Forget Him, Leave Him

Chapter 4

"So you're threatening to break up with me again."

He stared at me for a long time. His eyes slowly reddened before he let out a long breath.

"Let Mr. and Mrs. Collins get some rest tonight. I'll take Tessa in for an exam, then come back and talk to you."

Again, he wanted to put our conversation off until later.

An anniversary could be made up another day.

Meeting my parents could be postponed.

Now even our breakup had to wait until after Tessa.

I shook my head.

"Don't bother."

Ethan's expression shifted.

Tessa clutched his arm, sucking in sharp breaths from the pain, but she still couldn't resist taking a jab at me.

"Maya, don't make me the target every time the two of you fight. You know what Ethan's like. If he really leaves, you'll be the one calling him in tears at midnight and begging him to come back."

3 years ago, Ethan and I had gotten into a terrible fight.

He had stormed out, and later that night, I came down with a high fever.

Tessa drove him back.

I sincerely thanked her that day.

That gratitude was one of the reasons I kept telling myself, over and over, that they really were just best friends and neither of them wanted anything more.

But Tessa knew more than just the fact that I had gotten sick.

She also knew I had called Ethan crying. She knew exactly how I had begged him to come back.

When I said nothing, Ethan tried to explain again.

"She asked about it once, and I mentioned it without thinking. Maya, I wasn't making fun of you."

"I know."

"Tessa isn't feeling well. I'm taking her to the hospital."

I nodded.

"Go ahead."

Relief was obvious on his face.

He even walked back to me and took my hand.

"Wait for me. You can yell at me as much as you want when I get back. I'll buy you a new ring, and you can choose the wedding date."

Then he turned to my parents and lowered his head respectfully.

"I'm sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Collins. I really love Maya. I swear I've never done anything to betray her."

After he left with Tessa, the room went quiet.

My mother was the first to speak.

"Are you going soft on him again?"

"No."

I lowered my head with a bitter smile.

"I'm going back to Harborvale with you. I'm never coming back here again."

The flight lasted 5 hours.

When we landed, I realized I was no longer used to the briny smell of Harborvale's sea air.

The moment I turned on my phone, my younger self's broken sobs came through the speaker.

"He's gone. I rejected him in the cruelest way possible. He'll never look at me again..."

I looked at the love letter torn into pieces on the screen and let out a long breath.

Memories of Ethan began to fade from my mind without leaving a trace.

End of Maya's POV

At the same time, Ethan pushed open the apartment door with a brand-new ring in his hand.

The instant he saw the empty room, his body crumpled to the floor.

When he opened his eyes again, he was in a hospital bed.

Tessa sat beside him. Her eyes reddened at once, but she was still as sharp-tongued as ever.

"Damn it, Ethan. If you'd stayed unconscious much longer, I would've started planning your funeral."

Ethan pushed himself upright and scanned the room.

He blurted, "Where is she?"

"Who?"

"Maya... Maya Collins. My girlfriend. Where is she?"