He Promised Me A Sunset, He Kissed Her Under It Chapter 03

He Promised Me A Sunset, He Kissed Her Under It Chapter 03

That night, strong winds swept across Lake Tahoe without warning.

A temporary closure was announced for the road around the lake, so everything we’d planned for the next day was canceled.

Ethan carried his laptop into the living room of the suite as if nothing had happened.

“Since we’re stuck here anyway, we might as well sort out our plans for after graduation.”

He opened the business plan, then pulled up the floor plan for the apartment we’d been planning to rent.

“The landlord keeps asking us to sign the final lease. When we get back, let’s just move in. No more putting it off.”

Chloe reached for the laptop before I could.

She scrolled through the floor plan with the concentration of someone designing her own home.

“All the natural wood feels a little plain, don’t you think? A softer cream-toned look would photograph better.”

She tapped the second bedroom. “And this room gets the best light. We could turn it into a livestream studio.”

Ethan nodded.

“Sure. Change whatever you want.”

I looked at her.

“That’s the apartment Ethan and I are renting. Why would we decorate it around your preferences?”

Chloe acted as though she’d only just realized she’d overstepped.

“Claire, don’t get the wrong idea.”

“I just graduated too, and I haven’t found a place yet. Ethan said the apartment has three bedrooms, so he offered to let me stay for a while.”

Ethan looked completely at ease..

“It’s not safe for Chloe to live by herself.”

“The room would just sit empty anyway. What’s wrong with letting her stay there for a few months?”

He said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world, as if I were the outsider intruding on their home.

I closed the laptop.

“No. I’m not okay with that.”

Ethan blinked, clearly caught off guard.

In four years, I had rarely told him no.

When he wanted to start a company, I’d turned down the job I wanted so I could help him build the team.

When Ryan needed equipment, I’d lent him my backup camera.

When Chloe wanted to join a project, I’d revised her resume three times.

They had all gotten used to me giving in.

So the moment I said no, somehow I was the unreasonable one.

Ryan’s expression darkened.

“We’ve all known each other forever. She’d be staying a couple of months. Do you really have to be this petty?”

Chloe stood up, her eyes already shining with tears.

“Forget it. I’ll find somewhere else.”

“I don’t want to cause problems between you two.”

She said she’d find somewhere else, but her eyes stayed fixed on the second bedroom with the best natural light.

Ethan put a hand on her shoulder.

“You don’t have to go anywhere.”

Then he turned to me, his expression cold.

“You’re not paying all the rent. Why do you get to decide she can’t stay?”

I didn’t answer.

Ryan saw the tension building and pulled out his phone, trying to smooth things over.

“Let’s just watch the video from when we toured the place. We can talk about the living arrangement later.”

He cast the video to the TV he’d taken during an earlier visit to the apartment.

The camera swept from the entryway into the living room.

The couch hadn’t been delivered yet, but several pairs of slippers were already sitting on the floor.

Then the video panned past the primary bedroom.

Chloe was sitting cross-legged on the window seat, eating cake.

Her hair was wet.

She was wearing Ethan’s white button-down shirt.

Two wineglasses sat on the coffee table.

The bathroom door opened.

Ethan walked out with a hair dryer and, with practiced ease, lifted Chloe’s hair off her neck to dry it.

The clip lasted only a few seconds.

The room went dead silent.

Ryan fumbled to disconnect his phone from the TV.

Ethan snatched the phone out of his hand.

“We were only there to check the plumbing and electrical stuff that day.”

Chloe went pale and rushed to explain.

“It started pouring outside. My clothes were soaked, so I borrowed Ethan’s shirt.”

“Claire, nothing happened. Don’t read into it.”

I kept staring at the final image that had frozen on the screen.

Chloe on the window seat.

Ethan standing behind her, drying her hair.

They looked so natural together, as if they’d already been living there for months.

I’d searched half the city for that apartment.

The neighborhood. The light. The kitchen. The balcony.

Every detail had been chosen because I’d imagined a future there.

And before I’d even moved in, the two of them had already drunk there, showered there, and worn each other’s clothes.

Whatever had happened that night, I no longer wanted to know.

I took out my phone and called the leasing agent.

“Melissa, I’m not taking the apartment after all.”

Ethan reached for my phone.

“Claire Bennett, are you done with this yet?”

I moved away from him.

“I signed the agreement, and I paid the deposit.”

“If I don’t want the apartment anymore, who exactly do I need permission from?”

His face went completely cold.

“You’re going to destroy everything we planned after graduation over one stupid misunderstanding?”

“You can be jealous, but this is taking it too far.”

Chloe lowered her head, tears falling onto the back of her hand.

Ryan immediately handed her a tissue.

“Claire, Chloe already explained. What else do you want from her?”

I looked at the three people standing in front of me, people I’d known for ten years.

I’d always believed there was no need to keep score between us.

My contacts were theirs to use.

My equipment was theirs to borrow.

My time and energy were theirs whenever they needed them.

But I’d never imagined that one day they would treat my boyfriend like another shared resource.

I left our startup group chat and pulled every resource I’d brought in, filming locations, equipment contacts, and client connections.

Ethan’s phone started vibrating over and over.

When he saw the notifications, his expression finally changed.

“You’re gambling with our careers just because you’re mad at me?”

“We can talk about the apartment later. Put the business arrangements back in place first.”

“That’s your future.”

I looked straight at him.

“Not mine.”

My phone lit up at that moment.

Professor Reed had sent the final project confirmation.

The project team can pick you up a day early.

Send your location by tomorrow morning.

I signed the acceptance paperwork and sent over the hotel address.

Ethan was still demanding that I reinstate the lease and undo everything I’d pulled from the business.

I asked him one last question.

“If Chloe and I both needed you at the same time, who would you choose?”

He rubbed between his brows in irritation.

“She has asthma. Her health isn’t great.”

“Why do you have to competition with her?”

I nodded and didn’t ask again.

He’d already given me his answer.