Our Three-Person Chat Only Had Two Speakers Chapter 06

Our Three-Person Chat Only Had Two Speakers Chapter 06

I never expected Ryan and Chloe to track me down, probably by grilling my parents.

When I opened the courtyard gate and saw them,
I sighed helplessly and led them to the wooden table on the porch.
Ryan spoke first.

“I’m sorry, Mia. I know I did a lot to upset you, and I’ve reflected on it.”
He pulled a key from his pocket and slid it across the table.
“I got this back from Chloe. It’s yours now.”
“I’ll keep my distance from her and won’t cross any lines. Take the key, and when this trip is over, let’s go home and get our marriage license. Okay?”
He nudged Chloe, who had been silent.
She looked awful, clearly resenting the trip to Italy. Her lips moved, but no words came out.
Until Ryan shot her an urging glare.
Chloe suddenly slammed the table and stood up.
She snatched the key and clutched it in her fist.
“No, it’s mine!”
“Ryan, I said no! Are you deaf?”

—

She practically screamed at him.

Tears streamed down her face, but she no longer looked pitiful; she looked hysterical and vicious.

“I don’t want to be the third wheel anymore!”

“I knew you first! All these years, why don’t you like me? Is it because my family is poorer? Because I’m not as pretty? Why don’t you like me, why!”

Ryan was stunned by her sudden outburst, completely speechless.

Seeing his silence, Chloe whipped around to face me.

Her eyes held none of their usual gentleness, only raw hatred.

“You must be thrilled, right, Mia?”

“We’ve been best friends for eighteen years. Your dad kept getting promoted, your family moved into a mansion. And my family? My dad went to prison, my mom remarried and had a son, and I barely have a roof over my head!”

“Watching me grovel in front of you while you steal Ryan, does it make you feel amazing?”

I looked at her twisted face.

I didn’t give her some tearful, melodramatic speech about doing it for her own good.

I’m no martyr, and I have no obligation to save her.

“See, you know exactly what’s going on.”

—

“You got so much from me. I pulled strings to get you that job. With your dad’s criminal record and your lack of a degree, you wouldn’t survive in this city. Where do you think you’d be without me?”

Her contorted face froze.

“I paid the rent for your first apartment. I bought you your first designer bag for your birthday. When your dad got out and tried to hit you, I stepped in and took those slaps for you.”

“Even a dog knows not to bite the hand that feeds it.”

Then I turned to Ryan.

“As for him, before you introduced us, I asked if you had feelings for him.”

“You told me to my face you didn’t. Now you blame me for stealing him?”

I scoffed.

“Besides, I don’t even think you truly love Ryan.”

“Chloe, you just love the idea of my boyfriend. You thrive on taking things from me and finally feeling like you won, don’t you?”

Exposed, Chloe flushed with defensive rage and screamed.

“Yes, that’s exactly it! So what!”

—

“So what?” I repeated, my voice calm. “You just admitted everything. In front of Ryan. In front of me.”

She froze, her mouth still open, the words dying on her tongue.

Ryan stared at her, his expression shifting from shock to something darker. “Chloe… is that true?”

She turned to him, her eyes wild. “Ryan, don’t listen to her! She’s twisting everything! She’s always been jealous of me!”

I laughed. “Jealous of you? Chloe, I gave you everything. A job. A place to live. A friend when you had no one. And you repaid me by trying to steal my fiancé.”

Ryan stood there, caught between us, his face pale.

I looked at him. “You heard her. She admitted she never loved you. She just wanted what was mine.”

He opened his mouth, but no words came out.

I turned and walked back toward the house. “The key stays with me. The wedding is off. And both of you can find your own way home.”

I closed the door behind me.

Outside, I heard Chloe’s sobs and Ryan’s angry voice.

I didn’t care.

I leaned against the door and let out a long breath.

The courtyard was quiet again. The Italian sun was warm through the window.

I smiled to myself.

Eighteen years of friendship. Seven years of love.

And in the end, they had both shown me exactly who they were.

I was better off without them.