CHAPTER 4
1418 Words
Two days later, the city lights shimmered like scattered diamonds, and the elite rooftop restaurant buzzed with quiet music and expensive perfumes.
Lilly walked beside me, her hand wrapped around my arm. Her smile was perfectly polite. But I could feel the tension in her shoulders.
Everyone was already there.
Jake with Sophia. Ryan with Chloe. Daniel with Emma. Noah with Olivia. Mason with Grace. Lucas with Ava.
A beautiful group—America's royalty in one room.
We greeted, hugged, exchanged laughter.
For a moment, everything felt normal.
We ordered food— steak, wine, sushi platters, desserts that looked too expensive to touch.
The Conversation Starts Light
Daniel told a joke. Lucas laughed quietly. Ava complained about his socks never matching. Sophia teased Jake about eating too fast. Lilly shared a story about rehearsals.
Everyone talked over each other, warm and relaxed.
Until—
Ryan opened his mouth.
He leaned back in his chair, swirling his wine.
"You know..." Ryan said casually, "I saw someone the other day."
The table quieted slightly but not fully.
"Someone who used to... be around us."
Lilly's fork froze midway to her lips. My chest tightened for no reason I wanted to understand.
Chloe touched Ryan's arm lightly. "Ryan... don't."
He ignored her.
Jake raised a brow. "You saw her?"
"Yeah."
Ryan smirked softly.
"She's changed."
Sophia jumped in, grinning.
"Tell me about it! She looks dangerous now. That confidence? Damn."
Lilly stiffened.
Daniel cleared his throat.
"Let's talk about something else—"
"Why?" Ryan interrupted lightly.
"Her story isn't finished yet."
The entire table fell silent at that.
Everyone except Jake and Sophia.
Jake shrugged.
"She was always misunderstood."
Lilly's jaw clenched.
Sophia sighed dramatically.
"Honestly, I kinda miss her energy. She was... real."
Lilly's eyes darkened.
Olivia frowned.
"Can we not? This is making Lilly uncomfortable."
Ryan turned his head slowly toward Lilly.
He didn't smile. Didn't soften.
Just stared.
Like he was talking to her without words.
Lilly whispered sharply,
"Stop bringing her up."
Ryan raised a brow.
"Why? Feeling guilty?"
Lilly jerked as if slapped.
My blood boiled instantly.
"Ryan," I growled, "watch your mouth."
He leaned forward, elbows on the table.
"Why? Because someone might hear the truth?"
Chloe tugged on his sleeve.
"Ryan, enough—"
But Ryan wasn't listening.
Not to her. Not to anyone.
Lilly stood up abruptly, chair scraping loudly against the floor.
"I'm leaving."
I turned immediately.
"Lilly—"
"No."
Her voice cracked with anger.
"I won't sit here and be mocked. Indirectly or not."
She grabbed her purse and walked toward the exit without looking back.
The whole table froze.
The tension became a living thing.
I stood up next, anger rising like fire through my veins.
I slammed my hand on the table.
"What the hell is wrong with all of you?!"
Jake spoke first.
"Eth— calm down—"
"CALM DOWN?!" I shouted.
Guests from other tables turned to look, whispers brewing.
"You're taunting Lilly over someone who isn't even part of our lives anymore!"
A muscle jumped in Ryan's jaw.
"You think so?" he asked quietly.
"She's gone," I said sharply.
"And you bringing her up again and again—what do you WANT? To fight? To ruin the night?"
Ryan laughed once.
Humorless.
Cold.
"Maybe I want you to open your eyes," he said.
Noah stood.
"Ryan. Stop."
Ryan didn't even blink.
"You act like everything is perfect," he said to me, voice low but sharp enough to cut air.
"You act like she never existed. You act like what happened didn't destroy someone."
I took a step closer.
"Don't talk like you know anything."
Ryan shot up from his chair, eyes blazing.
"You want to know what I know?"
Chloe whispered,
"Ryan, please—"
He ignored her as if she wasn't there.
"I know," Ryan said slowly,
"that the past doesn't stay buried just because YOU want it to."
"Enough—"
"No, Ethan."
His voice rose, filled with anger he'd held for years.
"She might be gone, but the consequences aren't."
I felt my control slipping.
"You're arguing with me over someone who's NOT even here!"
Ryan laughed bitterly, stepping even closer.
"And who's at fault in that....If it wakes you up, then yes—I'll argue."
His final words dropped like poison.
"And don't worry..."
He tilted his head slightly, voice turning dark.
"That someone will make YOU..."
He stared directly into my eyes.
"...and your little b***h regret everything soon."
For a second, the whole world stopped breathing.
Chloe gasped.
Olivia covered her mouth.
Emma whispered,
"Ryan!"
Jake shot up.
"DUDE—!"
But Ryan didn't wait.
He grabbed Chloe's hand and walked out of the restaurant, leaving silence behind him like a shattered mirror.
Everyone stared at the table.
At the abandoned plates.
At the broken night.
At me.
At the empty doorway where Ryan had disappeared.
I could still hear his words echoing inside my skull.
That someone will make you and your little b***h regret everything soon.
For the first time in years—
I felt something cold crawl up my spine.
Something familiar.
Something I thought was gone.
Or someone.
I went outside of the restaurant. No one stopped me... no one called after me.
When I went outside, I saw Lilly outside by my car, leaning against it.
Without saying anything, I unlocked the door and went to the driver's seat.
The moment Lilly slammed the car door shut, the inside felt too small, too suffocating. Streetlights flickered through the windshield, slicing across her tear-bright eyes.
"Why didn't you say anything to them?" she snapped, voice already trembling. "Every time something is said about her, everyone acts like I don't exist."
I tightened my jaw.
"Lilly, they were provoking you. You shouldn't have walked out."
"And what should I have done?" she shot back. "Sit there and listen to your friends hint that you're still stuck on your ex? That you still—"
Her voice cracked. She looked away, breathing hard.
"I'm tired of this, Eth."
My chest tightened painfully.
"Lilly, they were wrong. But getting angry only gave them more reason—"
"Stop defending them!" she exploded. "Tell me one thing, Ethan. Am I fighting alone in this relationship? Because it feels like it."
I shut my eyes for a second.
The pressure. The lies. The truth I didn't want to face.
"I'm here with you," I said slowly.
"I chose you."
She laughed...
Broken, small.
"But your eyes... your reactions... they never feel like you chose me, Eth."
Silence.
A silence so sharp it scraped every part of me.
Then something inside her snapped—her shoulders dropped, breath faltered, and suddenly she leaned across the console and hugged me so tightly it almost hurt.
Her voice was soft.
Terrified.
"Eth... I don't want to lose you."
My arms hovered for a second before I wrapped them around her.
"You won't lose me," I whispered into her hair.
"Not to anyone."
But the second the words left my mouth...
a whisper echoed inside me.
Liar.
I pushed it down.
Hard.
"Come," I said gently, pulling back.
"You didn't eat enough. Let's get something."
She wiped her tears.
"I don't have an appetite."
"That's okay."
I forced a smile.
"Then your favorite ice cream. It always fixes your mood."
Her lips trembled but she nodded.
"Fine... only because you're buying."
I chuckled softly and started the engine.
If only ice cream could fix everything.
---
Meanwhile —
Ryan's POV
From across the parking lot, I watched their car pull out.
Lilly's head leaned against the window...
while Ethan stared straight ahead, empty.
Chloe's arms folded beside me.
"What do you think?" she asked quietly.
"Did he really forget her... or is he just pretending?"
I scoffed under my breath.
"Pretending.
He can lie to himself all he wants.
But he hasn't forgotten anything."
Chloe looked at me, eyebrows furrowing.
"You think he'll regret it?"
"He will," I said.
"More than he thinks.
And when that day comes... he'll cry alone.
Because the one person who used to wipe his tears is no longer here."
Chloe's jaw tightened.
"I know we're friends with her, and I know we're all close.
But I'll never support the wrong person."
She nudged me lightly.
"By the way... did you really talk to her?"
I turned my head slowly, meeting her gaze.
"We never stopped."
Chloe inhaled sharply.
And the night around us suddenly felt heavier.
- Writer
