The Bullet Screen Says He Loves Me, But I Can’t Feel It Chapter 01

The Bullet Screen Says He Loves Me, But I Can’t Feel It Chapter 01

The day before the promotion results were announced, my CEO boyfriend, Gavin, handed the biggest client portfolio I’d spent a month landing to Sienna Vale, an intern.

Shaking with rage, I stormed home and demanded to know why.

Gavin only looked at me coldly.

“If you think your career matters more than I do, then we’re done.”

With that, he slammed the door behind him and left.

I instinctively moved to follow him, but translucent lines of comments suddenly appeared before my eyes.

[Darling, what are you doing? He didn’t mean it! He’s downstairs. One call from you and he’ll come right back up.]

[It’s Gavin’s birthday, and you worked late for a client instead. He’s only giving the client portfolio to Sienna because he’s mad you forgot. He already regrets it like crazy.]

[Exactly. Look, he bit his lip until it seeped crimson. Where are you ever going to find a boyfriend that devoted again?]

I slowly calmed down and pulled open the curtains.

The street below was completely empty.

On Instagram, Gavin had just posted a photo of himself blowing out candles with Sienna.

I gave a bitter little laugh.

Then I turned around and threw the birthday present I’d spent a month preparing into the garbage.

I opened my phone and replied to the message I’d rejected so many times.

[If the seven-figure pay and the terms are still on the table, I’ll join Shaw & Sterling in three days.]

The reply came instantly:

[Deal!]

The confirmation eased the tightness in my torso.

I pulled out a suitcase and started packing.

More comments appeared in front of me.

[No! Don’t make a decision about your relationship out of spite! Gavin was only helping because he hadn’t heard from you, and Sienna happened to say the pipes in her apartment had burst.]

[That cake was meant for you. Sienna didn’t know and opened it without asking.]

[Gavin canceled every plan for today because he only wanted the two of you to be alone. If he sees that you’ve suddenly agreed to join his competitor, he’ll lose it!]

[Just hold on a little longer, okay? He really can’t live without you.]

I looked away and kept packing, but my fingers still wouldn’t stop shaking.

He knew exactly how hard I’d worked for that client portfolio.

How many times I’d forced a smile for that promotion. How much I’d had to drink.

For an entire month, I’d been available whenever the client called, handling every kind of personal errand for her. She’d even made me pick up her child from preschool.

In front of the neighbors at her apartment, the child had once pointed at me and said,

“She’s our new nanny.”

My face had seared.

But I’d gritted my teeth and endured it.

Because once I signed that client, I’d have the last performance win I needed for the promotion.

Just as the contract was about to be finalized, the client liaison sent me a message.

[I’m sorry, Ms. Hart. The contract has been signed, but Gavin personally instructed us to list Ms. Vale as the project lead. I’m in a difficult position here.]

[I’m truly sorry.]

When I read the message, I went cold all over.

I rushed home and demanded to know why he’d done it.

But he only gave me a cold look.

Then he threw the word “breakup” at me and walked away.

If I hadn’t seen the comments, I wouldn’t even have known why Gavin had done it.

He was always like this, threatening to break up whenever things didn’t go his way.

The first time, I took him seriously.

I was heartbroken for a long time. In the end, I still couldn’t stop myself from sending him a long apology text.

Not long after it delivered, he appeared outside my door and pulled me tightly into his arms.

“Willa, things I say when I’m angry don’t count.”

“No matter what I say from now on, don’t ever leave me, okay?”

“I say the opposite of what I mean. Every time I say we should break up, I only want you to love me a little more.”

“Willa, I can’t live without you.”

That night, he held me close until morning, refusing to let go.

After that, every time he used a breakup to make me give in, I remembered that embrace.

I told myself he was only insecure.

So I forgave him again and again, soothing him every time.

But why?

Why did he have to do this to me again?

Right when my promotion mattered most, after he’d watched me work so hard.

How could he erase every bit of my effort so effortlessly?

How could he even use the future I cared about most to control me?

Gavin, did you ever think about it—

I could get hurt, too.

I could get tired.

I could reach my limit.