---- Chapter 3 A few days later, my phone rang, vibrating against the hospital bedside table. The caller ID flashed a name | both longed for and dreaded: Chloe Davis. My heart gave a painful lurch. For a wild, stupid moment, | thought maybe she had changed her mind. Maybe she was calling to apologize. | answered, my hand trembling slightly. "Hello?" "Ethan," her voice was crisp, all business. The hope in my chest died instantly. "I' m glad | reached you. | need you to meet me at the lawyer' s office tomorrow at ten. We need to sign the papers to dissolve our joint LLC for the game. Mark says it' s better to have a clean break." A clean break. As if our five years together could be wiped away with a signature on a legal document. The LLC, which we had named 'E.C. Creations, was my last remaining legal tie to her. "Okay," | said, my voice flat. There was nothing else to say. "Good. Don' t be late." She hung up without saying goodbye. | stared at the phone, the silence in the room pressing in on me. Sarah, who had been quietly reading in the chair, looked up. She had heard the one-sided conversation. ---- "You' re not going alone," she said, her tone leaving no room for argument. "Sarah, you don't have to..." "| do," she insisted. "l' m not letting you face her and that slimeball by yourself. Not now." | was too weak to argue. A part of me was grateful. | didn' t think | could do it alone. | just nodded, a silent admission of defeat. The next morning, Sarah drove me to the lawyer' s office. She had to help me out of the car, my legs unsteady beneath me. The short walk to the building left me breathless. The office was sleek and modern, all glass and chrome, a world away from our cluttered studio. And there they were, waiting in the lobby. Chloe and Mark. They looked like a power couple from a magazine cover. Chloe was wearing a sharp, tailored dress |' d never seen before, and Mark stood beside her, his arm possessively around her waist. They both looked up as we entered. Chloe' s eyes widened slightly in surprise when she saw Sarah. "Sarah? What are you doing here?" she asked, a hint of annoyance in her voice. "I'm here with Ethan," Sarah replied coolly. "He' s my friend and my business partner. | have a right to be here." ---- "This doesn' t concern you," Chloe said dismissively. "Anything that concerns Ethan concerns me," Sarah shot back. "Maybe if you were half the friend to him that he was to you, you' d know that he shouldn't be here at all. You have no idea what he' s done for you, what he' s given up." Chloe flinched, a flicker of uncertainty in her eyes. Before she could respond, Mark stepped forward, placing himself between the two women. His smile was smooth, but his eyes were cold. "Now, now, let' s all be civil," he said, his voice dripping with condescension. "Chloe and | are very happy together. We' re building a future. There' s no need for any drama." He looked at Sarah, his gaze lingering on her with a predatory confidence. "| know who you are. The loyal sidekick. It' s sweet." Sarah' s eyes narrowed into slits. "And | know who you are, Mark. Everyone in the business world knows your reputation. How many 'futures' have you promised before? How many partners have you cheated on? Chloe should ask your last fiancée about your definition of loyalty." The air crackled with tension. Mark' s smile tightened, the charm disappearing completely. "You should be careful what you say." "Is that a threat?" Sarah challenged, unintimidated. "Mark, stop it," Chloe said, pulling on his arm. She turned to Sarah, her face a mask of anger and embarrassment. "How ---- dare you? You have no right to talk about our relationship. Mark has been nothing but supportive. Unlike some people." Her eyes darted to me, a flash of accusation in them. "This is exactly why I' m leaving. All this negativity. This failure. You' re dragging me down, Ethan. You and your bitterness." It was a punch to the gut. She was defending him, the man who had torn us apart, and turning all the blame on me. She saw Sarah' s loyalty as an attack, my silence as bitterness. She was so blinded by the life Mark was offering that she couldn't see the truth, even when it was screaming in her face.