Pretend To Be His Bestie For Her! Fine, I Dumped My Boyfriend And Childhood Buddies! Chapter 07

Pretend To Be His Bestie For Her! Fine, I Dumped My Boyfriend And Childhood Buddies! Chapter 07

After that day, they called me over and over.

I didn’t answer a single time.

It wasn’t because I was sulking.

I simply didn’t think there was any reason for us to keep talking.

Later, Ethan sent me a text.

Ethan: [Mia, can we all meet for dinner?]

Ethan: [We want to apologize to you in person.]

I thought about it and agreed.

After all, the five of us had known each other for twenty years.

There were still some things that needed to be said face-to-face.

Mason picked a restaurant called Mia’s Garden.

I looked at the sign and said nothing.

It brought back memories.

Whenever we came here in the past, they used to joke that I had secretly become a restaurant owner.

I’d always laugh along.

“Once I make enough money, I’ll buy this place.”

“Then you guys can get the VIP treatment whenever you want.”

But there wasn’t going to be a someday for us anymore.

The four guys were waiting outside when I arrived.

Once I arrived, they finally waved the server over.

“We’re ready to order. Let her go first.”

I didn’t refuse.

I ordered a few things I actually liked.

I didn’t even get that much of a say before.

Chloe had always been the one who decided what everyone ordered.

Ethan looked over the menu and added an order of sweet-and-sour shrimp.

“It’s new here.”

“We tried it the last time we came, and I thought you’d like it.”

They must have come with Chloe.

That explained why I hadn’t been invited.

I answered politely, “Thanks.”

Ethan opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he stayed silent.

The room was unusually quiet.

I couldn’t remember the five of us ever sitting together in silence like this.

Once the last dish was served, Mason finally spoke.

“I’ll go first.”

“Mia, I’m sorry.”

“We ignored you again and again until we pushed you farther and farther away.”

Logan raised his glass toward me.

“We never meant to bully you.”

“But when I put myself in your shoes… I would’ve left too.”

“You were always good to us, Mia. We had no right to keep taking advantage of that.”

Noah’s eyes reddened.

“We’ve all blocked Chloe. None of us are going to contact her again.”

“When we were kids, we told each other everything.”

“What happens to us now, Mia?”

I opened my bag and took out a photo album.

It was filled with photos of the five of us growing up.

There was a picture of us at six, building sandcastles at the beach.

Mason was buried up to his neck in the sand while the rest of us laughed.

There was one from our freshman year, each of us in a different school uniform.

Logan was about to move into the dorms and looked absolutely miserable about it.

There was a picture from my eighteenth birthday, with me standing in the middle.

Ethan stood beside me, holding my hand tightly.

And there was one from college graduation, when we wore caps and gowns.

Four diplomas caught the sunlight.

Back then, we had been full of hope for our futures.

We had been just as certain our friendship would last forever.

But people didn’t always drift apart because of one sudden, dramatic fight.

Sometimes disappointments piled up little by little until, before you knew it, you’d simply dr

apart.

I looked at them.

“Our problems weren’t just because of Chloe.”

“And I think all of you know that.”

No one answered.

I continued.

“I’m giving this album back to you.”

“Consider this my way of putting our past to rest.”

I placed the album in the middle of the table.

No one reached for it.

Ethan looked at me with pleading eyes.

“Mia, please. Come back.”

“Can we at least start over as friends?”

I stood up.

“There’s no need.”

“People have to move forward.”

“If our paths cross again someday, we’ll see.”

“You guys enjoy dinner. I’m heading out.”

I walked to the door.

As I pushed it open, Ethan called after me.

“Mia!”

I didn’t look back.

There was too much ahead of me to keep looking back.

Once I had chosen to move forward, there was no reason to turn around.

There would be new people and new experiences waiting for me ahead.