The Group Chat That Shipped Them, The Application I Sent Chapter 07

The Group Chat That Shipped Them, The Application I Sent Chapter 07

I kept my expression blank and said nothing.

If Ethan hadn’t called my mom, I wouldn’t have come today.

My mom had no idea that Ethan and I had broken up, so she gave him my address.

I figured it was better to meet him now, just in case he decided to show up at my place and cause trouble

later.

What I hadn’t expected was to find half the company there.

A lot of my former coworkers looked deeply uncomfortable. They wore strained smiles as they approached

“Clara? You really were Mr. Sterling’s girlfriend?”

“But that day at the office, didn’t you two say you were just coworkers? I mean, that you were in a boss-employee relationship?”

The moment they brought it up, Ethan’s expression darkened.

Back then, he’d only wanted to keep his personal life separate from work. He’d never imagined that his insistence on calling us “just coworkers” would actually push me to end our relationship and quit my job.

Realizing that now, Ethan lowered his head and apologized. His voice was sincere.

“Clara, I was only trying to keep my personal and professional lives separate. I didn’t want our relationship becoming office gossip. If what I did hurt you, I’m sorry.”

My coworkers had only suspected the truth before.

Now that they had watched Ethan apologize to me, they were completely convinced that I really had been his girlfriend.

And once they remembered all the things they’d said to me over the years, most of their faces went pale.

They hurried to apologize.

“Clara, we had no idea you were actually Mr. Sterling’s girlfriend.”

“We hope you won’t hold anything we said against us.”

Looking at the fear written all over their faces, I found the whole thing almost laughable.

They weren’t apologizing because they were genuinely sorry.

They were afraid of losing their jobs.

“There’s no need to apologize,” I said. “I’ve already resigned.”

Then I looked at Ethan.

“And I stopped caring about all of that a long time ago. We’re over.”

Ethan’s brows drew tightly together.

My former coworkers sensed that something was wrong. Once they’d gotten their apologies out, they quickly made their excuses and left.

The second we were alone, Ethan grabbed my hand.

His voice was almost pleading.

“Clara, why won’t you forgive me? I never cheated on you. I never did anything unforgivable. Why did you have to end our relationship?”

His words only made the situation more ironic.

The problem was that Ethan hadn’t done anything.

That was exactly why we’d broken up.

I looked at the guilt written across his face and spoke without hesitation.

“So you think that because you didn’t technically do anything wrong, you did nothing wrong at all?”

I stared straight at him.

“Ethan, when I passed out, I was left alone on the side of the road at one in the morning. And you took another woman home. You really think that was okay?”

My voice turned cold.

“You didn’t cheat. You didn’t do anything that crossed some obvious line. But I don’t want a relationship that has to be kept in the shadows anymore.”

Ethan’s expression fell.

Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring.

“But Clara, I was already planning to propose.

He held out the engagement ring for me to see.

“I had this custom-made. Your name is engraved on it. I never planned on breaking up with you.”

He looked at me with such earnestness that, for a moment, he seemed almost desperate for me to believe

him.

“I know you were hurt because I refused to make our relationship public. But now everyone at the company knows we’re together. Are you still going to leave me?”

I simply looked at him.

“Even if we got back together, things between us would never be the same. There’s already a crack between us, Ethan. Let’s leave things here. I’m not accepting your apology.”

Sienna stepped forward and tried to talk me into changing my mind.

“Clara, you don’t have to break up with Mr. Sterling. He’s been completely distracted at work ever since this happened. The day he found out you’d resigned, he went looking for your ring in the storage room and came out covered in dust. I can tell he really loves you.”

I almost laughed at her attempt to defend Ethan.

“Sienna, don’t hide behind ‘I’m only trying to help’ and say things like that.”

I looked directly at her.