He Wasn't My Moon, I Built My Own Light

Chapter 4

My one-sided breakup never received a response from Ethan.

I heard he had taken ten days off, but no one knew where he had gone.

I did.

Someone had taken great pleasure in sharing her "sweet daily moments" with Ethan with me.

Natalie: Claire, Ethan said he hasn't been this happy in a long time.

Natalie sent me a photo of Ethan grinning brightly at the camera, flashing a peace sign.

They had gone to the beach for a vacation.

More than once, I had told Ethan that I wanted to see the ocean.

Unfortunately, it had always been hard for the two of us to line up our vacation days, so in all the years I had been with Ethan, that wish had never come true.

And now, he had gone with Natalie.

Claire: Then spend more time with him.

After sending that message, I blocked Natalie as well. What did their sweet little trip have to do with me?

My body had not fully recovered yet, so Dr. Hayes had greatly reduced my schedule lately. On top of that, since I was facing a transfer, Dr. Hayes simply waved her hand and gave me three extra days off.

I planned to use two of those days to move.

It was called a home, but it wasn't much different from a hotel. After all, when work got busy, neither Ethan nor I had time to come back.

So I did not actually have that many things. It was only the items tied to memories that were troublesome to pack away.

Besides, Ethan had not returned to this "home" for more than half a year.

As soon as I stepped inside, my foot seemed to knock against something.

I lowered my head and saw the plain band I had pulled off and thrown onto the floor that day after Ethan hung up on me.

I crouched down and put it back into a bag.

When I stood up again, Ethan had already appeared at the door.

Ever since I made up my mind to break up with Ethan, I had been gradually packing my things. Several boxes were already piled on the floor.

Ethan tossed his coat onto the sofa impatiently.

"It's a mess. I'll hire a cleaner in a couple of days. Stop doing this yourself. Do you want to exhaust yourself and have another attack?"

He probably thought I had been crouching there because I was cleaning up the house.

He walked inside and kicked over the box by the door. A ring rolled out of it with a soft clatter.

I recognized it. It was the matching couple's ring he and Natalie used to wear when they were together.

After they broke up, Natalie had returned it to him, but he had still kept it carefully.

In his words, it was so he would never forget the humiliation he had suffered because of Natalie.

But more than once, I had seen him holding that ring and stare at it and think of her.

People always say a first love is the hardest to forget. So even someone as outstanding as Ethan still went running to Natalie like a loyal dog the moment his unforgettable first love appeared in front of him again.

Ethan's expression turned ugly.

I crouched down, picked up the ring that was still gleaming, and placed it back in Ethan's hand.

"Keep it."

He casually set the ring on the table and cleared his throat.

"Why is this stupid thing still here..."

He complained awkwardly. When he saw that I had no reaction, he frowned again and tried to steer the conversation away.

"Adrian is coming back to Fairmont for some business in a few days. He invited us to dinner."

My hands paused in the middle of packing.

Adrian was my senior fellow protégé and also Ethan's friend.

Three years ago, he went to Ashford Medical Center in Ashford to become its director. Since then, he and I had rarely seen each other. Even during holidays at Professor Whitman's home, we only spoke over the phone.

I said nothing, and Ethan continued on his own.

"After dinner, we can go for a walk together. Haven't you always wanted to visit that newly opened park?"

I knew what he was doing. He was sending me a signal that he wanted to "make up."

I had always preferred quiet and disliked crowded places, so the places Ethan and I visited most often on dates were parks.

In nature, I always felt as if all negative emotions could be swept away.

So whenever I was in a bad mood, Ethan would suggest going out for a walk, and our arguments would quietly fade away.

If this had been the past, I probably would have agreed at once, overjoyed.

But now...

I resumed packing and replied calmly, "We'll see."