Pretend To Be His Bestie For Her! Fine, I Dumped My Boyfriend And Childhood Buddies! Chapter 08

Pretend To Be His Bestie For Her! Fine, I Dumped My Boyfriend And Childhood Buddies! Chapter 08

That night, Ethan posted on social media.

It was a video of the photo album.

His caption read:

[Some people, once you lose them, are gone for good.]

I didn’t comment or like the post.

I had more important things to do.

I’d only just joined the project team, and there was still a lot I needed to learn.

I opened the materials my manager had sent me and started taking detailed notes.

The love I’d lost and the friendships that had fallen apart were already behind me.

The project kept me busy for the next month.

Before the final presentation, my manager put me in charge of it.

“Mia, you’re in charge of the whole presentation.”

“You joined the team last, but you’ve contributed the most. Make the most of it.”

I stood and nodded firmly.

“I will.”

I pulled a few all-nighters, revising the presentation deck again and again.

I didn’t stop until even the toughest reviewer couldn’t find a flaw.

“Mia, you crushed it!”

My coworkers looked at me with genuine admiration.

The presentation went smoothly from beginning to end.

When it was over, the director nodded in approval.

“Excellent work.”

“Everyone on the team gets an extra paid day off. Your bonuses will be deposited tomorrow.”

The entire project team cheered and hugged one another.

This time, I got what I had earned.

No one made me step aside for someone else.

As the meeting wrapped up, the receptionist texted me privately.

[Mia, someone’s downstairs asking for you. I had him wait in the lounge.]

[If anything happens, text me.]

[I can call security.]

I paused.

[Who is it?]

Her reply came quickly.

[He said his last name was Blake.]

Ethan sat on a couch in the lounge.

The moment he saw me, he hurried to his feet.

“Mia.”

He said my name softly, as if he was afraid even his voice might scare me away.

“I got really sick after we broke up. I only just got better.”

“I didn’t scare you, did I?”

He had lost so much weight that he barely looked like himself.

He looked like a strong gust of wind could knock him over.

From behind the couch, he pulled out a suitcase.

It was packed with replacements for everything I’d left behind at the hotel.

Every item was brand-new.

“Mia, Chloe ruined the things you left at the hotel.”

“I made her replace all of them.”

I took one look at the suitcase and shook my head.

“Do whatever you want with them.”

“Looking at that stuff just makes me sick.”

Ethan stared at me blankly, clearly unsure what to do.

“I just wanted her to make things right…”

I shook my head.

“You still don’t understand.”

“I don’t need anything from her.”

“Because I don’t need any of these things anymore.”

“Mia, but all this stuff-”

I cut him off.

“I left them because I didn’t want them.”

“They were all gifts from you. That’s exactly why I didn’t take them.”

“If I’m ending something, I want a clean break.”

“I don’t like keeping reminders of someone around.”

Ethan lowered his head.

“Mia, please don’t leave me.”

“Life without you has been unbearable.”

“Whatever I did wrong, tell me.”

“I’ll change. I’ll change all of it.”

I placed every item back into the suitcase one by one.

“Things can be replaced.”

“But I’ll never forget the pain you all put me through.”

“If you ever meet another woman you love, don’t treat her the way you treated me.”

Something in Ethan’s eyes dimmed.

“Mia.”

“I can’t love anyone but you anymore.”

I didn’t answer him.

I simply walked out of the lounge.

The receptionist looked at me with concern.

I gave her a reassuring smile.

“Thank you. I appreciate it.”

She grinned.

“Of course. That’s what I’m here for.”

An email from my manager was waiting in my inbox.

[Congratulations, Mia Hart. We’d like to offer you a promotion at our New York headquarters.]

[Would you like to accept?]

I clicked Accept without hesitation.

I didn’t have to live by anyone else’s expectations anymore.

I didn’t have to keep bending over backward to please everyone.

I could simply be myself.