Fifty Bowls, One Broken Engagement Chapter 03

Fifty Bowls, One Broken Engagement Chapter 03

When I woke the next morning, the room spun around me. My nose felt packed with cotton, and my voice had gone hoarse.

“Claire!”

Ethan rushed in and shoved his phone in front of me.

“Let’s buy this move-in-ready condo instead. It’s only another $100,000. You can put down a little more, and we’ll get a three-bedroom so Megan has her own room.”

“Then you will not have to suffer in the study again.”

For the past two years, Ethan had poured all his home-buying money into his startup. That was why my family was expected to cover the down payment on a two-bedroom condo for us to live in after the wedding.

We were supposed to pay the mortgage together.

But now, for Megan’s comfort, he was willing to stretch the budget for a bigger place.

And he had the nerve to pretend it was for me.

“Arrange it however you want.”

I didn’t argue.

None of it had anything to do with me anymore.

“You’re so agreeable today. You deserve a kiss.”

Ethan beamed. “I’ll send you the listing. Talk to the agent.”

“Megan still isn’t feeling well, so I’m taking her to urgent care. Pick up groceries around noon. Salmon is her favorite.”

After giving me his instructions, he turned to leave.

“Wait.”

I couldn’t stop myself. “Don’t you notice anything different about me?”

“Your voice is hoarse, and your nose sounds stuffed up.”

Ethan paused before adding, “You’re always healthy. Take some over-the-counter cold medicine and rest. You’ll be fine.”

“You went to work with a stomach bug, remember?”

Those last two sentences cut deeper than any blade. They shattered the last bit of light I’d kept alive inside me.

We were both sick.

The night before, he’d searched frantically for medicine, told Megan stories, and stayed beside her all night.

With me, he couldn’t have cared less.

And I was clearly sicker than she was.

If Megan mattered more to him, then I was done competing.

While Ethan fussed over her, I took some cold medicine and left to sign the investment agreement with Lucas.

“Once you sign, there’s no backing out.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to use this for your down payment? You really want to invest it in the company with me?”

Lucas handed me a pen, his expression serious.

“I’m sure.”

I nodded. “He has his priorities. I have mine.”

I signed.

I initialed every page.

And just like that, it was done.

I trusted Lucas. We’d gone to school together from middle school through college.

Even his business professors had called him a natural investment genius.

In college, he’d built a campus delivery app and opened two pop-up stores, earning his first real startup capital.

He had asked me to partner with him more than once.

But I had always refused because I wanted to keep my money available for Ethan.

After Lucas signed the agreement, he looked at me. “I’m taking you to urgent care.”

“Whenever you run a fever, you get severely dehydrated. If you don’t get fluids early, it drags on for days.”

Ethan knew that too.

He had simply forgotten.

He had also forgotten why I forced myself to work whenever I was sick. I wanted savings in case his startup failed.

I wanted to make sure we never ended up on the street.

That afternoon, Lucas took me to see several apartments.

I chose one, and he paid the lease immediately, calling it company housing.

Then he handed me another agreement and asked me to become the company’s vice president.

I accepted without hesitation.