Forty-Eight Hours Until I Disappear From His Life Chapter 08

Forty-Eight Hours Until I Disappear From His Life Chapter 08

Ethan gripped the phone and swallowed.

“Nound out what really happened with the watch.”

“Okay.”

“You saved for six months to buy it.”

“So?”

Ethan seemed caught off guard by how calm I sounded.

“I didn’t know at the time.”

“Didn’t know, or never bothered to find out?”

He went silent.

I stood in the corridor of the project office, watching the sun sink in the distance.

“Ethan, the sales associate was standing right there. I had the receipt in my hand. You could’ve known if you’d asked one question.”

“But Sloane called me a gold digger, and you believed her.”

“No. I just let her get in my head.”

“Was that what happened the first time too?”

I asked quietly.

“She lied and told me you’d been in a car accident. You were lying in that hospital bed, watching me cry while you laughed with them. The second time, my mom was in the hospital with a high fever. I spent five hours getting back to New York, and you watched them laugh at me again.”

“Did Sloane get in your head every single time?”

Ethan’s breathing tightened.

“I’m sorry.”

I gave a small laugh.

“Your apology showed up faster than your trust ever did.”

Back at the club, Sloane stared at Ethan.

“What, is she playing the victim again? Ethan, don’t forget how good she is at dragging up the

Past.‘

Ethan looked up.

“You’re still talking?”

“Am I wrong? We were joking around back then.”

“Her mother being hospitalized was a joke too?”

Sloane faltered.

“We didn’t know her mom was actually sick.”

“She told us.‘

Ethan looked at the others.

“Which one of you didn’t see the hospital bill she posted?”

Several of his friends looked away.

Back then, I’d posted the hospital receipt in the group chat and begged them to stop making those

kinds of jokes.

Sloane said a screenshot could be faked.

Ethan believed her.

Now the same receipt they’d all mocked felt like a slap across every face in the room.

Someone finally spoke up.

“Sloane, were you doing it on purpose back then?”

“What do you mean, on purpose? You laughed too.”

“Yeah, but you were the one who suggested every single test.”

“Because she was fake!”

Sloane’s voice shot up.

“She came from some broke little town and walked around every day acting like money meant nothing to her. Who was she trying to fool? If I hadn’t called her out, you all would’ve actually

believed she was some saint.”

The room went dead silent.

soane realized she’d said too much and hurried to backpedal.

“I mean, I was worried Ethan was being played.”

Ethan looked at her.

“You were worried I was getting played, so even though you knew she’d saved for that watch, you told everyone she was trying to trade it for a sports car?”

“I couldn’t stand the way she acted like she was above all of it!”

Sloane slammed her bag onto the table.

“Why her? She had no money, no connections. She could barely afford to dress for our parties. But every time you got drunk, hers was the only name you called. I’ve been by your side all these years. When have you ever cared about me like that?”

No one said a word.

Suddenly, every so–called test from the past made sense.

It wasn’t that Sloane understood gold diggers.

She’d wanted to turn me into one.

Ethan took out his phone, made Noah the group admin, and removed Sloane from every group chat

they shared.

“Starting today, stay out of my life.”

Sloane stared at him, eyes red.

“Ethan Whitmore, you’re cutting me off because of her?”

“This isn’t because of her.”

Ethan looked at her and spoke one word at a time.

“It’s because I’m only now realizing how disgusting you are.”