Pretend To Be His Bestie For Her! Fine, I Dumped My Boyfriend And Childhood Buddies! Chapter 03

Pretend To Be His Bestie For Her! Fine, I Dumped My Boyfriend And Childhood Buddies! Chapter 03

Ethan added, “Mia’s never been good at games anyway.”

“We don’t even like the same games.”

I glanced at my ranking—No. 8 in the city—and said nothing.

They used to beg me to team up with them whenever they wanted to boost their rankings.

Now that they wanted to make Chloe happy, apparently they could say anything.

Chloe was still sulking.

“I don’t want to play anymore. You guys are all picking on me.”

“Let’s play Truth or Dare instead. No backing out!”

Then she looked at me.

“What about Mia? Is she playing?”

The certainty in her eyes said she already knew the answer.

Mason didn’t even look at me.

“No need to ask her. She’s up for anything.”

I set the controller down and stared at the defeated character lying motionless on the screen.

It looked a lot like my friendship and my relationship.

Both were already dead.

We each picked a number, then took turns drawing cards.

Ethan’s card read:

[Kiss No. 3 on the cheek.]

I was No. 3.

Chloe’s expression instantly darkened.

The other three guys started whooping, though the teasing in their voices sounded more like a warning.

“Come on, kiss her! Prove you two are really just bros!”

Ethan stayed silent for a moment, then tossed the card into the trash.

“We’re all basically bros. Kissing would just be weird.”

“I forfeit.”

Everyone burst out laughing.

Something inside me went completely cold.

For the first time, I realized that maybe none of his choices had been an act at all.

Love wasn’t guaranteed to last. Once the novelty wore off, feelings could change.

Chloe gave me a soothing smile.

“It’s just a game, Mia. Don’t take it so seriously.”

The triumph in her eyes was impossible to hide.

Then she drew her own card.

One glance at it, and the corner of her mouth lifted.

Logan teased her.

“What’d you get? Why do you look so happy?”

“You’re blushing.”

Chloe held up the card.

[Kiss No. 5.]

No. 5 was Ethan.

Noah clapped his hands.

“Rules are rules. Neither of you gets to back out.”

Everyone started chanting.

“Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!”

Chloe and Ethan looked at each other. Her eyes were full of anticipation.

Ethan walked over to her and helped her to her feet.

“For something like this, I still need the lady’s permission.”

Chloe’s cheeks flushed.

She gently closed her eyes.

The answer was obvious.

With everyone laughing and cheering around them, they leaned closer and closer.

First, their lips touched.

Then they wrapped their arms around each other.

I sat at the far edge of the table and watched the whole farce in silence.

Suddenly, I remembered the time Chloe had asked Ethan to go to an art exhibit with her, just the two of them.

He hadn’t refused.

Instead, he’d picked out his nicest suit.

When I confronted him, he’d said, “It’s an art gallery. I couldn’t exactly show up in flip-flops.”

The signs had been there all along.

I shot to my feet.

The movement finally made the two of them pull apart.

Chloe shot me a hostile look, her expression practically saying, I knew it.

“Ethan.”

“We’re done.”

I didn’t look at any of them again.

I turned and walked out.

Back in my room, my phone wouldn’t stop buzzing.

When I opened the group chat, there were already 99+ unread messages.

[Mia Hart, what the hell was that?]

[Didn’t we agree you’d play along for the guys?]

[Why are you bailing on us now?]

[If you couldn’t handle it, you should’ve said so from the start!]

When I didn’t want to play, they forced me into it.

Now that I was done playing, somehow I was the problem.

Ethan tagged me in the chat.

Ethan: [Come explain everything to Chloe.]

Ethan: [She’s been crying and asking what kind of relationship you and I have.]

Ethan: [I told her the breakup was part of a secret dare we’d planned for you.]

Ethan: [Just stick to the story.]

I locked my phone.

Even now, he hadn’t tried to stop me from leaving or comfort me.

Every single one of them cared about Chloe.

And only Chloe.