My Boyfriend’s “Just a Friend” Became the Reason I Walked Away Chapter 03

My Boyfriend’s “Just a Friend” Became the Reason I Walked Away Chapter 03

Late that night, I lay awake in bed and opened Instagram out of habit.

Vanessa had just posted a selfie from an industry awards gala. In the photo, she was wearing a pair of sparkling diamond earrings.

Her caption read: [Thank you to someone special for the gift. Tonight was perfect.]

They were the same earrings I had helped Ethan pick out at the mall the month before.

At the time, he had been oddly secretive and said they were for someone important. I had assumed they were his fifth-anniversary gift to me.

Apparently, I wasn’t the important person he had meant.

Someone in the industry had commented beneath the photo: [From Mr. Walker? Are you two dating?]

Ethan had liked the comment without correcting it.

I started trembling as I stared at the large screen in the background of Vanessa’s photo.

I had spent three weeks and countless all-nighters preparing the guest profiles and event program displayed on it.

Now Vanessa was using my work to make herself the center of attention at the gala.

My finger slipped, and I accidentally liked the post. I removed the like as soon as I realized what I had done.

A few moments later, Ethan called.

“Don’t start imagining things.”

There wasn’t a trace of guilt in his voice.

“The earrings were a gift from a client. They would’ve gone to waste sitting around, so I gave them to her.”

I heard Vanessa speaking sweetly in the background before she took the phone from him.

“Claire, please don’t be mad at Ethan. He said the design was too flashy for you and didn’t suit your style. He was only thinking of you.”

Once again, he had supposedly done it for my sake.

A wave of anger tore through me, hot enough to leave me shaking. I gripped the phone tightly, my voice trembling with anger when I spoke.

“You didn’t give me anything for our fifth anniversary, but you remembered her birthday perfectly. What about mine? Do you even remember when it is?”

The line went silent.

After a long moment, Ethan finally responded, impatience creeping back into his voice.

“What’s gotten into you lately? You’re suspicious of everything. Instead of obsessing over nonsense like this, maybe you should put that energy into improving at your job.”

My answer came without hesitation.

“Ethan Walker, we’re done.”

His lecture stopped abruptly. Then he let out a cold laugh.

“Claire Sterling, are you finished with this tantrum? I’m already under enough pressure. Could you stop making things harder for me? Take a few days to calm down, and we’ll talk later.”

Once again, he ended the call before I could answer.

For the next three days, he didn’t contact me. I did the same and stopped checking anything related to him.

On the third afternoon, Vanessa arrived at the firm dressed as though she had stepped out of a magazine.

She carried several cups of coffee and handed them out to the staff with a bright smile. When she finally reached the reception desk, she set one cup in front of me.

A note had been tucked beneath it.

[Claire, stop fighting with Ethan. He’s under a lot of pressure right now. Try to be more understanding.]

She looked down at me, unable to hide her smugness.

I stared at the coffee, stood up, and poured the entire cup into the trash can beside the desk right in front of her.

Brown liquid splashed across the plastic liner.

Vanessa’s smile froze, and her face went pale.