After everything, I couldn’t trust anyone.
I returned to my old apartment, seeking lawyers.
The fees were daunting. I listed the apartment
online, but received no inquiries.
Then, the realtor called. Someone had paid in full, demanding immediate transfer.
Confused but relieved it was cash, I went to
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the agency.
The buyer was Chloe.
Chloe sat on the couch, legs crossed, relaxed
and elegant. She waved.
I frowned, sitting down.
“You bought my apartment?”
Chloe nodded, sliding a coffee across. “Your
favorite cappuccino.”
I shook my head, pushing it away.
“Chloe, I don’t drink cappuccinos anymore.”
“Let’s do the transfer.”
Chloe hesitated, “Why don’t you like
cappuccinos anymore?”
I ignored her, completing the transfer. It was easy; Chloe’s payment was swift.
I had a large sum. Then, Chloe gave me news. “Chloe and Shane are getting married.”
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My throat tightened. After a pause, “That’s…
good.”
It was. A reunion.
“Ethan Evans, aren’t you angry?”
“Don’t you want Shane punished?”
Chloe’s words stirred the painful memories. The wounds, like scars, throbbed. I couldn’t ignore them.
“I know you’re looking for a lawyer. I have money, and I have people.”
“Let me compensate you for three years ago, okay?”
I looked at Chloe, and nodded.
Perhaps, this was a shortcut.
At the Carter family gathering, I saw Chloe again.
This time, I was Chloe’s girlfriend.
“Evenione this is my girlfriend Ethan Evans ”
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“Everyone, this is my girlfriend, Ethan Evans.”
Chloe introduced me confidently. Everyone
stared, gasping.
Chloe’s face was stony, her fists clenched.
“She’s the girlfriend I was going to bring
home three years ago.”
The Carter parents and Chloe were stunned.
Three years ago, Chloe had announced
bringing a girlfriend home. Everyone
prepared.
But at the last minute, Chloe announced the breakup. The next day, she left for America, rarely returning.
No one expected it was me.
Chloe was furious, staring at me. Shane sat beside her, a white lace bandage cleverly
hiding the marks on his neck.
TI
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The meal was tense. No one spoke much.
Chloe’s mother had contacted me, but I
refused to meet, to return to Chloe.
She offered compensation, apologizing for her absence during the kidnapping.
I refused, without blame.
The closeness was gone.
Mid–meal, Wang Ma entered with an
envelope, giving it to Shane.
He opened it, his face turning pale. He pointed at me, enraged.
“You…
…you… you actually sued me?!”
His tone implied I shouldn’t have sued, that he was the victim.
I laughed, rising. My chair scraped the floor. “Why shouldn’t I?”
“Shane, I’m sending you to prison.”
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Chloe looked at me, a flicker of something
unnatural in her eyes.
Shane instinctively sought Chloe’s help, but
she ignored him.
He raged, making a scene.
The gathering ended badly. Chloe’s mother
called Chloe aside. I waited in the car.
I saw Chloe. She knocked on the window.
“Let’s talk, okay?”
I rolled down the window, my gaze cold.
“Ms. Carter, what are your orders?”
My aloofness seemed to frustrate Chloe.
Her eyes were red, she looked hurt.
“Ethan Evans, I’m marrying Shane.”
Seeing my lack of reaction, she grew more
dejected.
“Ethan Evans, did you see me as a
<
replacement for Chloe all these years?”
I’d never seen Chloe so vulnerable.
Was it the hurt of being a replacement, or the
loss of my earlier subservience?
She looked like a discarded puppy.
A strange satisfaction washed over me.
“What? Not happy?”
My relationship with Chloe wasn’t a secret.
No one had asked.
I knew everything about Chloe, but she never
showed curiosity about my past.
At first, I thought it was her trying not to hurt
me, later I understood she just wasn’t
interested.
“Chloe, everyone’s a replacement for
someone, aren’t they?”
“Didn’t you see me as Shane’s replacement all
く
these years?”
Just a tool for comfort.
Only I treated it as love; it was just a game
for her.
“No.”
“Every day since you left, I’ve reflected. I
know I was wrong.”
“Ethan Evans, give me another chance, okay?”
I almost laughed at her pain.
People only realize it when they lose it.
But she forgot, no one waits for her to return. From the moment she hurt me for Shane,
there was no turning back.
“With me, you always thought of Shane.”
“Now that you have Shane, you miss me.” “Chloe, your love is cheap, something I don’t
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want.”
Chloe froze. Shane spoke, snapping her out
of it.
“Lulu, you really don’t want me?”
Shane, sobbing, hugged Chloe tightly. “Lulu, I
can’t live without you.”
“And the lawsuit, can you help me?”
Despite his pleas, Chloe was unmoved.
They put on a melodramatic show. I rolled my
eyes.
Where was Chloe?
After many eye rolls, Chloe arrived.
“Excuse me.”
“Why don’t you choose a prettier place for
your drama?”
Chloe’s words were sharp.
The two froze. Chloe was embarrassed,
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pushing Shane away. She asked about the
lawsuit.
“I hired Lian Jue. Consult him if you have questions.”
“He said you’ll lose. Shane showed the video
at his birthday party.”
“Find a smarter man. Your taste is terrible.”
Chloe drove off without waiting for a
response.
I laughed, seeing Shane stomp his foot in the
rearview mirror.
“So happy?”
“You’ll be even happier!”
I didn’t understand until the verdict. Chloe had
teamed up with Chloe to sue Shane and
Chloe.
The charges were forgery and conspiracy.
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Chloe lost her position in the company.
The Carter family didn’t protect her. Chloe
was sentenced to a year, Shane to fifteen. At the airport, Chloe’s mother found me.
“Chloe came back to work at Carter Corp for you.”
“Ethan Evans, maybe you should consider her.”
She told me Chloe returned to get Chloe punished.
She also gave me more news.
“Chloe left because she had lung cancer.”
”
I gasped, spilling my coffee. I had considered that possibility when she left.
But it was just a joke. I hadn’t believed it.
My luggage felt heavy, my ticket weighed a ton.
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Before boarding, I turned back.
I called Chloe, but her line was busy.
At the airport exit, I saw Chloe across the
street. She wore a white shirt, smiling. “Ethan
Evans!”
Her clear voice reached me, and I felt
transported back three years.
Before the tragedy, Chloe and I were
together.
Tears fell. I ran into her arms.
“Chloe.”
“Let’s start over, okay?”
I knew we couldn’t erase everything, but I believed our love could overcome it.
We’d make up for the lost three years.
I learned Chloe had returned many times,
wanting to find me.
Rut cho caw Chloe with mo foaring to dierunt
