genuine care Chloe and I have shown you? Do you honestly think acting like this makes you look unique?”

“I’m not making excuses.”

I took a step backward, pointing directly at the mangled cake. “Since she fought through the lines to get it, and since it perfectly matches her taste buds, why don’t you take it and go spend the rest of your life playing foodie buddies with her? Stop bringing this garbage back to disgust me.”

With that, I turned around to walk back to the bedroom.

“Rachel! If you dare to walk away and show me that face today, you can forget about celebrating another anniversary with me. You can spend the rest of your life celebrating them alone!”

I didn’t pause for a fraction of a second as I closed the door.

A loud crash echoed from the living room as the bakery box was swept off the table and onto the floor.

My packed suitcase was resting in the corner of the living room. Ethan kicked it violently out of his path.

“What kind of useless Amazon packages are you buying now? Leaving junk here to block the way.”

The front door slammed shut with a deafening rattle.

He was gone, presumably rushing back to find his foodie buddy.

Leaning my back against the bedroom door, I stared at the neatly packed suitcase, feeling nothing but a profound, overwhelming sense of relief.