The Group Chat That Shipped Them, The Application I Sent Chapter 02

The Group Chat That Shipped Them, The Application I Sent Chapter 02

It wasn’t until two in the morning that a driver finally accepted my ride.

When I walked through the door, Ethan immediately stood up from the couch.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were heading home too? I could’ve driven you.”

His tone was so casual that I almost laughed.

Didn’t he realize that my coworker had deliberately cut me off because everyone wanted to play matchmaker?

Couldn’t he have said, on his own, that he would take me home?

The words rose to my lips.

Then I swallowed them.

“I forgot.”

As I walked closer, I noticed what Ethan was wearing.

Matching pajamas.

My heart skipped.

For years, Ethan had refused to wear anything that looked remotely like a couple’s set, even when we were alone at home. He had always said it was too obvious.

For a brief moment, I felt a flicker of hope.

“You said you didn’t want us wearing matching clothes.”

Ethan opened his mouth.

Before he could answer, Sienna walked out of the bathroom.

She was wearing the matching set.

“I asked him to put it on,” she said brightly. “This store sells matching pajamas cheaper as a set, but I didn’t know what size to get for the men’s version. I just wanted Ethan to try them on for me.”

My expression froze.

The tiny spark of happiness inside me disappeared instantly.

For one foolish second, I had thought Ethan had seen my resignation and was finally ready to make our relationship public.

I thought maybe he was trying to win me back.

But no.

It was because of Sienna.

She looked Ethan up and down.

“Actually, the men’s size might be a little too big on me. Never mind. I probably won’t buy them. I don’t have a boyfriend anyway, so there’s no point buying a matching set if I have nobody to wear it with.”

There was disappointment in her voice.

Ethan naturally picked up on it.

“Take mine.”

Sienna’s eyes lit up.

“Really?”

Ethan’s expression remained calm, but the corner of his mouth curved into a faint smile.

“Sure. Clara never wore hers anyway. It’s just taking up space in her closet.”

I lowered my head.

My hands clenched, then slowly relaxed.

He was right.

They were taking up space.

What was the point of owning half of a matching set?

So I had left the men’s pajamas sitting untouched in my closet for years.

I used to think I was saving them for the day Ethan finally made our relationship public.

The day we could wear them together without hiding.

Instead, I had waited all these years just to watch him give them to someone else.

I kept my voice steady.

“Take them. It’s not like I’m ever going to wear them.”

Sienna happily spun around.

“You’re the best, Clara! Oh, by the way, the hurricane is supposed to last for the next few days, and I’m scared to stay by myself. Can I stay here with you guys? Just for a little while.”

I slipped on my shoes and headed out.

“Do whatever you want.”

It didn’t matter.

I was leaving soon anyway.

She could stay as long as she wanted.

Once I was in bed, Ethan suddenly spoke into the darkness.

“Why were you so quiet tonight? You used to get upset whenever I gave away those pointless matching things.”

I froze.

He remembered.

When Ethan and I first got together, I had been so happy that I went overboard buying couple stuff.

Matching coffee mugs.

Matching slippers.

Matching umbrellas.

Matching pens.

Anything I saw that came in a matching set, I bought.

I wanted everything around us to look like it belonged to a couple.

The very next day, Ethan gave his half of every set away to coworkers like they were prizes in a raffle.

One of my coworkers eventually noticed that the things Ethan had given away matched the things I had.

Behind my back, they laughed at me for having designs on the company’s CEO.

I became a complete joke around the office.

What hurt wasn’t that Ethan didn’t like matching things.

He could have simply told me.

Instead, he had chosen the one way of rejecting me that would hurt the most.

After that, he became even more careful about keeping his distance.

He wouldn’t even ride the same elevator as me.

I was furious with him for days and refused to speak to him.

Ethan didn’t argue.

Instead, he took me to his private wine cellar.

He pointed to the wall lined with bottles and told me every bottle was priceless.

They had all been produced the year I was born.

And he said they would stay there until the day of our wedding.

That was the day I convinced myself Ethan loved me.

He just wasn’t good at saying it.

I thought his love was hidden in all the things he never said.

But tonight, watching him shield Sienna from drinks and help her pick out matching pajamas, I finally understood.

Some things didn’t need to be said.

You could see love in the way someone treated you.

And when there was no love, no amount of pretending could hide that either.

My voice remained calm.

“I thought we agreed all that couple stuff was pointless. If it’s pointless, then giving it away doesn’t matter.”

Ethan fell silent.

He didn’t say another word.