After our intimate moment, Ethan Carter held me and said:

"You've been with me for three years. It's time to set you free."

While I was stunned, he spoke again.

"Since you’ve got nothing better to do, help me find a replacement."

Just from that one sentence, I knew he had his eye on the new receptionist at his company.

Because she looked more like his first love than I did.

I got out of his embrace, not crying or making a scene, just one word:

"Okay."

When he said he was letting me go, I didn't feel much of anything.

Seeing that I was only slightly dazed, he looked a little displeased.

So he said coldly, "You’re free now. And help me find someone new."

I immediately thought of the new receptionist, Sophia Miller, the one who had caught his attention.

She was just like I was when I first arrived—lively, enthusiastic, and young.

Thinking of this, I started to get up, but he pulled me back into his arms. "What are you doing?"

I pushed him away. "I feel gross. I'm going to take a shower."

He teased, "You're so lazy. When have I not carried you? What's different today?"

He probably sensed the impact of his words, so he got up. "I don't know who raised such a lazy person, making me wait on you. Let me spoil you one last time."

I ignored the hidden meaning in his words and just accepted it.

Seeing that I was as obedient as ever, he relaxed.

We messed around in the shower again, and I was exhausted. Afterward, I didn't want to move an inch on the bed.

As usual, he didn't stay the night.

But just before he left, he asked me, "Did you hear what I said today?"

"Yeah."

"I won't be coming back anymore."

"Okay."

My reply was so crisp, it seemed to annoy him.

The sound of him slamming the door on his way out was loud, but I couldn't even bring myself to look up at him.

It's finally over.

It's a relief, in a way.

I went to work early.

It's been the same for three years.

The first time I slept in Ethan's bed, he told me I didn't have to follow the company's rules anymore—I could come in late or leave early whenever I wanted.

He called it a privilege.

But I never used it once. I told him I was used to waking up early and couldn't sleep in.

The truth is, I just felt that using that privilege meant losing my self-respect, and I was barely holding on to it as it was.

"Morning, Chloe."

The person speaking was Sophia. She was dressed impeccably, and you could tell she'd woken up early to do her makeup carefully.

I didn't hate her.

If anything, I pitied her.

Being with Ethan seemed like a good life, but it was actually exhausting.

Not only did I have to be with him, but I also had to work hard at my actual job so people wouldn't think I was just some eye candy.

"Morning."

I was about to leave, but then I turned back and handed her a business card.

"Ethan has a meeting at noon at this Japanese restaurant. I've already booked it. At noon, I need you to go and check on things for me."

"Me?" Her excited voice made me realize she and I were nothing alike after all.

She seemed especially thrilled at the chance to get close to Ethan.

"Yes, it's you. Remember, this lunch is very important. Don't mess it up."

Ethan wanted me to be the bait because I hadn't clung to him like I usually did.

I knew he just wanted to embarrass me.

I didn't really care at all.

The way I am now, I haven't been a good person for a long time.

I turned and went into the office, and eventually, a late Ethan came in too.

I gathered the stack of documents in my hand and followed him into his office.

"Ethan, as you instructed, for your lunch with Mr. Harrison​​ today, I had Sophia make the arrangements."

He got angry when he heard that and threw his phone on the desk. "Oh? You're so obedient, and quick about it too. Anyone who didn't know better would think you're trying to escape from me."

I sighed.

Even though he was right.

I had to pretend he wasn't.

I was still good at acting.

I looked at him with slightly reddened eyes. "Ethan, what do you want me to do? I've already stayed away from you. Isn't that obedient enough?"

It was just acting affectionate. I'd gotten used to it over the past three years.

Seeing my submissive attitude, he immediately changed his tune. "She can't handle this kind of situation. You go to lunch instead."

"Okay."

"Wait, bring her along too. She has to learn sometime."

"Okay." I handed him the documents. "These are the internal approval files you've already reviewed. They just need your signature."

I watched him open the files and said, "Ethan, you don't have anything scheduled this afternoon, so you can do as you please."

I was hinting that he could arrange his personal life.

He had complete trust in my work, so he signed everything without even looking.

I left with the documents and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Tucked inside that stack of documents was my resignation letter.

As I was leading Sophia, I felt a little bad for her.

I asked her, "What do you think of Ethan?"

She was incredibly excited. "How was I supposed to know he was so young and handsome before I joined the company? I wonder who'll get to marry him. They'd be the happiest person alive."

Then she asked me, "Chloe, you've been with Ethan for so long. He must really trust you, right?"

"It's a boss-employee relationship. Where does trust even come into it?" I smiled, but couldn't help reminding her, "Sophia, this is just a job. If you run into something you don't like, you're allowed to say no."

"Chloe, what do you mean by that?"

Ethan doesn't like being turned down. If it happens too often, he loses interest.

"Nothing." I saw Ethan and Mr. Harrison​​ approaching in the distance, so I couldn't say more. "Anyway, just don't force yourself."

This meal was truly a chore for me to get through.

Not just because I brought Sophia.

But also because Sophia was no match for Ethan at all.

Just like that, she was leaning slightly against Ethan.

I could tell she was willing, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

The dinner party ended.

Ethan and Mr. Harrison​​ were chatting in the distance.

Sophia looked at me, her face slightly flushed, "Chloe, I finally get why you told me to turn him down."

"What?"

She excitedly leaned close to my ear, "Ethan just whispered to me that he's interested in me."

"So, do you want to turn him down?"

Then she laughed, "Why would I turn him down? I'd be thrilled to have a boyfriend like him."

I nodded, not wanting to know more about what she was thinking.

Ethan walked over to us.

I was about to walk away, but then I heard Sophia's hushed voice from behind me.

"Chloe, you're sleeping with Ethan, aren't you? Are you that scared I'll take your place?"

Sophia got into Ethan's car.

Ethan casually asked if I wanted a ride back to the office.

I refused.

I was planning to skip out on work.

It was time to break my three-year record of never being late or leaving early.

According to company policy, I still had a one-month handover period before I could leave.

During this time, I figured it was best not to piss Ethan off, or leaving wouldn't be easy.

I didn't go to the office that afternoon.

Neither did Sophia.

The next morning at the office, people were whispering.

When they saw me, they weren't afraid of me like they used to be. One of them ran right up, grabbed me, and asked, "Chloe, did you hear? The new receptionist is going to be the CEO's assistant too."

The "too" was a clever touch.

Because I was the CEO's assistant, and for the past three years, it had only been me.

I disappointed them and replied directly, "Yes, our company's business is getting better and better, and Ethan has more on his plate, so an extra assistant will improve efficiency."

"Chloe, you don't know, do you? This morning, that receptionist got out of Ethan's car."

So someone was finally getting Ethan's special treatment.

"Not only that, Ethan's driver even opened the door for her."

I smiled. "Alright, stop gossiping. If Ethan hears you, you'll be in trouble."

The receptionists have a standard uniform.

Today, Sophia was wearing a brand-new dress.

She really did look pretty.

I walked into the office and saw my desk had been cleared out of the private room next to Ethan's.

Sophia was standing nearby, directing them, "Be careful, don't break any of Chloe's things."

Just as she said that, my water cup fell to the floor.

The cup was a gift from Ethan. Everyone in the company knew that.

He brought it back for me from his business trip to Japan. It was my favorite kind of cup, handmade by a famous Japanese artisan.

Sophia immediately blew up, "What's wrong with you? You broke the cup!"

The movers immediately got nervous.

The cup fell out of the desk drawer, but I only ever keep it on my desktop.

I smiled. "It's fine, it's just a cup. No big deal."

I don't even want the man anymore, so what's a cup?

My desk was moved to the common area.

I sat down without a fuss.

There was a note on the desk.

[Chloe, I don't like being disturbed when I work, and Ethan said it's not convenient for me to sit with everyone else, so I moved you. I hope you don't mind.]

I didn't mind the content of the note.

I just minded the handwriting.

It was a bit too ugly.

It had been snowing these past few days.

It was getting colder.

Ethan and Sophia snagged a hotel room.

Not two days after I got together with Ethan, I had my own apartment.

Sophia's progress was a bit slow, which annoyed me.

I got a call from Ethan. "Go buy me some condoms. I'll text you the address. I don't trust anyone else."

He added, "You know my size, right?"

They say it's hard to have a clean break when a relationship ends. I cursed Ethan out the whole way.

In the middle of winter, it was freezing, and he just had to torture people.

I dragged myself out of my warm bed, resigned to my fate, and went to buy the stuff.

By the time I got to the hotel door with the stuff.

I couldn't get them to open the door.

The moans leaking out made it clear they were already going at it, so I just left the stuff at the door and walked away.

I had just gotten downstairs when I got a call from Sophia.

The call connected, and before I could say anything.

I heard Ethan's voice, "What, are you jealous?"

Sophia's voice came through too, "No, Chloe is really beautiful. I can't compare to her at all."

"She's her, you're you. I think you're better looking."

For anyone who reads novels, this kind of plot is a total cliché.

This kind of provocation wasn't even worth mentioning to me.

I was about to hang up when I heard Sophia say, "But Ethan, you only have Chloe in your heart, right? She's been with you for three years, and I hear she's capable and obedient. And you're so good to her, she couldn't bear to leave you."

Ethan's voice was like a demon's.

"She's not as well-behaved as you. She's only obedient to pay for her grandma's treatment."

"Her grandma is incurable. I just kept her breathing with medicine, and she was obedient for three years."

"I guess you could say she's obedient. She'll do any position I ask. You're the willful one, I still have to coax you."

My grandma passed away this year.

The thing I was most grateful to Ethan for was that the experts he found kept my grandma alive.

Even though for the past two years, my grandma couldn't talk to me and could only lie there like a vegetable.

But while she was still alive, she was my everything.

I couldn't hear the voices on the other end of the phone anymore; my ears were ringing.

My legs gave out, and I fell right into the snow.

My cold palm pressed against the ground and was cut by a sharp piece of glass hidden in the snow.

Specks of blood dripped onto the white snow.

They were especially glaring.