My Fiancé Took Her on Vacation Instead of Marrying Me? I Married WAY Better Chapter 05

My Fiancé Took Her on Vacation Instead of Marrying Me? I Married WAY Better Chapter 05

I suddenly found it laughable.

And yet pathetic—that I’d loved someone like that for eight years.

I hailed a cab and gave the address I’d lived at for five years. My voice was so calm it sounded foreign even to me.

I pushed the door open. By the entryway, next to Ethan’s usual leather shoes, sat a pair of unfamiliar women’s slippers. Pinkish-white, with a cheap pearl glued to the toe.

I stared at those slippers for two seconds, then laughed.

So the boundaries had been crossed long before today.

I didn’t have much to pack, really.

For five years, I’d poured every cent into his company. My own closet was full of clearance-rack basics from seasons ago.

When I pulled open the drawer to grab my passport, my fingers brushed against a dusty jewelry box.

On a whim, I opened it.

Inside lay a simple silver band.

The one Ethan had bought me at a county fair eight years ago for twenty bucks.

That night, he’d dropped to one knee, eyes rimmed red.

“Serena, I’ve got nothing right now. I’m sorry you have to wear this.”

“But I swear, when I make it big, I’ll buy you the biggest diamond ring in the city.”

“I’ll make you the most envied bride in town.”

I believed him back then.

Believed him so much I cut ties with my family. Believed him so much I went to my grandfather and told him I wouldn’t marry anyone else.

My grandfather just looked at me coldly and said, “Fine. Eight years.”

“If he hasn’t married you by then, you come back and take the marriage pact we arranged.”

Back then, I was sure I wouldn’t lose. Now I knew—the real fool had been me all along.

I was about to close the box when the electronic lock clicked open.

Ethan folded his umbrella and stepped inside, damp with rain.

His brow furrowed at the sight of my open suitcase in the bedroom.

He walked over and pressed his hand down on it.

“Serena, are you done yet?”

“You throw a fit at the office, and now you’re giving me attitude at home?”

I brushed his hand off and folded my last two pieces of clothing into the case.

“I’m not throwing a fit. I’m moving out.”

Ethan laughed like I’d said the funniest thing.

“Move out? Where are you going?”

He sighed and softened his tone.

“Serena, I know you’re upset about me postponing the wedding ceremony.”

“But I told you—I’m going to Coral Bay to meet some important clients.”

“Mira just happens to be vacationing there, so we’re going together.”

“She’s pretty and charming. She can help me handle things at dinner meetings.”

“Don’t be so sensitive. Stop getting jealous over nothing.”

“We’re about to get married. Can’t you act like my wife?”

Listening to him speak without a shred of shame, I felt nothing but exhaustion.

How could he trample my dignity underfoot and then ask me to be generous about it?

“Ethan.”

“Do you really think that no matter how far you go, I’ll always forgive you in the end?”

He froze, like he hadn’t expected me to be that direct.

Then his phone lit up.

It was on the nightstand, and the message preview flashed across the screen.

[Ethan, I’m at the airport! Craving that seafood place you took me to last time~]

Sender: Mira.

The room went quiet for a second.

Ethan’s expression shifted. He reached for it.

I smiled bitterly. That last bit of disgust I’d been holding onto? It just got confirmed.

“On the way?”

“Just a business trip?”

“Ethan, you don’t even bother to lie convincingly.”

A flicker of guilt passed through his eyes, but his tone hardened again.

“Mira’s young. She doesn’t know boundaries. Do you have to pick on every little detail?”

“I don’t have time for this right now. After I get back from Coral Bay, we’ll talk.”

Still the same condescending attitude.

And just then, my phone lit up too.