Two hours passed, and Ethan still hadn’t returned. His phone was still in the room, I accidentally humped it, and the screen lit
- up.
It was a picture of Ashley. She was smiling at the camera, surrounded by the colorful backdrop of a theme park.
I recognized the scene. Ethan had posted a picture on social media from that same theme park.
He said it was their hangout spot.
I had been surprised at the time. Ethan had never liked theme parks. He had promised me that we would go to one someday, when we had time.
I thought I was his exception.
It turned out I wasn’t his only exception.
All his boundaries had been broken by another girl.
Something compelled me to enter his passcode.
It hadn’t changed. It was still our anniversary date.
I opened his messages.
There was a new contact pinned to the top.
Ashley.
I scrolled through their conversation. They talked about everything – what they ate, funny things that happened, interesting people they met, the little gifts he bought her, the takeout they ordered, the invitations to hang out.
It turned out that his desire to share hadn’t disappeared; it had simply been transferred to someone else.
Every “busy” and “tired” he told me was a moment spent with Ashley.
His social media was filled with pictures I had never seen.
One comment stood out.
“Ethan, when are you going to make it official with Ashley?”
I closed the phone, feeling empty.
Where was I supposed to go now?
I had come all this way, and now what?
ralia for Real Love
Love
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Chapter 4
Chapter 4
Another hour passed. It was 3 a.m. Ethan finally returned.
He saw me and his eyes filled with guilt. “I’m sorry, Sarah. I should have been spending time with you, but something happened with Ashley. You know, we’re both international students, we need to look out for each other. You understand, right?”
“What happened?” I asked, turning away from him.
“Oh, it was nothing major. She accidentally broke a thermos and burned herself a little.”
“Nothing major” was enough to keep him there for three hours.
Ethan sensed my mood and his voice became impatient. “Sarah, you really don’t need to be so hostile towards Ashley. She’s a great girl. You could be good friends.”
He looked at me hopefully, as if he genuinely believed Ashley and I could be friends.
Whenever he mentioned Ashley, his words were filled with praise and concern.
“I’m tired.” There was no point in arguing.
After a 15–hour flight and a seven–hour wait, I was too exhausted to feel anything.
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