My Boyfriend Played Mind Games, So I Played Them Better Chapter 08

My Boyfriend Played Mind Games, So I Played Them Better Chapter 08

I wanted to say yes, but I kept my smile perfectly polite.

“I just don’t want you to let anger cloud your judgment.”

“I’m a good student, and I have a future worth fighting for.”

“But if you destroy it and leave me with nothing, Julian will be the only person I have left to

turn to.”

“Whether you love him or not, I doubt you want me to become a permanent part of your life.”

“If you find a cockroach in your house, you spray it. But provoke the wrong person, and she can become a pest you can’t get rid of.”

“No matter how much she disgusts you, she’s still a person. And the law protects people.”

Apparently, Vivienne saw my point.

She had no interest in continuing a conversation with a cockroach. She merely told Julian to keep me in line, picked up her bag, and left without another word.

Julian stood. “Come on. I’ll drive you home.”

The car ride was quiet.

After a long silence, Julian spoke.

“Why a cockroach?”

I thought about it before answering.

“Take an ant, for example. Step on it, and it disappears without a sound. No consequences.”

“A cockroach is different. People hate it just for existing. Sometimes it survives being crushed. Even if a female dies, an egg case she was carrying may still hatch and start a whole new infestation.”

“Don’t

you think there’s something impressive about a creature that can still get even?”

Julian nodded.

“You may have a point.”

He didn’t call me out for any of the outrageous things I’d said to Vivienne.

That also meant he had no intention of answering the part where I’d claimed he liked me.

Maybe feelings like that simply didn’t matter to someone like him.

I laughed quietly at myself.

Did they really matter to me?

I thanked Julian and got out of the car.

He nodded once and pulled away.

“Ivy.”

I turned and found Ethan standing with a group of friends, giving me a cold stare.

“Aren’t you going to explain yourself?” he asked.

“Explain what?”

“You’re my girlfriend, and you just got out of another man’s car. Don’t you think I deserve an explanation?”

“That’s rich, Ethan. You forgot I was your girlfriend when Vivienne came after me. You were too much of a coward to defend me, so don’t start playing the jealous boyfriend now.”

Ethan stared at me in shock.

I couldn’t blame him. I’d always been sweet and agreeable around him, and he’d never seen

this side of me.

But I was done pretending.

Ethan was never my golden ticket.

Julian had been wrong about one thing.

Whether

you were in Hollywood or at an elite university, you still needed to hit the books.

The only weapon that truly belonged to you was your own mind.

Back at my dorm, I sent Ethan a breakup text.

He replied: [You’d better not regret this.]

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and blocked him.

To save face, Ethan started telling everyone we’d broken up because I’d cheated on him.

My roommates immediately came to my defense.

“Trash-talking your ex after a breakup? That’s so classless.”

“Who was the one who always had girls hanging all over him? How does he even have the nerve?”

“And he’s mad because you got out of a guy’s car? What, has he never taken an Uber?”

I’d kept building a life and support system of my own while Ethan and I were together.

So when we broke up, I wasn’t left alone.

The rumors faded quickly.

I didn’t care much anyway. I had more important problems.

Vivienne had already shut me out of several important competitions and internships. At this

rate, I had little chance of landing a position at a top company after graduation.

After weighing my options, I decided to go to graduate school abroad.